Islamic Action Front
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| Islamic Action Front | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Hamza Mansour Hamam Saeed |
| Founded | 1992 |
| Headquarters | Amman, Jordan  |
| Ideology | Islamism Conservatism |
| Political position | Right-wing Far-right |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
| International affiliation | Muslim Brotherhood |
| Colours | Green |
| Chamber of Deputies |
0 / 150
|
| Senate |
0 / 75
|
| Website | |
| IAF official website | |
| Politics of Jordan Political parties Elections |
|
The Islamic Action Front (IAF) (Jabhat al-'Amal al-Islami, Arabic: جبهة العمل الإسلامي) is an Islamist political party in Jordan. It is the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan.
Founded in 1992 with 350 members, Engineer Ahmed Azaida, Dr. Is'haq Farhan and Dr. Abdul Latif Arabiyat were the main force behind the formation.[1]
Sheikh Hamza Mansour is the chief of the IAF and has declared the organization's intentions as wanting "to be treated as free men" and as wanting "relations with the US based on mutual respect", while questioning US Administration's motives in the Middle-East and around the World.[2]
History
The IAF is known for its support for the Palestinians against the Israelis and defends Hamas, the Palestinian and military branch of the Muslim Brotherhood which has been banned in Jordan since 1999 for "disrupting" Jordan's peace treaty with Israel, and their resistance against Israeli sieges on Gaza. They support the Palestinian cause and oppose bilateral ties with Israel. In 1997, three years after Jordan's peace accord with Israel, IAF boycotted Parliamentary elections, citing manipulation by the government.[citation needed][3]
At the legislative elections, 17 June 2003, the party won 20 out of 84 seats. All other seats were won by non-partisans. The National Democratic Block did not win any seats.
During the August 2007 municipal elections, IAF withdrew their 25 candidates up for election, accusing 'the authorities of manipulating votes cast by military personnel who were taking part in municipal elections for the first time.[4]
The voter turnout for the election was a record-low 51%, but IAF still won four contests, including two mayorships.[citation needed]
Four months later, the IAF fielded 22 candidates for the Jordanian national elections held on November 20, 2007. Of its 22 candidates, only six won parliamentary seats in the elections, marking the lowest showing of the Islamist party since the resumption of parliamentary life in Jordan in 1989.
The IAF attributed its loss to the government overlooking illegal practices such as vote buying, the transfer of large amounts of votes, and inserting large amounts of voting cards in ballot boxes[5] Nevertheless, a few days after the election, the Muslim Brotherhood (the social organization that informs the IAF’s platform and whose political branch the IAF is considered to be) dissolved its Shura Council and started preparing for internal elections to take place within 6 months.
In 2009, the deputy secretary of the party declared that the Pope was not welcome in the kingdom, after plans were announced for Pope Benedict XVI to visit the country.[6]
In 2015, the IAF was split between reformists and non-reformists, resulting in the party terminating the membership of 7 members: Abdul Majeed Thneibat, Qassem Taamneh, Mamdouh Muheisen, Khalil Askar, Ali Tarawneh, Jaber Abul Hija and Mohammad Qaramseh.[7] As a result, they formed the new Muslim Brotherhood Society, who will join the National Initiative for Building (Zamzam).
In December 2015 around 400 membes resigned from the IAF, including Hamzeh Mansour, a former Secretary-General of the organisation.[8]
Ideology
The Islamic Action Front is more liberal than Islamist parties in some other countries. For example, they recognize democracy, pluralism, tolerance of other religions, and women's rights as key to Jordan's development process and they do not support extreme revolutionary movements or any kind of Muslim extremism and brutality groups such as ISIS. The IAF's support base is primarily Palestinians residing in Jordan. Most of members of IAF are of Palestinian origin. The IAF act as the conservative element in Jordan's Parliament representing the traditional segment of society.
The IAF is mostly known for leading rebellions and organizing protests and rallies against the Jordanian government, under the leadership of King Abdullah II, who they accuse of supporting Israel and their hypocrisy towards the Palestinian people, and corrupting and damaging the country with abuse of power, regressive taxes, and police brutality.
The IAF's survival in Jordan is primarily due to its flexibility and less radical approach to politics.
Ibrahim Zeid Keilani, a former Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, served for a long time as the head of the Sharia Ulema Committee of the party.[9]
Within the IAF Abu Zant called himself the leader of the most radical section of the party.[10] He had a sizeable group of followers.[11]
See also
References
- ↑ Jordan's Islamic Front rallies Muslims
- ↑ Jordan's Islamic Front rallies Muslims
- ↑ Jillian Schwedler, Faith in Moderation: Islamist Parties in Jordan and Yemen. Cambridge 2006.
- ↑ Jordan: Islamic opposition urges king to cancel municipal elections results
- ↑ Jabha.net (Arabic).
- ↑ Islamists To Pope: Define Your Position on Islam, Peace
- ↑ http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/members-new-muslim-brotherhood-society-join-planned-zamzam-political-party%E2%80%99
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