Unlicensed Brotherhood weighing options over asset transfer ruling

AMMAN — The unlicensed Muslim Brotherhood group is studying legal options to adopt when its assets are officially transferred to the new “licensed” Muslim Brotherhood Society.

The Legislation and Opinion Bureau on Thursday issued a legal ruling allowing the transfer of the assets of the group to the society.

The ruling, according to the bureau’s director, Nofan Ajarmeh, was issued based on a request received from the Department of Lands and Survey (DLS).

Muath Khawaldeh, the unlicensed group’s spokesperson, charged that the decision is “political” not “legal” and is supported by the government, which he claimed is “dominating the judicial system”.

He noted that the ruling is not a “legal verdict”, but “we will wait before taking the next move.”

According to Khawaldeh, although the group’s assets do not have a registration number at the DLS, the ownership was approved by the Prime Ministry.

“We have the documents proving that,” Khawaldeh told The Jordan Times over the phone.

The crisis of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan started when a group of reformists re-registered the movement as a Jordanian association, since it has been affiliated with its mother group in Egypt.

Following the move, led by Abdul Majeed Thneibat, who is the overall leader of the newly registered society, a request was sent to the DLS to seize all assets owned by the older group.