| Submit your comments on this article |
| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Jordan's Islamists reap inspiration from Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood |
| 2006-05-12 |
| Emboldened by the Muslim Brotherhood's electoral gains in Egypt last year and by the rise to power of Hamas in the Palestinian elections in February, Islamists in Jordan have raised their sights, preparing to take part in possible council elections this year and parliamentary elections next year. The Islamic Action Front, the Muslim Brotherhood's political party, which controls 17 of the 110 seats in Parliament, is betting that it can now ride a popular wave to win a significant majority and maybe even form a government some day. "We are a political party and it is natural for us to seek to come to power one day," said Rohile Ghraibeh, deputy secretary general of the Islamic Action Front. "If we were to win, is that worthy of any fear? We would consider it a blessing from God." There is little chance of an Islamist government under this nation's current political system: King Abdullah has the power to bypass lawmakers in forming a government and can dissolve Parliament by decree. But the Islamists' bluster and the government's reaction have increased tensions here. In the most significant case, security officials announced in late April that they had arrested several men with ties to Hamas who had been tracked smuggling weapons into Jordan from Syria. Many in Jordan saw the timing of the announcement, right before a planned visit by Hamas leaders and as the Islamists were becoming more vocal, not only as an assault on Hamas, but also as a swipe at the Islamic Action Front, which is openly sympathetic to the group. The front's new leadership quickly dismissed the government's smuggling allegation, and the sparse details released with the announcements, as a politically convenient ploy. On Wednesday, a government spokesman, Nasser Judeh, said the men had admitted under interrogation that Hamas had been trying to recruit Jordanians for training in Syria and Iran to stage possible attacks in Jordan. A Palestinian security delegation appointed by President Mahmoud Abbas landed in Amman on Wednesday to discuss the allegations. "The announcement underscored the crisis between the government and the Islamists," said Muhammad Abu Rumman, who is in charge of research at the Jordanian newspaper Al Ghad and an expert on Jordanian Islamists. Arab governments are seeking to send two messages, Rumman said: One is aimed at Western nations, hinting that true political reform would bring Islamists to power; the other is aimed at the Jordanian public, portraying the Islamists as untrustworthy and full of empty promises. "They have begun to view Islamist participation as a security issue more than a political one," Rumman said of the Jordanian intelligence services. "The next step will likely be an attempt to weaken them." He and others said that they have seen a decided governmental shift toward cooler dealings with the opposition since November, when suicide bombers attacked three hotels, killing at least 59 people in the worst act of terrorism in Jordan. New anti-terrorism legislation was soon passed, raising concerns by Islamists that they would be caught in a tighter net. After the Hamas victory in Palestinian elections in January, Rumman said, that shift became more pronounced. There are several reports that the intelligence services have become more heavy-handed toward journalists who criticize the government, he said. And when the Islamists sought to protest the increase in fuel prices last month, the demonstration was quickly broken up and several members of the group reportedly were arrested. Government officials said they have nothing to fear from the Islamists, who have been part of Jordan's political fabric, though a tightly controlled one, since the 1950s. If there is tension, it has been brought on by the Islamists, said Nasser Judeh, a government spokesman. The prime minister met for three hours with Islamist members of Parliament after the announcement of the smuggling arrests last month and lines of communication have been kept wide open, Judeh said. Jordan's election laws work against the Islamists' chances of gaining political control. After Islamists won a majority of parliamentary seats in 1989, a new law put into effect in 1993, and with modifications in 2001, provided for a one-person, one-vote system in choosing Parliament, rather than allowing voters to choose from among party slates of candidates. The changes weakened an ideologically based group in favor of traditional tribal ties. Last year an initiative called the National Agenda, which made recommendations for changes in Jordan sought to overhaul the elections law by creating a hybrid of the existing law and a proportional voting system, but debate over changing the law continues. Still, critics of the Islamists have begun calling for an even tougher stance by the government. "The Islamists are growing stronger and their institutions are, too," said Samir Habashneh, a member of Jordan's appointed Senate and a former interior minister who has been an outspoken opponent of Islamist political power. "The government should take action now before it is too late. Although they are seen as pragmatic, this is just a phase before they begin spreading absolute Islamic power." Ghraibeh of the Islamic Action Front and other Islamists said that they simply wanted a fairer chance at the ballot box, that they seek inclusiveness not exclusion. "I am not optimistic that we can win a majority now, because the laws have still not been changed," Ghraibeh said. "But we are not trying to take everything away. We just want to take part in a fair process." |
| Posted by:ryuge |