Islamic Centre Society’s committee stages sit-in after members dismissed

AMMAN — The Islamic Centre Society’s follow-up committee orchestrated a sit-in on Wednesday in front of the Ministry of Social Development, demanding the reinstatement of members who were dismissed by the society’s administration, according to a statement sent to The Jordan Times by the society.

Supporters, beneficiaries and a group of the general assembly's members and employees who were dismissed from the society, as well as deputies and national figures gathered for the sit-in, the statement added.

A follow-up committee member, lawyer Hikmat Rawashdeh, delivered a speech during the sit-in saying that the government should halt the temporary administrative body from violating the law and the Constitution. 

Rawashdeh added that the most important of these violations was the dismissal of more than 350 general assembly members, including founders who have been members for more than 50 years, the statement said.

Rawashdeh added that a meeting was held with the Minister of Social Development Basma Ishaqat, where she promised to reinstate those dismissed, but did not “fulfil her promise” in a timely manner. He also called for a meeting with the prime minister to reverse the dismissal and appoint a neutral body to oversee elections to produce an elected administrative body for the society through votes from the general assembly’s original members.

Khalid Juhani, one of the Islamic Centre Society’s dismissed employees, charged that the government had taken over the society by appointing temporary bodies which, according to legislation, can only govern for a maximum period of 120 days, and the fact that these temporary bodies have continued to exist for 13 years signifies a total disregard for the law and the Constitution, the statement said.

He said that the government’s intervention could be seen in its giving the society new general assembly members, the statement said.

He also charged the administration with violations during the last temporary body’s tenure, including the registration of new members, some of whom were relatives of the chairman, as well as buying a vehicle worth thousands of dinars and furnishing offices with the society’s money, according to the statement.

The Ministry of Social Development on Wednesday explained that all societies’ administrations have the legal jurisdiction and full right to issue decisions and organise the course of the society’s work in accordance with the applicable law of societies and the internal regulations governing the society’s work.

Commenting on the dismissal decision made by the Islamic Charity Centre Society’s administrative body, the ministry said in a press statement that the society’s temporary administrative body has the right to make decisions that govern the society’s affairs as stipulated in its articles of association and the applicable law of societies.

The ministry added that the society terminated the membership of a number of general assembly members; based on its articles of association and because the members did not pay their annual subscriptions, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

In 2005, the government took control of the Islamic Centre Society’s board, the charitable arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, citing suspicion of corruption, while the Islamists saw the move as “purely political”, meant to rein in an opposition group.

The charity’s board was dismantled and hand-picked individuals have since run the affairs of the organisation, which comprise a hospital, several schools and other components that serve local communities, and which, according to observers, have helped the Islamists earn popularity, especially among poor communities in major cities.