Unlicensed Brotherhood criticises gov’t for banning its iftar

AMMAN — The unlicensed Muslim Brotherhood on Wednesday criticised authorities for preventing the group from holding its annual Ramadan iftar that was planned for Friday.

Muath Khawaldeh, the movement’s spokesperson, claimed that the group, which has been active in Jordan since the 1940s, is now targeted through “unprecedented restrictions”.

But Government Spokesperson Mohammad Momani said authorities are not “imposing restrictions” on anyone. 

However, Momani told The Jordan Times that one group cannot hold an activity using the name of another, in effect assuming its legal identity.

But the “unlicensed” group charged that banning an iftar that was supposed to bring together different segments of the community, not just its members, is part of the government’s “domination” over the community.

In April this year the group had to cancel a festival to celebrate the 70th anniversary of their establishment in Jordan, after the new “registered” Muslim Brotherhood Society filed a complaint against them saying that the unlicensed group is using the name of another licensed group.

At a press conference held on Tuesday, Momani declined to answer questions on whether the government considers the “old” Muslim Brotherhood a banned group.

His only comment was that the government deals with both the newly registered society and the “unlicensed” group as per provisions of the related laws.

The old Muslim Brotherhood was licensed in 1946 as a charity affiliated with the mother group in Egypt and relicensed in 1953 as an Islamic society.

The crisis of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan started when a group of reformists led by Abdul Majid Thneibat re-registered the movement as a Jordanian society, severing its affiliation with its mother group in Egypt.