IAF revisits two dismissals that sparked mass resignations

AMMAN — The Islamic Action Front (IAF) on Wednesday revisited an earlier decision to dismiss two of its members who are affiliated with the “Group of Elders” breakaway faction.

In December last year, the IAF, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood group, dismissed Ghaith Qudah and Saed Athem, without prior notice or explanation.

Qudah and Athem issued a joint statement slamming the IAF for the “arbitrary” decision. 

Qudah was not available for comment despite several attempts to contact him regarding how he and his colleague will respond to the move taken by the IAF to revisit their dismissal.

However, Khaled Hasanain, the Group of Elders’ spokesperson, said his group welcomes this decision as the dismissal was arbitrary.

The dismissal of the two members was followed by a mass resignation of 400 others who are also members of the Group of Elders, a faction of defectors calling for reforms within the party.

Their resignations were rejected by the IAF last month.

Although, in a previous statement, Hasanain described the mass departures as “final”, the Group of Elders has changed its position and welcomed the IAF’s rejection of the departures.

“We might consider withdrawing these resignations, if the party is willing to have a comprehensive discussion,” Hasanain told The Jordan Times on Wednesday.

He added that “when the resignations were submitted, the issue was serious… but if there is going to be a call for debate by the IAF, the resignations will be withdrawn.”

IAF Spokesperson Murad Adaileh was not available for comment despite several attempts by The Jordan Times to contact him.

Earlier this month, the Muslim Brotherhood modified its by-law, ending its affiliation with the mother group in Cairo.

A group of reformists led by Abdul Majid Thneibat have already re-registered Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood movement as a Jordanian society, severing its affiliation with its mother group in Egypt.

The move created a rift within the Islamist movement, with members of the old group accusing the new society of working with the government, but officials have stressed that the decision is purely organisational and has nothing to do with politics.