Global media are reporting that the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood has turned down an offer to join the new government. According to one report:
Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood movement and its political arm, the Islamic Action Front, have turned down an offer to join the new government, the IAF chief said Sunday. However, IAF secretary general Hamzeh Mansour told DPA that his party would consider being a part of the Jordanian executive only after fair elections. Premier-designate Marouf Bakhit has offered Islamist leaders five portfolios in the new administration, media reports said. ‘The matter is not five or 10 portfolios, but rather we exclude taking part in the government at this juncture and believe we can serve our country better in the opposition,’ Mansour said. King Abdullah sacked the government of prime minister Samir Rifai last week after a series of protests, which were partly inspired by the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. ‘We are monitoring the situation to see to what extent the new government will be serious in conducting reforms that lay the ground for sound and democratic elections,’ Mansour said. [From Islamists reject offer to join new Jordan government]
The IAF is generally considered to be the political wing of the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood. The current leader of the IAF is Secretary-General Ishaq Farhan a Jordanian of Palestinian origin, one of the three founders of the IAF, and a former education minister and senator. Mr. Farhan is also listed as a director of the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), founded in the U.S. in 1980 by important members of the Global Muslim Brotherhood who wished to promote the “Islamization of Knowledge.” IIIT was associated with the now defunct SAAR Foundation, a network of Islamic organizations located in Northern Virginia that was raided by the Federal government in March 2002 in connection with the financing of terrorism. In 2000, Mr. Farhan was denied entry to the U.S. after having had his visa revoked in the prior year without informing him. The New York Times reported at that time that unidentified American diplomats called Mr. Farhan a “moderating force” and that he “as kept a distance from the vociferous opposition to peaceful relations with Israel.” However, in 2003 a media report said that the IAF had “declared a jihad in favor of Iraq and Palestine if the US attacks Iraq.”
Previous posts have discussed the support for Hamas provided by the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood.
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