Global media is reporting on comments by the head of the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood in which he warned the US that Mideast leaders allied with the US will be toppled. According to one report:
AMMAN, Jordan — The leader of Jordan’s powerful Muslim Brotherhood warned Saturday that unrest in Egypt will spread across the Mideast and Arabs will topple leaders allied with the United States. Hammam Saeed’s comments were made at a protest outside the Egyptian Embassy in Amman, inspired by massive rallies in neighbouring Egypt demanding the downfall of the country’s longtime president, Hosni Mubarak. About 100 members of the fundamentalist group and activists from other leftist organizations and trade unions chanted “Mubarak, step down” and “the decision is made, the people’s revolt will remain.” Elsewhere, a separate group of 300 protesters gathered in front of the office of Jordanian Prime Minister Samir Rifai, demanding his ouster. “Rifai, it’s time for you to go,” chanted the group. Jordan’s protests have been relatively small in size, but they underline a rising tension with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, a key U.S. ally who has been making promises of reform in recent days in an apparent attempt to quell domestic discontent over economic degradation and lack of political freedoms. But as a monarch with deep support from the Bedouin-dominated military, Jordan’s ruler is not seen as vulnerable as Mubarak or Tunisia’s deposed leader. Even the Brotherhood — a fiery critic of Jordan’s moderate government — has remained largely loyal to the king, who claims ancestry to Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. Many believe it’s unlikely King Abdullah will bow to demands for popular election of the prime minister and Cabinet officials, traditionally appointed by the king. Saeed said Arabs have grown disgruntled with U.S. domination of their oil wealth, military occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan and its support for “totalitarian” leaders in the region. “The Americans and (President Barack) Obama must be losing sleep over the popular revolt in Egypt,” he said. “Now, Obama must understand that the people have woken up and are ready to unseat the tyrant leaders who remained in power because of U.S. backing.” Saeed did not specifically name King Abdullah. But he said Jordan’s prime minister “must draw lessons from Tunisia and Egypt and must swiftly implement political reforms.” “We tell the Americans ‘enough is enough’,” he said.
Earlier posts identified Hammam Saeed as the “hawkish” head of the Islamic Action Front (IAF), the political wing of the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood who has called for the annulment of the peace treaty with Israel.
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.
To see all GMBDW coverage of developments, go here.
For GMBDW coverage on the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, go here.