Jordan’s Crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood Is Far From Over

Jordanian authorities are tightening the screws on the country’s branch of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.

On October 25, a Jordanian court sentenced seven Brotherhood leaders and members to prison terms ranging from six months to three years in a case involving illegal fundraising and money laundering. Among those convicted was the Brotherhood’s former leader, Murad al-Adaileh, who received a six-month sentence for illegally collecting donations. Five others, including the group’s financial chief, Ahmad al-Zarqan, received three-year sentences for violating laws against money laundering and illegally collecting donations.

The convictions mark the latest development in Amman’s crackdown on the Brotherhood, which intensified after authorities uncovered a plot in April 2025 involving the manufacture of rockets and drones and the recruitment of operatives to carry out attacks inside Jordan.

The government later began to enforce a ban on the organization that had been on the books since a 2020 court ruling dissolved it. The convictions and investigations represent important steps in dismantling the Brotherhood’s operations in Jordan. However, the Brotherhood’s influence extends beyond these networks, with elements of its political infrastructure and affiliated charities remaining active in Jordan.

The Jordanian Brotherhood’s Illicit Financial Networks

The court ruling followed an investigation that revealed that the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood had collected more than $40 million through donations, investments, and other activities, including fundraising ostensibly to support Palestinians in Gaza. According to Jordanian authorities, only about 1 percent of the funds went to humanitarian causes. Investigators alleged the money also financed political and electoral campaigns, paid affiliated politicians, and bought properties abroad.

The Brotherhood’s financial connections had extended beyond Jordan through international charitable networks associated with Hamas. The Green Crescent Charity — one of the organizations Jordanian prosecutors referred to in July 2025, and which remains active — was cofounded by senior Brotherhood figures with past ties to U.S.-sanctioned organizations. Among them was former parliamentarian Saud Abu Mahfouz, who served on the board of the Al-Quds International Foundation, an organization designated by Treasury for acting on behalf of Hamas. Another founder Saad al-Din-al-Zamili, was identified in a 2009 investigation as a trustee of the Union of Good, an international charitable coalition sanctioned by Washington for facilitating money transfers to Hamas-controlled organizations.

Wael al-Saqa, the former leader of the Islamic Action Front, the MB’s political wing, later rebranded as the Ummah Party, previously headed the Arab International Commission for Reconstruction in Gaza according to a report. The commission’s board included Osama al-Issawi, a former minister in Hamas’ Gaza government who also helped establish an Italy-based charity subsequently sanctioned by the United States.

Elements of the Brotherhood’s Political Infrastructure Remain Active

Despite the ban, the Brotherhood’s political infrastructure continues to operate in Jordan. Its political wing, rebranded as the Ummah Party, remains legally registered. Yet the name change has done little to separate the party’s leadership from the banned organization. In September, the party elected Muath al-Khawaldeh, a longtime Brotherhood spokesperson and former executive council member, as its secretary-general. That same month, the party elected several Brotherhood officials to its Shura Council, including former Brotherhood Shura Council chairman Hamza Mansour, former deputy leader Jamil Abu Baker, executive council member Mustafa Saqer, and Aref Hamdan, who is one of the five Brotherhood figures sentenced to three years in prison on October 25.

U.S. Should Investigate the Brotherhood’s Affiliated Organizations and Financial Facilitators

Washington should continue investigating the relationships between the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood and its affiliated organizations to determine whether operational or financial ties persist, as well as whether these entities act on the Brotherhood’s behalf.

Several charitable organizations with historic ties to Hamas, such as Green Crescent, remain undesignated by the U.S. Treasury and warrant further scrutiny. In that light, the U.S. should probe the relationship between the Ummah Party and the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood, examining whether individuals hold positions in both organizations, whether Brotherhood officials direct or influence the party’s decisions, and whether party funds are used to provide material support to the designated Brotherhood organization.

 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 FDD on X @FDD. Follow Ahmad on X @AhmadA_Sharawi. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.