Climate of change in Jordan’s islamist movement

The climate of political change heralded by the democratization process has not improved the political fortunes of the Jordanian Islamist movement. As some Islamist groups in Jordan became fully entrenched in the system and new oppositional groups emerged, the balance of power within Jordan's Islamist movement changed. Mohammad's Army was formed in Jordan by Afghan returnee Samih Abu Zaydan, a former disillusioned member of the Muslim Brotherhood. The idea for the organization emerged during a meeting between Zaydan and the Palestinian Islamic activist Abdullah Azzam while they were both serving in the Arab brigades in Afghanistan. The events of 1992 and trials, as well as the prospect of a forthcoming election in 1993, had a tremendous impact on the Jordanian Islamist movement. The trials sent a message to the "independents" that they would be tolerated only if they worked within the framework laid out by the palace and that the palace would dictate the pace of reform and change..