Jordan’s government banned the Muslim Brotherhood in late April after the Interior Ministry announced the arrest of 16 group members who were allegedly planning rocket and drone attacks.
The Brotherhood denied any involvement in the incident and, in a statement, distanced itself from those arrested, who claimed their efforts were solely aimed at aiding Gaza.
Although the accusations against the Islamist group cannot be independently verified, the decision marks the culmination of a long history of profound shifts in the relationship between the now-dissolved Brotherhood and Amman, where alliances eventually gave way to rivalries and, ultimately, a complete fallout.
According to Saleh al-Armouti, head of the Islamic Action Front bloc in parliament, “the Islamic Movement in Jordan, since its founding, has always supported the homeland, its security, and its stability”.
Historically, the Muslim Brotherhood has been one of the most prominent internal allies of the Hashemite regime during critical moments in its history.
The Brotherhood stood by the throne against a military coup attempt by the nationalist government of socialist Prime Minister Suleiman al-Nabulsi, supported by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1957.
The failed takeover prompted the 22-year-old Hashemite monarch to dissolve al-Nabulsi’s government, declare martial law, and ban all political parties except the Brotherhood, which was seen by many at the time as a reward for their loyalty.
The political rapprochement granted the Brotherhood extensive space for social and advocacy work, which it utilised to strengthen its presence in Jordanian society.
These efforts were later solidified after the resumption of the democratic process in 1989, when the Brotherhood won 22 parliamentary seats in the first elections after martial law was lifted.
The group also chaired the House of Representatives for three consecutive terms and participated in five ministries in former Prime Minister Mudar Badran’s government in 1991.
Al-Armouti told The New Arab that the group has always been a religious, not a political, movement, and does not bear arms.
“History bears witness to the Islamic Movement’s national stances,” he said.
“We must maintain national unity in the face of Zionist projects and American dictates. We support holding accountable those who harm the state, but without pre-empting the judiciary.”
The Muslim Brotherhood’s fall
The alliance between the Jordanian regime and the Brotherhood, however, soured when Jordan signed the peace treaty with Israel in 1994.
Seventeen Brotherhood MPs withdrew from the parliamentary session that ratified the treaty, and shortly afterwards, the group boycotted the 1997 parliamentary elections, protesting any notion of peace with Israel.
The political tension entrenched a state of mutual suspicion between the Brotherhood and the regime, marking the beginning of a gradual separation that withstood all attempts at reconciliation.
The Arab Spring of the early 2010s further tested the relationship between the two sides, and while the Brotherhood adopted demands for broad political reforms, the regime was suspicious of its allegiance, especially with the rise of Islamic movements in Egypt, Tunisia, and Syria.
“The crisis between the regime and the Muslim Brotherhood continued to escalate, reaching its peak with the success of the Arab Spring revolutions, when the state concluded that the Brotherhood harboured serious intentions of carrying out a soft coup against it,” expert on Islamist movements, Mohammad Abu Rumman, told TNA.
With the failure of the revolutionary wave to reach Amman, the regime launched a calculated political and legal campaign to reduce the Brotherhood’s influence: withdrawing its legal cover, tightening restrictions on its activities, and pursuing some of its leaders, without going as far as classifying it as a “terrorist group” as Cairo, Abu Dhabi, and Riyadh did.
Instead, the Jordanian government sought to repress the Brotherhood through legal measures, most notably supporting the establishment of the Muslim Brotherhood Association in 2015.
This group was created by defectors from the original Muslim Brotherhood Organisation to fragment the parent group and weaken its popular base. Then, in 2020, the Court of Cassation issued a ruling legally dissolving the original Muslim Brotherhood Organisation, permitting only the newly formed Muslim Brotherhood Association to participate politically. The parent organisation was now forced to operate through its political arm, the Islamic Action Front, under strict supervision.
“The Brotherhood in Jordan suffered deep internal fractures, as the moderate centrist faction within it lost to more hardline factions aligned politically with Hamas. Jordanian security agencies took note of these changes, closely monitoring the Brotherhood out of concern that it might become a cover for clandestine activities beyond its traditional political role,” MP Omar al-Ayasra told The New Arab.
According to Al-Ayasra, the group has now become a unified bloc of hardliners, which he views as problematic and presenting significant challenges.
He recalls that in the 1989 parliament, there was once a more moderate stream within the group, represented by figures such as Abdul Latif Arabiyat, Ishaq Al-Farhan, and Abdullah Al-Akaier. This moderate faction had managed to create a certain balance and effectively use it within the organisation.
However, Al-Ayasra believes that this internal balance has since been lost. He questions what the state expects from the group, emphasising that several aspects need to change, particularly the leadership structure, and stressing the importance of moving away from extremism and radicalism.
With escalating regional tensions, especially after the Hamas-led 7 October attack, and the war that Israel continues to wage in Gaza ever since, the Jordanian state became increasingly cautious about curbing any potential connection between the Jordanian interior and armed resistance movements, fearing security repercussions that threaten national stability.
In April 2025, the Jordanian General Intelligence Directorate announced the discovery of a Muslim Brotherhood cell in possession of advanced equipment for manufacturing missiles and drones, hidden in secret warehouses in Zarqa City.
Confessions broadcast on Jordanian television confirmed that three of those arrested were members of the Brotherhood, which authorities cited as conclusive evidence justifying the subsequent blanket ban.
Following these developments, Interior Minister Mazen Al-Faraya announced a complete ban on the Brotherhood’s activities and criminalised membership in, or promotion of, its ideas, framing it as a final step after years of attempts at containment and reduction.
Why now?
MP Omar al-Ayasra believes that “the decision was implemented as necessary security measures after discovering the qualitative shift within the Brotherhood towards armed action,” pointing out that the Jordanian state did not pursue the Brotherhood previously despite a judicial decision dissolving it.
“The Jordanian state seeks to protect its national security amid attempts by some parties to exploit regional conditions, especially what is happening in Gaza, to weaken the state’s image and challenge it through organised campaigns on social media to distort Jordan’s position.”
He referred to criticism from the Muslim Brotherhood on social media, accusing the Jordanian government of insufficient support for Gaza, adding that the emergence of an armed group linked to the Brotherhood would represent a “serious change in the rules of dealing with the group”.
The MP said that the Jordanian state does not seek to “eliminate” the Islamic movement or “replicate the Egyptian experience but calls for regulating political work through a licensed party under legal supervision, away from any external connections or military rhetoric”.
Jordan provided the Muslim Brotherhood with a significant opportunity through the approval of the political reform project, enabling them to reach parliament through a party list, giving them an influential voice in the political scene. However, “recent actions have shown that the Brotherhood may be unable to responsibly address national challenges, necessitating a review of their policies and internal literature,” he added.
Meanwhile, retired Brigadier General Omar al-Raddad, an expert in strategic security affairs, says that internal transformations in the Brotherhood, including alleged infiltration by a hardline faction linked to Hamas, have “made it a threat to national security and no longer merely a political opponent”.
He predicts that the next phase will witness a process of resetting the Islamic scene by supporting more moderate factions and separating Jordanian Islamic movements from any external connections.
Al-Armouti, however, argues that while linking some of the recently arrested individuals to the Muslim Brotherhood is “painful and sad,” the Islamic movement remains an integral part of the national fabric and those who challenge it defy the homeland itself.
“The Islamic Action Front enjoys widespread popularity and represents the Jordanian people, and it should not be legally or politically targeted,” he added, pointing out that there are concerning attempts to settle political scores and divide parties.