The Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan subsequently decided to cut ties to the regional movement, hoping to lure back some of those who had left. Many of them had already joined the Muslim Brotherhood Society, however, and many said it was too late to go back.

The former deputy party leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan, Nimer Assaf, said by telephone that the closing of the headquarters was “a dangerous step, because this group was against terrorism and had been part of this country for a long time, and such actions drive people to extremism.”

The closing may be related to regional politics, said Oraib al-Rantawi, director of the Al Quds Center for Political Studies, but the government was mostly concerned with domestic matters. “Jordan joins other regional players,” he said, “but mostly the decision is an internal one with parliamentary elections approaching and the government feeling more like the group is not playing by the rules and registering legally.”

He added, “This will also impact the moderates and the doves within the group, and the hawks will say there is no diplomatic way to deal with this.”