The Secretary-General of the World Moderation Forum, Marwan Al-Fawri, advised the leaders of the Jordanian Nation Party, calling on them to leave positions in the front ranks for a new generation that interacts with developments and changes.
Although he clarified that his advice was not conveying a message from any particular entity, his remarks opened the door to interpretations. The alignments witnessed in the party's Shura Council elections throughout the past month at the branch level demonstrated a renewed commitment to the principle of "internal consultation" and democratic foundations, amidst a sense that influential leaders remain at the forefront and retain a share in internal decision-making. The allocation of Shura Council seats implicitly suggests continued competition and the efforts of a powerful faction within the Islamist movement to exercise its right to internal elections, which would ultimately lead to its control over the party's institutions.
The question of legal coexistence
The results and repercussions of the first internal and formal elections held after the renaming of the Umma Party and the amendment of its constitution may prove to be a crucial juncture in determining whether the Islamists have moved beyond the stage of the group's ban and the party's name change, and have begun to coexist with the new legal status. This will become clear after the elections conclude late on the evening of the 29th of this month.
It should be noted that there is no evidence or indication that the internal elections, after the completion of the Shura Council members and the selection of the Executive Office and the Secretary-General, can settle on a moderate leadership structure that reduces tension between the state, official institutions and the Islamic movement.
What is complicated, according to sources within the party, is convincing members of the group that was legally and officially banned to register themselves in the party's records on the basis that the group has become a thing of the past. This is considered a fundamental challenge.
Some moderate leaders within the movement believe that the party is capable of completing its integration and transformation, moving away from the ideology of the banned group.
While some moderate leaders of the movement believe that the party is capable of completing the merger and transformation, moving away from the literature of the banned group, the old guard in the Islamist movement argues that it is committed to practicing democracy in internal elections, and that it has the right to obtain seats in the Shura Council, and that the party’s secretariat and executive office represent its size within the structure of the General Conference.
The opposing side, the moderates and those aligned with the path of legalizing the party, believe that the symbols of the traditional current, under whose rule the group was originally banned, should step down from leading positions and leave the party and its institutions free from control and domination, until a new and alternative leadership succeeds in programming party institutions that preserve what remains of the Islamic movement.
Two logics and polarizations
Between the two logics and the two discourses, there are dozens of confused voices in the party’s general conference, and symbols and leaders are subject to polarization and attraction after the saying of the hawks and doves dichotomy disappeared to low levels and was replaced by polarizing perceptions between two wings, the first of which is led by conservatives affiliated with the banned group, and the second of which is led by pragmatists who believe in opening a new page and working to direct the state’s messages to reduce the severity of the dispute, conflict and crisis.
While the focus is on the identity of the new Secretary-General, as names, their connotations, and their symbolism in the Jordanian political scene are not to be underestimated, Al-Fawri’s advice stands out in the context of the need to avoid choosing leading figures who are unable to coexist with institutions and who bring back frustration and crisis.
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