Jordan has formally banned the Muslim Brotherhood, closing the organisation’s offices nationwide and criminalising all forms of affiliation and ideological promotion. Interior Minister Mazin Abdellah Hilal al-Farrayeh announced the sweeping measure yesterday at a news briefing, declaring that “any activity by the group, regardless of its nature, is considered a violation of the law”.
The Muslim Brotherhood is a political Islamist group founded in Cairo in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna, an Egyptian schoolteacher who believed that an Islamic renewal would help the Middle East deal with the rising tide of western influence and the perils of colonialism. The Sunni movement has branches across the Middle East, including in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Palestine.
The drastic decision by the Jordanian government comes after the arrest of 16 alleged Brotherhood members on April 15 on charges of plotting attacks on Jordanian targets using drones, rockets and homemade explosives. According to Jordanian security forces the men were trained and financed in Lebanon and had plotted attacks on targets inside the kingdom. Authorities claimed that at least one rocket was ready to launch and that the group had been operating covertly since 2021, manufacturing weapons, training operatives and moving materials between residential areas in Amman and other cities. Jordanian security forces also alleged that the Brotherhood attempted to destroy and smuggle documents during the night of the arrests.
Although the Muslim Brotherhood has denied any involvement in the alleged plot, the government has alleged that the group remains a serious threat to national stability. “They were working in secret and undertaking activities that threatened to undermine stability, security and national unity,” said Farrayeh.
While Jordan’s Court of Cassation dissolved the Muslim Brotherhood in 2020 on the grounds that it had failed to regularise its legal status, the organisation continued operating through its political wing, the Islamic Action Front (IAF), which remains Jordan’s largest and most organised opposition party. In last September’s parliamentary elections, the IAF won 31 of 138 seats, buoyed by its strong criticism of Jordan’s peace treaty with Israel and its vocal support for Palestinians during Israel’s war on Gaza.
The monarchy under the Hashemite king Abdullah II has moved swiftly against the IAF in recent days, raiding its offices and arresting several members, including senior figures. A week ago, police arrested Khaled al-Johani, the office director of the IAF.
Although the IAF has publicly distanced itself from the Muslim Brotherhood’s organisational structure, authorities appear to view it as effectively indistinguishable. On April 22, the IAF announced that it had suspended three members allegedly linked to the April plot.
Human rights activists, meanwhile, point out that the latest clampdown is happening at a time Jordan is witnessing a broader erosion of civil liberties. They have repeatedly warned of Jordan’s shrinking civic space, citing examples such as the cybercrime law passed two years ago that criminalised online speech deemed harmful to national unity. Since 2021, Jordan has been deemed “not free” by Freedom House because of the mounting suppression of political dissent and civil society.
The timing of the ban also reflects Jordan’s growing political anxiety. The Brotherhood and its ally Hamas have seen a surge in popularity among Jordanians—particularly those of Palestinian descent—since the onset of Israel’s Gaza offensive. Worryingly for the Hashemite kingdom, a majority of its population are of Palestinian origin and it has always created uncomfortable questions about loyalty and subversion. Jordanian authorities expelled Hamas in 1999, but the group’s growing support on the streets has raised concerns within the monarchy about internal stability.
Public anger over Israel’s actions in Gaza has led to widespread protests in Amman, with demonstrators calling on the government to annul the unpopular 1994 peace treaty with Israel, end gas and trade agreements with the Jewish state, and more forcefully support the Palestinian cause. Though the Jordanian government expelled the Israeli ambassador and condemned the Gaza war, it has also taken steps to suppress domestic unrest—arresting protesters, curbing online speech and now moving against Islamist opposition groups. While Farraya said the government was committed to freedom of expression and political activity, the Jordanian cybercrime unit warned that social media posts about the Muslim Brotherhood would result in legal action.
This latest move also coincides with the return of Donald Trump to power in the United States. Jordanian analysts suggest that Amman may be responding to renewed pressure from Washington. During his previous administration, Trump pushed for regional plans that included resettling displaced Palestinians, particularly from Gaza, in neighbouring countries, including Jordan. Though Jordan has strongly opposed any resettlement of the Palestinians, it may feel compelled to appear more cooperative with Trump while preemptively neutralising groups seen as hostile to such proposals.
Another reason behind the latest crackdown could be internal divisions within the Jordanian Brotherhood. While moderates within the group have sought dialogue and compromise with the government, the hardline bloc prefers more confrontational tactics. Jordanian officials seem to have capitalised on this divide, painting the Brotherhood as a fragmented and increasingly dangerous organisation.
Across the region, the Brotherhood’s fortunes have declined. In Egypt, the group was banned in 2013 following the military ouster of president Mohamed Morsi, and many of its leaders remain imprisoned. Tunisia’s Ennahda party, once associated with the Brotherhood, has also seen a dramatic decline under government pressure.
Still, Jordan’s IAF insists that it is a lawful political entity committed to constitutional principles. Despite the raids and suspensions, the party has vowed to continue its political work. “We are an independent party with no organisational ties to any dissolved group,” said IAF Secretary General Wael Sakka. “Our commitment remains to the law, the constitution, and the will of the Jordanian people.”