Brotherhood elders in Jordan withdraw crisis initiative

A group of elders from the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan have announced the withdrawal of an initiative intended to solve the crisis of the Islamist organisation in the country, Anadolu has reported. The senior official of the group, known as the Elders’ Commission, is Abdul-Latif Arabiyat; he affirmed that the initiative was withdrawn, putting full responsibility of any repercussions on the leadership of the Islamist movement.

Arabiyat is one of 12 elders who proposed a solution for division within the Brotherhood which took place when several officials who had been dismissed applied to get a new operating licence from the government based on full separation from the parent Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. However, he stressed that the movement has a “responsible” leadership and he along with all the other members of the Elders’ Commission will defend it. He insisted, though, that this leadership is unable to deal with the issue of getting a new licence in the correct way.

The elders’ initiative proposed a change of the movement’s leader, Hammam Said. This was rejected last week by the Brotherhood’s Shura Council.

A spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan, Mu’ath Khawaldeh said that the movement is proud to have the Elders’ Commission, within which are senior leaders and former state officials.

The commission was established in the wake of the dismissal of a number of Brotherhood leaders. Following the elders’ intervention, those dismissed were reinstated. However, they were dismissed again last month after they made the move to apply to the government in Amman for a new licence.