Jordan arrests a wake-up call to Muslim Brotherhood threat

Jordanian authorities last week arrested 16 individuals linked to the Muslim Brotherhood who were allegedly plotting a series of drone and rocket attacks inside the kingdom. This was not some isolated extremist cell — it was a coordinated network, reportedly trained and funded out of Lebanon, that was preparing to unleash violence and instability on Jordanian soil. Security forces uncovered a drone manufacturing site and even a rocket ready for launch. This level of planning speaks to the enduring organizational strength and ideological reach of the Brotherhood, despite repeated claims of its decline.

Jordan’s government has been monitoring this network since 2021. But the timing of the arrests was telling, coming just seven months after the Brotherhood’s political arm in the country, the Islamic Action Front, gained significant traction in Jordan’s 2024 parliamentary elections.

The same group that promises reform at the ballot box is tied, through ideology and network, to plots of destruction behind closed doors. And that should send a chilling message to the rest of the world. Because the threat is not limited to Jordan, it is already in the West, cloaked in slogans and protests and backed by forces determined to weaken societies from within.

The Muslim Brotherhood has long mastered the art of political doublespeak. In the Middle East, it uses religion as a tool to manipulate the masses and gain power. In the West, it wraps itself in the language of democracy and human rights. Its operatives have learned how to navigate liberal institutions, exploit civil liberties and embed themselves in community organizations under the guise of advocacy.

The same group that promises reform at the ballot box is tied to plots of destruction behind closed doors

Dalia Al-Aqidi

Make no mistake: this is a radical Islamist movement that has never given up on its founding goal: the creation of regimes that rule by Shariah. The only thing that has changed is its strategy. Violence remains on the table, but the preferred battlefield is now cultural and political. The Brotherhood does not need to overthrow governments when it can influence them from within.

In the US, Canada and Europe, Brotherhood-inspired groups have built an extensive network of nonprofit organizations, media platforms, lobbying groups and campus alliances. They have positioned themselves as the voice of Muslim communities, while silencing dissenting moderate voices. They claim to fight for justice but their real aim is control.

They have also found unlikely allies: far-left activists who have little in common with Islamists but unite in their hatred of Western civilization. This alliance is not built on shared dreams of the future, it is built on a shared enemy. To them, America, Israel and the West are the villains. The Islamists want a theocracy. The radicals want a socialist utopia. They may not agree on what they want to build, but they are absolutely aligned on what they want to destroy.

Together, they have weaponized language. “Islamophobia” has become their shield. Any criticism of Islamist ideology is labeled as hate speech. Anyone who questions the Brotherhood’s political agenda is smeared as a racist. These tactics have been frighteningly effective. Institutions, media outlets and even government agencies now walk on eggshells, too afraid to confront the very real threat of political Islamism in the name of sensitivity.

But we must draw a line between respecting religion and enabling a radical movement that hides behind it.

What happened in Jordan is a glimpse into the Brotherhood’s long game. Its rise in the polls was no accident. The alleged plot to unleash drones and rockets is not an anomaly. This is what the Brotherhood does: it gains political cover, builds a network and strikes when the moment is right.

The West must not wait for that moment to come to its shores. Yet it continues to turn a blind eye. Western governments have failed to learn from the experiences of their Middle Eastern allies, many of whom have already designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. Egypt has done so. Saudi Arabia too. And the UAE. Why is the US still hesitating?

Too many in Washington still believe the myth that the Brotherhood is a ‘moderate’ alternative to extremist terrorism

Dalia Al-Aqidi

The answer lies in willful ignorance and political convenience. Too many in Washington still believe the myth that the Brotherhood is a “moderate” alternative to extremist terrorism. However, the truth is that it is the gateway. The Brotherhood is the ideological grandfather of nearly every major Islamist terror group, including Hamas, Daesh and Al-Qaeda. It creates the intellectual foundation, the recruitment pipeline and the political legitimacy that allows radicalism to flourish.

That is why the US must act now.

It is time for Washington to officially designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization. No more hiding behind claims of peaceful activism. No more treating its officials as community leaders while they preach division and extremism behind closed doors.

And, just as importantly, it is time to investigate the web of nonprofits, advocacy groups and so-called civil rights organizations that act as fronts for the Brotherhood’s agenda. These groups are not just pushing policies, they are shaping minds, targeting youths and normalizing a worldview that is fundamentally at odds with the Western values of freedom, equality and pluralism.

This threat must not be allowed to fester under the guise of tolerance. Freedom of religion should never serve as a shield for those intent on dismantling the very system that protects it.

Jordan’s recent incident serves as a stark warning. The Brotherhood remains active, dangerous and determined.

Inaction is not neutrality, it is surrender. And the cost will be nothing less than the security and values at the heart of free societies.

• Dalia Al-Aqidi is executive director at the American Center for Counter Extremism.