The Role of the Moderate Islamic Opposition in the Political Development of Arab Monarchies

The current study aims to determine the role of the moderate Islamic opposition in the political development of the monarchies of Jordan and Morocco. The author concludes that this wing of the opposition is an active link between the citizens of the two countries and the royal families because of the following features: during the events of the Arab Spring in the two monarchies this wing of opposition was that leader - initiator of liberal reforms also because it linked the solution of economic and social problems with Islamic justice and thereby gained support among religious and politicized population. Moreover, it comes against the pro-Western policy of both Palaces and their focus on cooperation with Israel, which the citizens do not support. On the other hand, the moderate Islamists do not dispute the legitimacy of the Hashemite dynasty and do not encourage the idea to overthrow the regime with the help of violent methods. At present, the next correlation can be noticed. The strength of the Moroccan Islamic opposition correlates with the improvement in the democratization index of the country, while disconnection of the Jordanian Islamic opposition comes along with the stagnation of political development in the country. Thus, the importance of the moderate Islamic opposition in the process of liberalization in these two monarchies can be defined as a certain one.