Jordan accused the Muslim Brotherhood of planning attacks in the country and introduced a blanket ban against the group on Wednesday, in a move that could shutter the nation’s largest opposition party, the Islamic Action Front, the group’s political arm in Jordan.

The Islamic Action Front won a foothold in Parliament last year after campaigning against the Israeli invasion of Gaza.

Here’s more about the Muslim Brotherhood and its reach across the Middle East.

What is the Muslim Brotherhood?

The Muslim Brotherhood is a Sunni Islamist movement founded in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna, a schoolteacher in Egypt, who argued that a religious renewal would help the Muslim world fend off colonialism and Western influence.

He was sometimes contradictory about the group’s focus and avoided defining what an Islamic government would look like. Mr. al-Banna was assassinated in 1949 at the age of 43.

The group’s doctrine, nonetheless, spread across the region, where many political movements, which operate loosely and independently, trace their roots to the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.

Some related groups use the Muslim Brotherhood in their names, but others do not. Similarly, some groups are explicitly linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, while others are offshoots or descendants.