Ungrateful Jordanian Brotherhood

The Jordanians stood one more time for their country, a country that deserves to be stood for. Jordan has always provided a safe shelter either for its people or its Arab neighbours who fled oppression and humiliation in their countries, and sought a place where they can live in safety and dignity. The most recent example is the tens of thousands of Syrian refugees who resorted to Jordan escaping from the Syrian regime's oppression. Despite the injustice Jordan has witnessed, the Jordanians always remained faithful to their homeland. That is why they didn't join the demonstration called for by the Muslim Brotherhood despite the fact that they expected more than 50,000 people to join it. The demonstration, which the Brotherhood called "Save the Homeland" or as I prefer to call "Kill the Homeland only attracted 8,000 people. The Brotherhood organised the demonstration to protest against the political reforms decided by King Abdullah II, which they see as weak for them to impose their control on the upcoming parliament. One might wonder whether the King's reforms should have been designed according to the Brotherhood's needs and demands, or whether it should benefit the whole of Jordanian political life, in which there is a majority ruling the country and a strong minority observing and opposing the government's performance. On the eve of the Brotherhood's demonstration, King Abdullah decided to dissolve the parliament and announced that a new parliamentary election will take place in the next few months. The reforms will go on regardless of all the efforts exerted by those who called the people to boycott the elections. The Brotherhood was shocked to see that more than two million Jordanians have registered their names on the voting lists. This showed that the Brotherhood's calls have convinced almost nobody in Jordan. Jordanians knew that these calls are meant to serve foreign agendas aimed at turning Jordan into an empty arena where other countries can play their games. Hindering the reform process can also be considered a great service to the Israeli plots against Jordan, whether the anti-reform powers know this or not – but they probably do know. It is well-known that the Israelis are doing everything they can to prevent Jordan from launching a nuclear energy programme. King Abdullah referred to this issue in his latest interview with Agence France-Presse. The King said Israel is trying to dissuade countries with advanced nuclear facilities to cooperate with Jordan. Jordan intends to use the nuclear energy only in generating power and water desalination. One of the main problems in Jordan are power supplies and water, while there are other fronts in the country who try as hard as they can to foil all the reforms intended to establish a true democratic regime in the country. Last Friday will be a day to remember in Jordan’s history, as the Jordanian people showed their faith in the reforms going on in their country by not joining the Brotherhood's demonstration. The state's authorities have also shown success in controlling the demonstration, considering that there were quite a few who intended to cause trouble, apparently pushed by the Syrian regime. Perhaps the Brotherhood forgot that their protests are serving the Syrian regime more than anybody else, the same regime whom they claim hostility against. That might raise questions on whether some of the Brotherhood's figures in Jordan are associated to Iran, alike their fellows in Hamas and the Jihadist groups which attacked an Egyptian border guard checkpoint in August. As they began to realise how small their demonstration was, the Brotherhood tried to hide their failure targeting the King in their slogans. The pro-reform Jordanians decided to suspend a counter demonstration they were planning to hold to avoid any risk of a clash between the two demonstrations. The Brotherhood's demonstration passed peacefully. It showed their failing political weight and their lack of influence of the country. But the most important thing this demonstration showed is that King Abdullah is determined to go through with these reforms. He does this despite the serious economic crisis suffered by Jordan and the Israeli plots against every success he achieves in his kingdom. On top of this, the Syrian crisis has forced 200,000 refugees in Jordan. The question that should be asked now is: what does the Brotherhood really want to achieve? Is this the way to show their gratitude to the only country that backed them when they were oppressed all over the Arab region? Or are they that desperate to seize power in the country regardless of anything else?        --- The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent or reflect the editorial policy of Arabstoday.