JORDAN DISSOLVE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD

Jordan's King Abdullah II has decided to dissolve the Muslim Brotherhood sect; a dangerous decision for the Hashemite kingdom, given the movement's influence in the Islamic world. The decision was announced by Interior Minister Mazen Faraya.

The Muslim Brotherhood movement has always had problems with Arab leaders: it had them with Nasser and his successor, Mubarak. However, it held power in Egypt until one of its supporters, Mohamed Morsi, was overthrown and imprisoned by Marshal Al Sisi, the current president.

Morsi, who had been democratically elected, died in June 2019. His death confirmed the army's preeminence in power, something that had been the case since Nasser's time. Jordan has justified the dissolution of the sect "for security reasons."

The Muslim Brotherhood emerged from among the Sunni followers, founded in Ismailia by the charismatic Hassan El Banna in March 1928. It characterized itself as a religious, social, and political movement. Between 1950 and 1960, many of its followers were arrested and tortured in prison, and concentration camps were also established.

Despite all the repression, the sect remains alive and has not lost its influence, particularly among Islamists. It is also considered linked to the Salafist movement.

It advocated a return to the Quran and the Hadith as guidelines for a healthy modern Islamic society. The Brotherhood spread rapidly throughout Egypt, Sudan, Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, and North Africa. Although Brotherhood membership figures vary, it is estimated that at its peak in the late 1940s it may have had some 500,000 members.

The sect carries out social work that contributes to its popularity in the poor sectors of the Islamic world. No matter how much repression falls upon them, the Muslim Brotherhood represents a radical vision of Islam with different nuances. Dissolving them does nothing to make them disappear, far from it.

(photo: Hassan El Banna)