Khetam Malkawi, The Jordan Times

AMMAN — The marginalisation of the Muslim Brotherhood in the region is part of a “conspiracy”, but it will not have an impact on the movement in Jordan, one of its leaders said on Thursday.

“It is obvious that there is a plan to marginalise and destroy the movement in the region, and what is currently taking place in Egypt, Syria and Tunisia proves this,” claimed Hamzah Mansour, the secretary general of the Islamic Action Front (IAF), the political wing of the Brotherhood.

Last week, Egypt’s interim government declared the Brotherhood a “terrorist” group, banning all its activities, including demonstrations.

The announcement came following an explosion at a police headquarters in Mansoura last Tuesday, where at least 15 people were killed and 130 injured.

Brotherhood-led Tunisia has also been seeing instability and violence since the revolution in 2010.

While in Turkey, the Islamist government is going through a crisis after a corruption probe that has targeted several of its key allies.

However, in Jordan the situation is different, according to Mansour.

“What is happening in the region against the movement might not have an impact on us here,” he said in a telephone interview with The Jordan Times.

In Jordan, “I believe that the regime realises the role of the movement in the reform process and the importance of social unity,” Mansour noted, adding that “the regime has been dealing with the Islamist movement objectively.”

“I hope there won’t be any similar stance against the movement in Jordan like in Egypt.”

He said the movement in Egypt had been banned until the year 2011, and it is still banned in Syria, but there has never been in such a situation in Jordan.

The Islamist leader, who noted that there have been no recent meetings between the Muslim Brotherhood and its political wing with the government, said: “We need to have deliberations with the government for the benefit of the country.”

“Having discussions with the government will strengthen the stability and security of Jordan and help us avoid any potential threat,” Mansour said, adding that the IAF is “engaged in a dialogue with the government”.

Meanwhile — and regardless of the stance of the movement in Egypt — the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan will not change its tone and will continue calling for reform, the IAF leader said, noting that “our demands are national ones.”

“Our major demand is changing the Elections Law, and this has been what we have called for since 1989,” Mansour said.

Jordan has drafted several elections laws in the past decade, with the current version in effect since 2012.

The Brotherhood also calls for a parliamentary government, which is also part of the reform agenda.

“His Majesty King Abdullah is also talking about parliamentary governments and is a supporter of this reform step,” the Islamist leader said, arguing that the movement in Jordan is “moderate and popular”, which will help protect its presence in the Kingdom.

Ibrahim Jazi, a former minister of justice and an expert in international law, said in Jordan “there has always been a large margin of tolerance, and the Muslim Brotherhood movement is one of the backbones of the regime.”