Need for wisdom to defuse a crisis

Many Jordanians worry about the repercussions of a potentially headlong confrontation between the Muslim Brotherhood in Amman and authorities.

Being the best organised political group in this country, with the largest mass followers as members of its offshoot, the Islamic Action Front, the Muslim Brotherhood stood against granting Israel a de jure recognition in 1994 while the Palestinian refugees were still denied their right of return.

For the last 21 years, the Brotherhood led all other opposition parties, which formed a unified front to include secular, communist, national, Baathist, extreme right-wing and extreme left-wing memberships.

The collaboration between successive governments and the Muslim Brotherhood dates back to the 1950s, when the era of Nasserism swept the Arab world and threatened the political survival of both.

Having a common enemy in former Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser and his followers among army officers forced all cadres of the Muslim Brotherhood to coordinate with key officials to neutralise a common threat.

When the riots of Black September in 1970 erupted, the Brotherhood took to the streets of Amman and the refugee camps in support of the army against the militias of the Popular Front, George Habash and Fateh.

It was no surprise that the 1989 parliamentary elections elevated them to the rank of dominant political group that took part in forming new governments and holding Cabinet portfolios, as well as winning the speakership of the Lower House for several sessions.

Many press articles were published this week warning about a possible showdown between the government and the Muslim Brotherhood; if this materialises, the Brotherhood will be defeated and be the real loser.

But the worry is about the tens of thousands of young members who will feel lost because of the deconstruction of their political leadership.

The Muslim Brotherhood is not expected to join Jihadi Salafist groups like Al Qaeda, Jabhat Al Nusra or Daesh due to the ideological differences that separate them. The Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood is a confirmed believer in gradual domestic reform, a strong supporter of peaceful means to achieve its goals, and a robust antagonist of violence or bloodshed.

Their compass will not point to Damascus or to Mosul, since the bloodshed there is condemned by their ideology as non-Islamic.

What is worrying is that the only exit for those younger hotheads will be towards the Jordan River, to defend Jerusalem mosques where daily provocations by the ultraorthodox rabbis fuel new rounds of bloodshed.

Unless the voice of wisdom, both in the government and in the Muslim Brotherhood is heard, the fabric of our society will be imperilled.