Brotherhood launches mediation to heal ‘Zamzam’ rift

AMMAN — The Muslim Brotherhood’s shura council on Saturday moved to form a committee to reach out to three recently expelled members to heal a growing rift threatening to divide the country’s largest opposition group.

The council tasked former MP and senator Abdul Latif Arabiyat to reach out to Rheil Gharaibeh, Jamal Dheisat and Nabil Kofahi, who were expelled under an internal court decision for their involvement in the establishment of the National Building Initiative (Zamzam).

According to Brotherhood sources, the mediation team will be given a one-month period to reach an “understanding” with the expelled members in order to reincorporate them into the movement.

The move comes as the latest step by the Brotherhood’s conservative leadership to contain a crisis that has seen a rising number of prominent Islamists calling for the dissolution of the movement’s governing bodies.

In an emergency summit last week, the shura council moved to reform the Brotherhood’s internal court and its decision to expel the three members was “suspended”, according to sources.

Also last week, the Brotherhood’s northern branch called for a general conference later this month to “reform” the movement’s conservative-dominated leadership and dissolve its executive office.