King Abdullah of Jordan is facing calls for political changes within society alongside other important areas. However, despite political and religious opposition to the status quo in Jordan this nation continues to maintain law and order. Therefore, the demonstration today will be watched carefully within Jordan and internationally. The Muslim Brotherhood is the main force behind the expected huge demonstration. This is being managed by the political wing of this organization which is called the Islamic Action Front. Yet clearly this is a gamble by opposition forces because sentiments are divided in this country. This especially applies to the loyalty angle within the majority of the native Jordanian community which views King Abdullah to be the common thread. Last month King Abdullah told AFP that “As constitutional monarch, my mandate is to be the umbrella for all political groupings and all segments of our society, and as part of that responsibility, I am telling the Muslim Brotherhood that they are making a tremendous miscalculation.” King Abdullah stated this after the Muslim Brotherhood stated that they would not partake in elections unless major reforms were implemented. One of the main areas of contention is the fact that the Muslim Brotherhood insists that the prime minister must be elected and not appointed by the ruling monarch. Other issues related to corruption and the need to speed up political reforms – are also causing rifts between supporters of King Abdullah and a wide array of opposition. The current events led to parliament being dissolved alongside the promise of elections in the very near future. No specific date was announced by King Abdullah who decided to dissolve parliament in order to tackle the growing political problems in Jordan. Zaki Bani Arshid, political bureau of the Muslim Brotherhood in Amman, stated that “In particular we demand certain amendments to the constitution which lead to the formation of a parliamentary government.” The Muslim Brotherhood is also hoping for greater political representation in Jordan based on their political powerbase. Also, with the growing rise of Islamist based politics in Egypt and Tunisia, then this organization clearly believes that the time is right to challenge the status quo. According to the Muslim Brotherhood they are expecting 50,000 people to demonstrate and this demonstration also represents other political organizations. It could be that this number is being underplayed in order to claim success if the figure is much higher. King Abdullah wisely cancelled a counter-demonstration which was expected to muster at least 200,000 people. However, King Abdullah fully understands the need to not allow “a spark” to ignite the passions of many opposition figures. Another major bone of contention is the ethnic angle whereby Jordanians of Palestinian backgrounds are marginalized in favor of native Jordanians. The vast majority of native Jordanians support King Abdullah but clearly you have divisions within both groups when it comes to political reforms. The Jordanian Minister of Information, Samih Me’aitah, is clearly unhappy about the behavior of the Muslim Brotherhood. He commented that “How could the Brotherhood demand amending the constitution and changing the regime structure without even taking part in the coming elections?” It is hoped that the demonstration will pass peacefully and that all major players can solve the many areas of discontent. The last thing the region needs is another “hotspot.” leejay@moderntokyotimes.com http://moderntokyotimes.com