Marginalising moderates in Jordan’s fight against ‘Islamic State’

Marginalising moderates in Jordan’s fight against ‘Islamic State’
Poverty and political isolation in the kingdom may act as recruiting tools for the armed group.
3 min read
03 July, 2014
Jordanian politicians have their work cut out [Getty]

Jordanians are justifiably worried about the country’s future, especially after the Islamic State group (formerly known as ISIS) declared it should be part of its caliphate-state. These concerns are exacerbated by high number of IS followers inside the kingdom, estimated by security services to be in the tens of thousands.

 

Support for the armed group was visible at the end of June when its followers marched on the streets of the southern city of Maan. The city is known for tense relations with the government, which views it as the primary stronghold for the jihadi-Salafi movement.

 

Some politicians argue that this threat is exacerbated by economic and political marginalisation across the kingdom, and high poverty levels may increase support for any domestic cells to develop.

 

     Some argue that this threat is exacerbated by economic and political marginalisation

More moderate groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood say they feel excluded from the political scene, with leaders warning that marginalising “moderate forces” would encourage extremism.  

 

Frustration

 

Anger about the situation was apparent during a tour of government officials and journalists to the Jordanian-Iraqi border to examine Jordan’s efforts to reinforce the area in case of an Islamic State group invasion. In the city of Safawi, 190 km from the border, a group of unemployed youths were asked if they were worried about the rise of the armed group. One answered: “If IS gives me a job, [they’d be] welcome!” This shows the extent of people’s frustration.

 

Jordan’s interior minister, General Hussein al-Majali, reportedly said in a closed meeting with House of Representatives members that preparations made by Jordanian border guards - armed to the teeth with tanks, rocket launchers and helicopters - are unnecessary because IS was not a threat to Jordan.

 

The general said soldiers were being deployed to intimidate anyone threatening Jordan. One parliamentarian reportedly asked: “Does an organisation that is not a threat need to be sent such a strong message?”

 

A military official argued that cross-border terrorism was the biggest threat to the world:  “No threat, however remote, should be downplayed.”

 

Balance

 

Analyst Marwan Shehade criticised both those sensationalising and those downplaying the importance of IS, and said the group needed to be dealt with in a balanced way. He argued that the group operates in areas of poor security, and that Jordan’s highly efficient military and security apparatus do not offer the group a welcoming environment. However, he said that insecurity could increase if Jordan were to support the outgoing Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, which may lead IS to retaliate with suicide bombings in Jordan.

     Jordanian political groups support the government’s hostility to the Islamic State group.

Jordanian political groups, including the opposition, support the government’s hostility to IS. Leaders of the Salafi movement have criticised IS and called its members “infidels”. Even Issam al-Barqawi, also known as Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, and Omar Mahmoud Othman, also known as Abu Qatada, have joined in the condemnation. Not all Salafis agree with their leaders’ position, however.

 

The threat posed by the Islamic State group looks like a double-edged sword. The state may find it useful to silence the group’s supporters by stoking popular fears - echoing the way it represented events in Syria to silence those demanding domestic reform. The political opposition may also find the threat of IS a useful way to demonstrate the risk of excluding moderate forces from the political process. The treatment of the Islamic State group has become a political game, being played out upon the shifting sands of the Jordanian kingdom.

                                      

This article is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.