jordan pulse -

Amman- Prof. Dr. Ali Al-Hayassat

Political Islam in Jordan is entering a post-rhetoric phase, where slogans are no longer sufficient for survival, and caution alone no longer guarantees protection. The U.S. designation of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization will not be merely a passing political decision, but rather the beginning of a new phase in reshaping the relationship between the Arab state and political Islam.

Specifically in Jordan, where the relationship between the state and the Brotherhood has been tense and volatile over the past three decades, this decision will place both parties before a moment of true testing.

Jordan will not be able to ignore the U.S. decision, yet it cannot pursue a complete break with the Brotherhood, which still maintains broad social roots. Therefore, I believe the coming scene will trend toward a cautious balance: calculated pressure from the state and disciplined retreat from the Brotherhood—without direct confrontation, but with a clear contraction in its political presence.

As for the parliamentary representatives of the Islamic Action Front party, they will find themselves facing a complex equation. On one hand, they will confront an official reality that limits their political influence and restricts any attempt to impact legislation or public policy, placing their every move under scrutiny. On the other hand, Jordanian public opinion will not be unified in its stance toward the group—caught between a segment that views the Brotherhood as a symbol of moderate social and religious reform and another influenced by the international narrative linking political Islam to terrorist threats. This may grant the representatives limited space for public sympathy, allowing them to highlight their parliamentary and service roles, yet this will remain contingent on their ability to balance defending their popular legitimacy while avoiding direct confrontation with the state. Every parliamentary move will thus become a precise test of the limits of influence and the Brotherhood's survival in the Jordanian political scene.

The U.S. designation will alter the Brotherhood's image in Jordanian consciousness. Having presented themselves for decades as a national reformist force, the Brotherhood will now confront an international narrative that views them as a threat to stability—weakening their ability to appeal to a younger generation increasingly influenced by global discourse.

Developments in Jordan will not occur in isolation from the regional landscape. Following the U.S. decision, most political systems will treat political Islam as a security, rather than political, issue. This will force the Brotherhood to confront a test of survival rather than a test of influence. The battle is no longer about presence in parliament or the street, but about the very legitimacy of existing in a political space that is constantly redefining its boundaries.

The near future will not witness confrontation, but rather a slow erosion of the Brotherhood's influence, followed by a gradual shift toward civic and social work instead of political activity. Over time, political Islam in Jordan and other Arab and Islamic countries will transform from an influential player into a "monitored voice," content with symbolic participation in public life.

Thus, the U.S. decision will not be merely an external measure, but a defining moment in the relationship between the Jordanian state and the Muslim Brotherhood. A relationship long characterized by caution and mutual respect will enter a new phase defined by conditional existence rather than comfortable influence—where the Brotherhood remains within the scene, but under the state's watchful eye, not at its heart.

The political actions of the Brotherhood will become more cautious, their discourse more pragmatic, while the state imposes its logic as the sole guarantor of stability. Amid this delicate balance, the glow of ideology will fade before the realism of the state, and Jordanian political Islam will transition from a phase of influence to a phase of adaptation—in an era that no longer measures legitimacy by slogans, but by the ability to survive within the rules of the game, not outside them.