The U.S. Designation of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood Needs To Be Strengthened

Following the U.S. designation of the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), Jordan has accelerated its crackdown on the Islamist group.

The U.S. decision is a positive step, but not enough. In the absence of parallel designations targeting Jordanian Brotherhood-affiliated individuals and charities, several of which continue to provide material support to Hamas, these networks continue to operate lawfully.

Jordanian authorities reportedly charged leaders of the Jordanian Brotherhood with using funds raised for humanitarian relief in Gaza to provide financial support to Hamas. Among those accused were the brotherhood’s General Inspector Murad Adaileh, his deputy Ahmad Zarqan, and other members of the Shura Council, the decision-making authority within the organization.

The charges followed an investigation by Jordanian authorities which discovered that the Jordanian Brotherhood had funneled over $40 million to Hamas through a clandestine financial network. According to the investigation, the Jordanian Brotherhood relied on 44 affiliated associations and charitable fronts across Jordan “under the guise of supporting Gaza.” Under Jordanian law, funds raised for humanitarian purposes cannot be directed to non-charitable organizations overseas or to domestic political campaigns.

Hamas’s Influence Within the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood

Over the past decade, Hamas has  increased its influence within the Jordanian Brotherhood. A 2017 assessment concluded that “Hamas worked in an organized fashion with the Jordanian Brotherhood … injecting huge amounts of money to recruit members,” steadily assembling a Hamas-aligned faction that came to dominate the Shura Council. The Jordanian Brotherhood’s political wing, the Islamic Action Front, which has not yet been sanctioned by Washington, even leveraged its pro-Hamas stance during the Gaza war to secure an electoral victory, exploiting the conflict to collect donations for the people in Gaza without “any evidence of coordination with humanitarian or international relief mechanisms.”

The Jordanian Brotherhood has been explicit in calling for Hamas to be permitted to reopen its offices in Jordan, which were shuttered by the authorities in 1999. After the October 7, 2023, Hamas assault on Israel, brotherhood-affiliated protesters often wore Hamas headbands, chanting in Arabic, “All of Jordan is Hamas!”

Many Charities in Jordan Continue To Operate Despite Government Ban

After a Jordanian Brotherhood plot to manufacture rockets and drones was exposed last year, the Jordanian authorities began targeting the organization through the enforcement of a 2020 judicial ruling that banned it outright. Yet Jordanian Brotherhood-affiliated organizations remain deeply entrenched across Jordan’s education, health, and social services sectors, where they operate under the guise of charitable work.

In June 2025, the government moved against one such entity, the Green Crescent Charity, which specializes in foster care and the provision of educational, social, and health care services to impoverished families. The charity is headed by Hamzah Mansour, a senior Jordanian Brotherhood figure and former parliamentarian affiliated with the Islamic Action Front. The organization was deemed by the authorities to have violated Jordanian law by launching fundraising campaigns without obtaining the required licenses. However, the majority of the 44 affiliated entities identified by the investigation remain operational. Amman has offered no explanation for why these organizations were not targeted. Critically, the Islamic Charity Center Society, which is considered the social welfare arm of the Jordanian Brotherhood, was spared.

The U.S. Should Target the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood’s Full Network, Including Charities, Companies, and Individuals

Following the United States’ designation of the Jordanian Brotherhood, any charity, company, or individual faces the risk of designation by the Treasury if it provides material support to the organization, particularly through financial assistance or fundraising. Charities, companies, or individuals acting on the Jordanian Brotherhood’s behalf, including by serving as a representative, should also be targeted alongside those it directly owns or controls.  

Ahmad Sharawi is a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). For more analysis from Ahmad and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow Ahmad on X @AhmadA_Sharawi. Follow FDD on X @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.