The Arab monarchy of Jordan has announced its intention to impose a comprehensive ban on the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood. As early as 2020, a Jordanian court had initiated legal steps toward dissolving the organization. The government is now intensifying its crackdown on the Islamist movement, which is already outlawed in several other Arab countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Last month, Jordan’s Interior Ministry declared that it would enforce a sweeping prohibition on all activities of the Brotherhood. The announcement came just days after security services reported the arrest of 16 individuals allegedly involved in a wide-ranging plot to threaten national security. According to authorities, the suspects had acquired weapons and explosives, built drones, and trained fighters both within Jordan and abroad.
At a televised press conference, Interior Minister Mazin Al Farrayeh directly linked the plot to the Brotherhood. He referred to “elements of the Muslim Brotherhood” who had operated covertly “to undermine the country’s stability and endanger national unity.” Investigators reportedly uncovered not only stockpiles of weapons and explosives but also a workshop for assembling explosive devices. The facility is said to be tied to the son of a senior Brotherhood figure. On the night the alleged plot was uncovered, Brotherhood members allegedly attempted to destroy or smuggle out a large quantity of incriminating documents.
The Muslim Brotherhood has faced mounting political pressure in Jordan for years. As early as 2016, the government shut down the organization’s headquarters in the capital, Amman. In 2020, legal authorities effectively declared the group illegal by revoking its registration status.
Critics accuse the Brotherhood of ideologically paving the way for religious extremism and political violence. They describe the movement’s internal structures as opaque and its long-term objective as the establishment of an Islamic state. Supporters — including several international scholars — reject these claims. They argue that authoritarian regimes in the Middle East primarily view the Brotherhood as a political threat and suppress it accordingly. The movement, they contend, is a socially rooted organization that relies on peaceful means and democratic processes to advance its agenda in parliament.
Jordan’s decision marks a new escalation in its approach to one of the oldest and most influential Islamist movements in the Arab world. While many governments in the region have designated the Brotherhood a terrorist organization, Jordan had until recently tolerated the group as a contentious yet recognized player in domestic politics.
The Interior Ministry in Amman confirmed that the ban applies to all activities associated with the Brotherhood — regardless of whether they are classified as civil, religious, or political. The announcement followed the arrest of 16 individuals whom authorities accuse of plotting to destabilize the country. The suspects allegedly procured arms and explosives, launched a drone production operation, and recruited and trained fighters inside and outside Jordan.
At the press conference, Interior Minister Al Farrayeh pointed to alleged connections between the suspects and the Brotherhood. “Elements of the Muslim Brotherhood,” he said, had “operated in secrecy to destabilize the country and threaten national unity.” Investigators found weapons caches, explosives, and an improvised workshop for making explosive devices — reportedly run by the son of a senior Brotherhood member. The group also allegedly attempted to destroy or smuggle a trove of sensitive documents on the night of the arrests.
The Brotherhood has long been under increasing pressure in Jordan. Following the closure of its Amman headquarters in 2016, the organization was effectively outlawed by the 2020 court ruling. At the time, observers noted that the relationship between the Jordanian monarchy and the Brotherhood had grown increasingly strained and characterized by deep mistrust.
The organization, which traces its roots to 1920s Egypt, was for decades tolerated — and at times actively encouraged — in Jordan. Particularly during the 1980s and 1990s, the movement was seen as a counterbalance to secular and leftist currents and benefited from state policies aimed at promoting Islamic values in public life.
