AMMAN -- The Shura Council of the Islamic Action Front (IAF) party, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, on Saturday elected a new secretary general for the party and other senior members, mostly moderates.
Zaki Saad Bani Rsheid was elected, uncontested, as secretary general for a four-year term, replacing Hamzeh Mansour, who was elected as president of the Shura Council. MP Zuheir Abul Ragheb was elected as his deputy. Both were also the sole candidates for their respective posts.
Meanwhile, the Shura Council elected members of the IAF Executive Bureau, which is now dominated by moderates. The new bureau includes Nimr Assaf, Irheil Gharaibeh, Moussa Hantash, Nabil Kofahi, Mohammad Bzour, Ziad Khalifa, Hikmat Rawashdeh and Ahmad Zarqan.
The new secretary general told Al Rai and The Jordan Times that " in the coming stage the party will focus on political reform in the country," noting that the IAF sees itself as "an opposition party that seeks to develop political action towards achieving political development."
The IAF, he continued, will work to expand its grassroots' support and enlarge its membership base.
Bani Rsheid said "the Islamic movement" places domestic concerns on top of its agenda, stressing that "we are trying to fulfil our duties towards Jordanians."
On the nature of the IAF's relationship with the government, he said: "We are an opposition party concerned with reform and change. We will oppose wrong policies but in a positive way... Our relationship with the government will undergo no radical changes..."
Analysts noted that the majority of IAF leaders are from the second generation of the Islamic movement, or the so-called young generation, who belong to the party's centrist wing. Meanwhile, the presence of hardliners in senior positions has declined. Zarqan, the new Executive Bureau member, is the only leader who represents the right wingers in the leadership now.
It was also noticed that hardliners did not nominate themselves as candidates for top posts, leaving the field vacant for moderates.
A senior leader in the party, who preferred to remain unnamed, said the new IAF leadership's positions will be compatible with those of the parent organisation, the Muslim Brotherhood, because leaders of the two entities "belong to the same current within the movement." Another leading Islamist said the Brotherhood's leadership, in fact, supported the election of the new IAF leaders.
The 120-member Shura Council also elected the IAF's supreme court members, headed by Ibrahim Maani and a central court presided over by Hani Tahrawi.
On March 3, the Brotherhood chose Salem Falahat as its new leader, replacing Abdul Majid Thneibat.
The IAF holds 17 of the 110 Lower House seats.
By Majid Amir
© Jordan Times 2006
