The entrenched connection between the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas has brought Jordan face-to-face with a multi-layered confrontation, one entangled in regional, international, and domestic complexities, all heightened by the ongoing crisis in Gaza and its spillover effects.
In a recent security operation, Jordanian authorities dismantled what they described as a “dangerous terrorist cell” composed of 16 individuals. The group was reportedly involved in building rockets and drones and recruiting operatives inside and outside Jordan, with plans to target critical infrastructure.
A senior security official revealed that some of the suspects had direct links to the Muslim Brotherhood, sparking controversy in Jordan’s parliament. Several lawmakers called for the dissolution of the Brotherhood’s political wing, the Islamic Action Front Party.
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In response, Hamas issued a statement defending the detainees, describing them as acting on behalf of the “conscience of the nation” in solidarity with Palestine. This move was widely seen in Jordan as a blatant interference in domestic affairs and an attempt to politicize a national security matter. The Islamic Action Front subsequently suspended three members whose names appeared on the official indictment list.
Who Loses the Most?
Former Jordanian Minister of Information, Samih Maaytah, spoke candidly in an exclusive interview with +963, describing the Brotherhood-Hamas relationship as “organic.” Hamas, he argued, is not merely inspired by the Brotherhood’s ideology, it is an active part of its global network. Over time, however, Hamas has eclipsed the parent organization in both visibility and influence, thanks to its militant strategy and the Palestinian cause.
According to Maaytah, a powerful faction within the Jordanian Brotherhood holds decisive influence and maintains close ties with Hamas. These connections are both functional, through operational coordination, and institutional, particularly with Hamas offices based outside of Palestine, including in Qatar and Turkey. “In my view, Hamas, not the Brotherhood, is the biggest loser from the crackdown in Jordan,” Maaytah emphasized.
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He explained that Hamas had long relied on the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood as a breathing space, leveraging the country’s political openness and demographic realities. “Hamas benefited immensely from the Brotherhood’s presence in Jordan,” he said, “especially during and after the recent escalation in Gaza.”
Jordan’s decision to ban the Muslim Brotherhood and halt its activities dealt a severe blow to Hamas’s external operations, Maaytah noted, more so than to the Brotherhood itself. The group had used Jordan as a strategic hub, particularly as it faced bans or political marginalization in most Gulf states, Egypt, and other countries. Jordan, by contrast, had offered them room to maneuver, on the streets, in parliament, and within state institutions.
But those days are ending. “Now the walls are closing in,” he said. “The Brotherhood is being squeezed across the region. This is a hard blow to their organizational reach.” The most vocal dissent, Maaytah added, has come from the Brotherhood’s reformist faction, closely tied to Hamas and its international network.
Jordan has fully committed to its course of action, he said, citing the judicial decision to ban the Brotherhood and implement associated legal measures. Still, the future of the Islamic Action Front remains uncertain. Final judgment may hinge on classified investigations or evidence seized during raids on party headquarters, or on developments from the ongoing State Security Court proceedings.
Ideological Allegiances
Palestinian political analyst Zaid Al-Ayoubi echoed the concerns, pointing out that Hamas has always been ideologically linked with the Brotherhood, not just in Palestine but across the region, particularly in Jordan.
This ideological allegiance, Al-Ayoubi argued, has repeatedly led Hamas to meddle in Jordanian affairs, disregarding national sovereignty and overstepping the boundaries of diplomatic courtesy, even from countries that have long supported the Palestinian cause.
Speaking to +963, he accused Hamas of weaponizing its ties to the Jordanian Brotherhood to incite public unrest and spread narratives that undermine Jordan’s political stability. “Instead of respecting Jordan’s historic support for Palestine,” he said, “Hamas has dragged Amman into dangerous political and security calculations that serve no one.”
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He continued: “Hamas bit the hand that fed it. Despite Jordan’s sacrifices for the Palestinian cause, Hamas has turned into a disruptive force against Jordan’s own stability. If they can’t show loyalty to their closest allies, how can they be true to their people or their cause?”
Al-Ayoubi concluded that Hamas’s repeated provocations, often channeled through Brotherhood-linked media and political platforms, reveal a troubling prioritization of ideological allegiance over national or pan-Arab interests. “It’s a dangerous deviation from the cause they claim to serve,” he said.
The Brotherhood Mindset
Jordanian academic Dr. Amal Al-Jabour added that the Muslim Brotherhood is more than a political party, it is a social movement with deep roots in Jordanian civil life. Through charitable organizations, educational networks, and student unions, the group has embedded itself into the country’s social fabric, even influencing religious and professional institutions.
In her remarks to +963, Dr. Al-Jabour highlighted that the Brotherhood’s literature has always envisioned a borderless Islamic domain. Their core mission, she explained, is to seize power through religious legitimacy, ultimately aiming to establish a caliphate. “In this worldview,” she noted, “the concept of the modern nation-state barely registers.”
She pointed to 1999 as a turning point when Jordan shut down Hamas’s offices due to concerns about growing extremism within the group. Since then, the Brotherhood’s relationship with the state has gone through multiple confrontations, most notably during the Teachers’ Syndicate crisis, and recently in its attempt to leverage the Gaza conflict to stoke public emotion and assert political influence.
“The Brotherhood tried to force Jordan into a role that doesn’t align with its national interests,” Dr. Al-Jabour said. “But Jordan has made it clear: security and sovereignty come first.”
