- Senior security officials report significant unrest in the Jordanian street following the government’s decision to outlaw the Muslim Brotherhood movement.
- They warn that the Brotherhood might be forced underground and could intensify its subversive activities against King Abdullah.
- According to these officials, the King is also considering declaring the Brotherhood’s political wing a terrorist organization or dissolving Parliament and calling for new elections.
Asharq Al-Awsat reported on April 25, 2025, that the trial of 16 members of the Muslim Brotherhood’s terror network will begin in Jordan in the coming days.
Senior officials in the Hashemite Kingdom told the newspaper that “the era of tolerance by the Jordanian government and security forces towards the Muslim Brotherhood has come to an end.”
Top security sources say Jordan is now at a critical crossroads, perhaps facing its greatest threat since September 1970 when the PLO attempted to overthrow King Hussein. They believe that King Abdullah’s legal ban on the Muslim Brotherhood — a strong and popular religious movement — could push it underground and escalate its clandestine activities against the Jordanian monarchy.
Nevertheless, they stress that King Abdullah feels severely pressured and has grown weary of the Brotherhood, which has aligned itself with Iran and Hamas since the outbreak of the Gaza war. The movement is allegedly trying to topple his rule in order to open a new front against Israel from Jordanian territory.
Security sources reveal that several months ago, Jordanian security forces delivered explicit warnings to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas: any attempt to undermine Jordan’s national security would trigger severe countermeasures, including military action in the Palestinian refugee camps, reminiscent of the “Black September” events of 1970. Despite these warnings, the Brotherhood’s subversive activities persisted, leaving the King with no choice but to outlaw the organization.
Israeli intelligence reports that the Jordanian public is boiling with tension following the decision. The Brotherhood is widely regarded as the most powerful and popular political force in the country.
While some Jordanians support the monarchy’s iron-fisted approach to safeguarding national security and stability, many others sympathize with the Brotherhood and oppose the crackdown.
Skeptics refuse to accept the official narrative presented by Jordanian security forces regarding the arrested terror network members. They believe these individuals had no intention of destabilizing Jordan but rather aimed to manufacture weapons such as rockets and drones to smuggle into northern Samaria for use against IDF forces.
For the first time, relations between the Hashemite Kingdom and the Muslim Brotherhood have deteriorated into a complete rupture — a situation that may escalate into open street clashes at a time when Jordan and the wider region are facing profound challenges.
Hamas’s involvement, especially its broad support among Jordan’s younger generation due to its war against Israel, has further complicated the situation.
Hamas’s call for the immediate release of the arrested network members — portraying them as resistance fighters against Israel rather than threats to Jordan — angered the Jordanian royal palace and prompted King Abdullah to abandon his previous policy of tolerance and opt for a hardline approach against the Brotherhood.
The outlawing of the Muslim Brotherhood is merely the first step. Jordanian authorities are now considering dismantling its legal political arm, the Islamic Action Front, which holds 17 seats in Parliament, and declaring it a terrorist organization as well.
According to security officials, King Abdullah is also weighing the possibility of dissolving Parliament and holding new elections to weaken the Brotherhood’s political influence.
The Jordanian decision explicitly bans the Muslim Brotherhood’s operations, seizes its assets, finances, and activities, and mandates action against anyone proven to have ties to the movement. It also forbids the publication, broadcast, or promotion of Brotherhood-related news or conferences — a move that has revived memories of similar actions taken in Egypt against the Brotherhood in 2013.
Egyptian commentator Karam Yehia told Rai al-Youm on April 25 that the timing of Jordan’s announcement suggests a connection to developments in Gaza. He said the decision primarily sends a message to U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, aiming to create formal distance between Jordan and Hamas and the broader Palestinian resistance.
Meanwhile, Egyptian journalist Ahmed Moussa, closely associated with the Egyptian regime, praised Jordan’s move, stating, “The Muslim Brotherhood can never be trusted. They are traitors and agents who have no loyalty to their homeland at any stage.” Moussa added that “all those affiliated with this treacherous organization should be executed.”
