Defections threaten Jordan’s Brotherhood
The recent resignations within Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood threaten further fragmentation within the group unless serious reforms are carried out.
Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood and its political arm, the Islamic Action Front (IAF), face unprecedented challenges after prominent members and mid- and low-level cadres tendered resignations from the party during the last week of December. On Dec. 28, about 400 members, including veteran members and founding leaders, resigned from the party. Other resignations followed as the Consultative (Shura) Council of the IAF attacked defectors and refused to admit that the 70-year-old group is going through a serious crisis.
The Brotherhood's predicament began in 2013 when members — mostly from the East Bank of the kingdom — launched on Oct. 5, 2013, what became known as the Zamzam Initiative. They called for massive structural reforms while demanding disengagement from the international body of the Muslim Brotherhood — established in Egypt in March 1928 — and participation in the country’s political life.
