A fight in parliament

A fight broke out in parliament yesterday between the chair of the IAF parliamentary block (Azzam Huneidi) and the chair of the left leaning Democratic Grouping (Mamdouh Abbadi). This came after the spokesman of the DG, Raed Hijjazin, gave a speech criticizing the general secretary of the Muslim Brotherhood, Abdulmajid Dhuneibat, who had called on the Syrian government to allow democratic reform.

Hijazin's criticism was that Dhuneibat's statement was interference in the internal affairs of Syria. IAF members responded furiously, with Mohammad Abu Fares saying "It is unfortunate that a deputy would attack the Muslim brotherhood, given that it is known who he is and what his affiliation is". Basically, Abu Fares was saying that Hijjazin had no right to criticize the MB because he is Christian. The sentence carries the implication that Christians are less loyal than Muslims. I am sure I will have to wait a long time before I hear an IAF apology to Jordanian Christians for this insult.

Hijjazin is probably the closest Christian in the Jordanian parliament to IAF causes. In his speech in the confidence discussions, he stated that "any compass that does not point to Jerusalem is a treacherous compass", thus criticizing the government for not taking upon itself the liberation of Jerusalem. More interestingly, he voted against the Civil Affairs law that would have given women the right to initiate a divorce (the so-called khulu' law). At the time, he said that the law was designed for "west Amman" women.

The Islamists still haven't gotten their story straight about what they want about Syria. Dhuneibat has stated that the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood should cooperate with Abdulhalim Khaddam to topple the Syrian regime, and the head of the IAF, Hamzeh Mansour saying that the Syrian MB should have nothing to do with Khaddam. So, it is surprising given these disagreements that they would be so sensitive to criticism, calling on the speaker of the house to silence Hijjazin and initiating a shouting match in the corridors of the parliament, complete with vulgar insults. This lashing out has certainly brought the more disturbing characteristics of the IAF to the forefront, showing intolerance to Christians as well as to anybody who dares to criticize them.

Musa Wahsh, another IAF member, suggests that Hijjazin's statement might have been brought about by the refusal of IAF members to vote for him to chair the public freedom's committee of the house. I wonder if he believes in the public freedoms of west Amman women. Another suggested cause is a problem between Abu Fares and Hijjazin, which was covered up "to close a wide gate of sectarian and religious polarization if it were to become known and published". Sounds interesting.