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Jordan's Brotherhood bets on economic plan to improve its image

The Islamic Action Front has begun an economic plan for Jordan, potentially heralding a shift in strategy away from political reforms and more on public policy.

Women stand in front of a poster depicting al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock during a protest organised by the Jordanian Islamic Action Front in Swaymeh, at the Dead Sea area near the border between Jordan and Israel June 6, 2014. The protest is part of the Global March to Jerusalem initiative, marking the 47th anniversary of Israel's capture of East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war. REUTERS/Majed Jaber (JORDAN  - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST ANNIVERSARY) - RTR3SK3K
Women stand in front of a poster depicting Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock during a protest organized by the Jordanian Islamic Action Front in Swaymeh, at the Dead Sea area near the border between Jordan and Israel, June 6, 2014. — REUTERS/Majed Jaber

AMMAN, Jordan — On July 6, the Islamic Action Front (IAF), the Muslim Brotherhood’s political arm in Jordan, held elections for its Shura Council. The recent vote for the party’s main legislative body received wide coverage, a product of the well-known disagreements between self-described “hawks” and “doves” within the IAF. Less newsworthy but potentially more significant was a July 2 news conference announcing the party’s economic blueprint for Jordan, which Al-Monitor attended. It was the most extensive policy proposal put forward by the Ikhwan since the early 1990s.

Prepared over a two-year period, the plan is part of a broader overhaul of the IAF’s image. Although full details will be released before the next parliamentary elections as part of an overarching policy document titled “The Jordan of Tomorrow,” the timing of the announcement offers some insight into the IAF’s current predicament.

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