Muslim Brotherhood Plotting To Take Over Jordan? (GateStone Institute) by Khaled Abu Toameh 05/30/12)
Source: http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3084/muslim-brotherhood-plotting-jordan
GateStone Institute
GateStone Institute Articles-Index-Top
Publishers-Index-Top
What is clear by now is that no matter how much the king does to
fight corruption and implement reforms, the Muslim Brotherhood will
continue to argue that it is not enough. Many Arabs feel that
President Obama´s endorsement of the Muslim Brotherhood has
emboldened the Islamists and increased their desire to drive moderate
and secular rulers out of the Middle East. Unless the US
administration stops flirting with the Muslim Brotherhood, Jordan
will be turned into an Islamic republic.
Jordanian government officials say there are growing signs that the
kingdom´s powerful Muslim Brotherhood organization has plans to
overthrow the regime.
The organization, according to the officials, has succeeded in
hijacking the anti-corruption and pro-democracy protests that have
swept Jordan over the past year.
Today, most of the anti-regime demonstrations throughout the kingdom
are being initiated and led by Muslim Brotherhood supporters whose
goal is to turn Jordan into an Islamic republic.
Many Arabs feel that President Barack Obama´s endorsement of the
Muslim Brotherhood has emboldened the Islamists and increased their
appetite to drive moderate and secular rulers out of the Arab world.
King Abdullah has good reason to be worried about the Muslim
Brotherhood´s efforts to hijack the pro-reform drive in the kingdom.
This concern was reportedly one of the main reasons that the monarch
replaced Prime Minister Awn Khasawna -- a staunch supporter of
rapprochement with Muslim Brotherhood and its Palestinian sister-
movement, Hamas -- a few weeks ago.
In a bid to appease the anti-corruption and pro-democracy
campaigners, King Abdullah has also taken a number of unprecedented
measures against a number of senior government officials suspected of
embezzling public funds and abusing their powers. The king has
replaced three prime ministers since the "Arab Spring" began and has
thrown a number of former officials into prison, but all this has not
satisfied the Muslim Brotherhood.
What is clear by now is that no matter how much the king does to
fight corruption and implement reforms, the Muslim Brotherhood will
continue to argue that this is not enough.
"They have learned from the Egyptian experience, where Muslim
Brotherhood also hijacked the anti-regime protests that were
triggered by secular and genuine reformists," explained a senior
Jordanian government official in Amman.
Another Jordanian official said that his government has proof
that "outside forces" were backing Muslim Brotherhood´s scheme
to "spread chaos and anarchy in the kingdom" by exploiting demands
for reform and democracy.
The official pointed out that some representatives of Muslim
Brotherhood recently visited Turkey, where they reportedly met with
former CIA deputy director Steven Kappes and former British MI5 chief
Eliza Manningham-Buller.
Osama Rantisi, a prominent Jordanian journalist and political
analyst, claimed that Kappes and Manningham-Buller pledged in the
meeting that "the US government and its intelligence services will
support the Muslim Brotherhood goals of reaching power."
The claim has been vehemently denied by both the US government and
Muslim Brotherhood.
Muslim Brotherhood leaders say the report about a conspiracy backed
by the US and Britain to help the group topple King Abdullah´s regime
is part of a smear campaign waged by Jordan´s General Intelligence
Department.
Some Jordanians have also pointed to Iran and its proxy Hizbullah
militia in Lebanon as being behind a Muslim Brotherhood scheme to
stage a coup in the kingdom.
But while these efforts have persuaded many Jordanians to stop their
street protests, Muslim Brotherhood supporters continue to stage
protests and incite Jordanians against the regime.
What has particularly worried King Abdullah is that the Muslim
Brotherhood has managed to "infiltrate" many powerful Jordanian
tribes, which have always been known as traditional and staunch
supporters of the monarchy.
Unless the US Administration stops flirting with Muslim Brotherhood,
Jordan will be turned into a radical Islamic republic and a source of
further instability in the Middle East.
Return to Top
MATERIAL REPRODUCED FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY