Global media are reporting statements by the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood suggesting that Israel might be behind the recent bomb attack on an Egyptian Coptic church. According to one report:
Jordan’s lower house of parliament on Sunday condemned the explosion in front of a church in Egypt’s northern city of Alexandria which killed 21 people and injured dozens.In a letter sent to the Egyptian People’s Assembly, the Jordanian lower house expressed “its strong condemnation of the heinous crime,” stressing its support to Egypt in standing up to terrorism, the state-run Petra news agency reported. The Lower House stressed that Jordan supports Egypt’s efforts to preserve its security and unity among all segments and sects of its society. Meanwhile, Jordan’s Islamic Action Front (IAF) also condemned the attack, saying in a statement on Sunday that “targeting innocents is against human values and contradicts with the Arab and Islamic civilization. It only serves the enemies of the Ummah (Arab and Muslim nation) who seeks to harm unity and fuel conflicts among the Ummah.” The IAF, which is the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, called on the “rational Muslims and Christians to enjoy highest degrees of wisdom and responsibility,” urging the ruling regimes to expose “those entities behind such actions.” The IAF said it does not rule out the possibility that the Mossad, the Israeli Intelligence, is behind these crimes. ]
The IAF is the political action arm of the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood and earlier posts have reported on what has been described as the crisis within the organization. Generally unreported are the ties between the IAF and the US Muslim Brotherhood. The former IAF caretaker was 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.” More recently, after congratulating President Obama on his election, the IAF called his decision to send more troops to Afghanistan “a hostile step against the Arab and Islamic worlds. In 2009, the IAF also called Israeli actions in Gaza “the ugliest crime in history.”