Jordan arrests eight Evangelists
Eight people have been arrested in Jordan for propagating the Christian faith, according to a Saudi newspaper.
Jordanian security forces arrested eight people, mostly foreigners, after they were caught distributing missionary material to Bedouin families north and east of the Jordanian capital, Amman, the Saudi daily Al-Watan reported.
The authorities received information about the missionaries from local residents who said these foreigners were offering humanitarian assistance to poor Muslim families and distributing fliers promoting Christianity.
Sources said they were "enticing" impoverished youngsters by paying them money and calling on them to marry foreign girls.
...
The Jordanian government prohibits conversion from Islam and the proselytizing of Muslims. The Shari'a courts have the authority to prosecute people trying to convert Muslims, according to the United States State Department's annual report on religious freedom.
Muslims in Jordan who convert to another religion face social and governmental discrimination, the report said.
Pertinent Links:
1) Jordan arrests eight Evangelists
Showing posts with label jordan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jordan. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Friday, February 08, 2008
DAR AL ISLAM - JORDAN: AUTHORITIES IN THE 'MODERATE' MOSLEM NATION OF JORDAN CLOSES CHRISTIAN CHURCH - HOW MANY MORE WILL FOLLOW?!?
Jordan Increases Pressure On Christians; Closing Church
Jordan has closed down an evangelical church after expelling many devoted Christians from the country, an influential mission group said Thursday, February 7.
Arab World Ministries (AWM) told BosNewsLife and its partner news Website www.manna-vandaag.nl that Jordanian authorities sealed off an evangelical church in the port city of Aqaba, leaving a note saying, "The church should be closed and the furniture removed, within 24 hours."
It comes just months after another church was closed by officials in the Jordan Valley, a low-lying strip which cleaves down the western border of the country, AWM said in a statement from the Netherlands, where one of its global headquarters are located.
The group suggested there was a link between the closures of churches and complaints made by Coptic denominations in Jordan, who allegedly view evangelical churches as a threat.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Jordan Increases Pressure On Christians; Closing Church
Jordan has closed down an evangelical church after expelling many devoted Christians from the country, an influential mission group said Thursday, February 7.
Arab World Ministries (AWM) told BosNewsLife and its partner news Website www.manna-vandaag.nl that Jordanian authorities sealed off an evangelical church in the port city of Aqaba, leaving a note saying, "The church should be closed and the furniture removed, within 24 hours."
It comes just months after another church was closed by officials in the Jordan Valley, a low-lying strip which cleaves down the western border of the country, AWM said in a statement from the Netherlands, where one of its global headquarters are located.
The group suggested there was a link between the closures of churches and complaints made by Coptic denominations in Jordan, who allegedly view evangelical churches as a threat.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Jordan Increases Pressure On Christians; Closing Church
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
DAR AL HARB/ISLAM - U.S.A./JORDAN: OHHH THE INSANITY - - - U.S. TO HELP JORDAN DEVELOP NUCLEAR ENERGY
...
"U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman and Jordanian Minister for Scientific Research Khaled Toukan signed Sunday's memorandum of understanding on the sidelines of a nuclear energy summit in Vienna. Under the agreement, the two countries will work together to develop requirements for appropriate power reactors, fuel service arrangements, civilian training, nuclear safety, energy technology and other related areas, the U.S. Embassy said in a statement. Jordanian King Abdullah II announced his intention to develop a peaceful nuclear program in January, saying alternative energy sources were needed to generate electricity and desalinate water in the kingdom. ... Jordan's energy czar Khaled al-Shraydeh has said the country possesses the uranium needed to develop the program. The country is estimated to have 80,000 tons of uranium, and its phosphate reserves also contain some 100,000 tons of uranium."
...
Pertinent Links:
1) U.S. & Jordan Nuke Cooperation
"U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman and Jordanian Minister for Scientific Research Khaled Toukan signed Sunday's memorandum of understanding on the sidelines of a nuclear energy summit in Vienna. Under the agreement, the two countries will work together to develop requirements for appropriate power reactors, fuel service arrangements, civilian training, nuclear safety, energy technology and other related areas, the U.S. Embassy said in a statement. Jordanian King Abdullah II announced his intention to develop a peaceful nuclear program in January, saying alternative energy sources were needed to generate electricity and desalinate water in the kingdom. ... Jordan's energy czar Khaled al-Shraydeh has said the country possesses the uranium needed to develop the program. The country is estimated to have 80,000 tons of uranium, and its phosphate reserves also contain some 100,000 tons of uranium."
...
Pertinent Links:
1) U.S. & Jordan Nuke Cooperation
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
DAR AL ISLAM - JORDAN: CHRISTIANS ARE PRESONA NON GRATAS IN THE 'MODERATE' MOSLEM NATION OF JORDAN
AUTHORITIES EXPEL FOREIGN CHRISTIANS
Local believers fear kingdom’s traditional religious tolerance may be waning.
ISTANBUL, January 29 (Compass Direct News) – Jordan has increased pressure on foreign Christians living in the kingdom, expelling many long-time residents over the past 13 months in what local churches see as an attack on their legitimacy.
Authorities deported or refused residence permits to at least 27 expatriate Christian families and individuals in 2007, a number of them working with local churches or studying at a Christian seminary, Compass has confirmed.
In all but one case, officials refused to provide written explanations for the decisions. But many of those expelled told Compass that they had been questioned by intelligence officers regarding evangelism of Muslims.
“They said that I am a threat to Jordanian security and I am making the society unstable,” said Hannu Lahtinen, a Finnish pastor deported last month. “They have a thousand ways to say you are preaching the gospel.”
Though not illegal, Christian “public proselytism” of Muslims is against government policy, according to the U.S. State Department’s annual report on religious freedom in Jordan.
But a Jordanian spokesperson told Compass that the government only deported foreigners who had broken the law or had been dishonest in their application for residency.
“There have been incidents where individuals have violated the legal terms of their residence in the country or have deeply offended religious and public sensibilities, or both,” said the official, who requested his name be withheld.
According to pastors from Jordan’s five official evangelical churches, recognized by the government as “societies,” authorities have long provided a wide degree of freedom for religious minorities.
Christians, including Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox, make up 3 percent of Jordan’s population but hold almost 10 percent of the seats in parliament. Catholic and Orthodox churches have their own family court system.
Evangelicals, who number approximately 5,000, have fewer rights than the historical churches but are tax exempt and can sponsor residence permits for foreign clergy.
In July 2006, Jordan published the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in its official Gazette, giving the covenant, which protects freedom of religion, force of law.
Against this backdrop of apparent tolerance, local church leaders said that they felt threatened by the escalating crackdown on foreigners. Pastors from denominations affected by the deportations said that it appeared that the government was challenging the local church’s legitimacy.
“We are a legal entity, and many of these foreigners have been granted visas as clergy working in legal Jordanian churches,” Nazarene pastor Afeef Halasa said. “Suddenly kicking them out without giving a reason communicates that our churches are not legitimate.”
Christians from the United States, Europe, South Korea, Egypt, Sudan and Iraq were among those deported or refused visas in 2007.
Intelligence officers handcuffed and blindfolded Finnish pastor Lahtinen after detaining him at an Amman gas station last December 5. Police held the clergyman for two days and then deported him without an official explanation. Lahtinen’s wife and two young sons returned to Finland the following week.
One month later, upon official inquiry from the Finnish Foreign Ministry, Jordanian authorities provided a written explanation of the pastor’s deportation.
Lahtinen was accused of being a threat to the country’s social stability and illegally residing in the kingdom, and he was in personal danger, according to a letter from Jordan’s Foreign Ministry to the Finnish embassy, Finland’s Ambassador Pertti Harvola confirmed.
A Jordanian government spokesperson told Compass that officials had repeatedly warned Lahtinen about his “activity.”
“It was found that he had been residing here illegally, with no work nor residence permit,” said the official.
“They have never warned me,” said Lahtinen, who also said that before deportation police had interrogated him about whether he was holding religious meetings for Muslims in his home.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) AUTHORITIES EXPEL FOREIGN CHRISTIANS
Local believers fear kingdom’s traditional religious tolerance may be waning.
ISTANBUL, January 29 (Compass Direct News) – Jordan has increased pressure on foreign Christians living in the kingdom, expelling many long-time residents over the past 13 months in what local churches see as an attack on their legitimacy.
Authorities deported or refused residence permits to at least 27 expatriate Christian families and individuals in 2007, a number of them working with local churches or studying at a Christian seminary, Compass has confirmed.
In all but one case, officials refused to provide written explanations for the decisions. But many of those expelled told Compass that they had been questioned by intelligence officers regarding evangelism of Muslims.
“They said that I am a threat to Jordanian security and I am making the society unstable,” said Hannu Lahtinen, a Finnish pastor deported last month. “They have a thousand ways to say you are preaching the gospel.”
Though not illegal, Christian “public proselytism” of Muslims is against government policy, according to the U.S. State Department’s annual report on religious freedom in Jordan.
But a Jordanian spokesperson told Compass that the government only deported foreigners who had broken the law or had been dishonest in their application for residency.
“There have been incidents where individuals have violated the legal terms of their residence in the country or have deeply offended religious and public sensibilities, or both,” said the official, who requested his name be withheld.
According to pastors from Jordan’s five official evangelical churches, recognized by the government as “societies,” authorities have long provided a wide degree of freedom for religious minorities.
Christians, including Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox, make up 3 percent of Jordan’s population but hold almost 10 percent of the seats in parliament. Catholic and Orthodox churches have their own family court system.
Evangelicals, who number approximately 5,000, have fewer rights than the historical churches but are tax exempt and can sponsor residence permits for foreign clergy.
In July 2006, Jordan published the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in its official Gazette, giving the covenant, which protects freedom of religion, force of law.
Against this backdrop of apparent tolerance, local church leaders said that they felt threatened by the escalating crackdown on foreigners. Pastors from denominations affected by the deportations said that it appeared that the government was challenging the local church’s legitimacy.
“We are a legal entity, and many of these foreigners have been granted visas as clergy working in legal Jordanian churches,” Nazarene pastor Afeef Halasa said. “Suddenly kicking them out without giving a reason communicates that our churches are not legitimate.”
Christians from the United States, Europe, South Korea, Egypt, Sudan and Iraq were among those deported or refused visas in 2007.
Intelligence officers handcuffed and blindfolded Finnish pastor Lahtinen after detaining him at an Amman gas station last December 5. Police held the clergyman for two days and then deported him without an official explanation. Lahtinen’s wife and two young sons returned to Finland the following week.
One month later, upon official inquiry from the Finnish Foreign Ministry, Jordanian authorities provided a written explanation of the pastor’s deportation.
Lahtinen was accused of being a threat to the country’s social stability and illegally residing in the kingdom, and he was in personal danger, according to a letter from Jordan’s Foreign Ministry to the Finnish embassy, Finland’s Ambassador Pertti Harvola confirmed.
A Jordanian government spokesperson told Compass that officials had repeatedly warned Lahtinen about his “activity.”
“It was found that he had been residing here illegally, with no work nor residence permit,” said the official.
“They have never warned me,” said Lahtinen, who also said that before deportation police had interrogated him about whether he was holding religious meetings for Muslims in his home.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) AUTHORITIES EXPEL FOREIGN CHRISTIANS
Monday, January 28, 2008
DAR AL HARB/ISLAM - U.S.A./LEBANON/JORDAN: IT'S ALL AMERICAS FAULT
Jordan Islamists: US responsible for bloody downturn in Lebanon
Amman - Jordan's largest political party, the Islamic Action Front (IAF), on Monday held the United States 'responsible' for Sunday's deterioration in the Lebanese crisis when at least nine people were killed in protests over power cuts.
'Those who came from oversees should bear a great responsibility for what is happening in Lebanon,' the IAF said in a statement.
It contended that the 'anarchy and vacuum experienced by Lebanon at the time being' was a product of US President George W Bush's policies which was meeting 'failure' not only in Lebanon but also in Iraq, Palestine, Afghanistan.
...
It appears in the mind of moslems around the world the United States is just as powerful as GOD, we might as well just act like it & smite them...
At least we should have done something to have been on the receiving end of the blame...
Appeasing doesn't seem to work, perhaps smiting will...
Pertinent Links:
1) Jordan Islamists: US responsible for bloody downturn in Lebanon
Amman - Jordan's largest political party, the Islamic Action Front (IAF), on Monday held the United States 'responsible' for Sunday's deterioration in the Lebanese crisis when at least nine people were killed in protests over power cuts.
'Those who came from oversees should bear a great responsibility for what is happening in Lebanon,' the IAF said in a statement.
It contended that the 'anarchy and vacuum experienced by Lebanon at the time being' was a product of US President George W Bush's policies which was meeting 'failure' not only in Lebanon but also in Iraq, Palestine, Afghanistan.
...
It appears in the mind of moslems around the world the United States is just as powerful as GOD, we might as well just act like it & smite them...
At least we should have done something to have been on the receiving end of the blame...
Appeasing doesn't seem to work, perhaps smiting will...
Pertinent Links:
1) Jordan Islamists: US responsible for bloody downturn in Lebanon
Sunday, July 08, 2007
DAR AL ISLAM - JORDAN: FATAH & HAMAS SHOULD TALK, SO SAYS KING ABDULLAH
Jordan's king backs bid for Fatah-Hamas dialogue
Amman - Jordan's King Abdullah II conferred Sunday with the Speaker of the Arab Parliament, Mohammad al-Saqr, and voiced support for a move by Arab lawmakers to bring about reconciliation between the feuding Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah, according to an official statement.
Al-Saqr briefed the monarch on 'efforts and contacts being made by an Arab parliamentary delegation with a view to bringing about reconciliation and starting a dialogue between Fatah and Hamas', the statement from the royal court said.
'Jordan backs all moves aimed at consolidating the Palestinian unity and cohesion at this stage which makes it imperative for Palestinians to unite in order to be able to regain their rights, including the setting up of their independent state,' the statement quoted the king as saying.
King Abdullah also 'underscored the importance of patching up the Palestinian rift and emphasised that the continuation of the Palestinian split will only impede any progress in the peace process and provide (Israel) with a pretext regarding the absence of a Palestinian partner capable of resuming the peace talks'.
The monarch's remarks reflected Jordan's first unequivocal backing for starting dialogue between Hamas and Fatah, a move that was launched two weeks ago by the Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak at the Sharm el-Sheikh four-way summit.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Jordan's king backs bid for Fatah-Hamas dialogue
Amman - Jordan's King Abdullah II conferred Sunday with the Speaker of the Arab Parliament, Mohammad al-Saqr, and voiced support for a move by Arab lawmakers to bring about reconciliation between the feuding Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah, according to an official statement.
Al-Saqr briefed the monarch on 'efforts and contacts being made by an Arab parliamentary delegation with a view to bringing about reconciliation and starting a dialogue between Fatah and Hamas', the statement from the royal court said.
'Jordan backs all moves aimed at consolidating the Palestinian unity and cohesion at this stage which makes it imperative for Palestinians to unite in order to be able to regain their rights, including the setting up of their independent state,' the statement quoted the king as saying.
King Abdullah also 'underscored the importance of patching up the Palestinian rift and emphasised that the continuation of the Palestinian split will only impede any progress in the peace process and provide (Israel) with a pretext regarding the absence of a Palestinian partner capable of resuming the peace talks'.
The monarch's remarks reflected Jordan's first unequivocal backing for starting dialogue between Hamas and Fatah, a move that was launched two weeks ago by the Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak at the Sharm el-Sheikh four-way summit.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Jordan's king backs bid for Fatah-Hamas dialogue
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
DAR AL ISLAM - JORDAN: MOSLEM BROTHERHOOD OF JORDAN GATHERS SUPPORT TO LAUNCH A RECONCILIATION BETWEEN FATAH & HAMAS
Jordan's Islamists call for reconciliation
AMMAN, Jordan, June 20 (UPI) -- Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood movement is gathering support to launch a reconciliation dialogue between rival Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas.
The influential group Wednesday called on political figures and members of civil society to take part in a national conference, sponsored by the Muslim Brotherhood, on Saturday to launch an initiative that will bring Fatah and Hamas leaders together to end factional fighting.
A Brotherhood member told United Press International the initiative calls for the two factions to urgently start serious dialogue to contain the repercussions of their crisis and to reach a common mechanism that will end their rifts.
Fatah refuses to speak to Hamas after the latter's Islamist militants overthrew the Palestinian Authority in the Gaza Strip last week following violent battles that left more than 100 people dead.
The Jordanian Islamic official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said reconciliation was necessary to enable the Palestinian people "to continue their efforts to regain their legitimate rights and confronting the conspiracies that target their unity and struggle." He stressed the initiative rejects any attempt to split the West Bank from the Gaza Strip, where there are two governments -- one led by Hamas in Gaza and another emergency government in the West Bank.
Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood has close ties to Hamas. But a recent statement by the Jordanian Islamic movement had called on Hamas to "return the situation in Gaza to the proper institutional work and to prove its good intentions ... with Palestinian consensus, not through unilateral factional decisions."
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Jordan's Islamists call for reconciliation
AMMAN, Jordan, June 20 (UPI) -- Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood movement is gathering support to launch a reconciliation dialogue between rival Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas.
The influential group Wednesday called on political figures and members of civil society to take part in a national conference, sponsored by the Muslim Brotherhood, on Saturday to launch an initiative that will bring Fatah and Hamas leaders together to end factional fighting.
A Brotherhood member told United Press International the initiative calls for the two factions to urgently start serious dialogue to contain the repercussions of their crisis and to reach a common mechanism that will end their rifts.
Fatah refuses to speak to Hamas after the latter's Islamist militants overthrew the Palestinian Authority in the Gaza Strip last week following violent battles that left more than 100 people dead.
The Jordanian Islamic official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said reconciliation was necessary to enable the Palestinian people "to continue their efforts to regain their legitimate rights and confronting the conspiracies that target their unity and struggle." He stressed the initiative rejects any attempt to split the West Bank from the Gaza Strip, where there are two governments -- one led by Hamas in Gaza and another emergency government in the West Bank.
Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood has close ties to Hamas. But a recent statement by the Jordanian Islamic movement had called on Hamas to "return the situation in Gaza to the proper institutional work and to prove its good intentions ... with Palestinian consensus, not through unilateral factional decisions."
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Jordan's Islamists call for reconciliation
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
DAR AL ISLAM - JORDAN: THE MOSLEM BROTHERHOOD OF JORDAN REJECTS THE 'PARTITION' OF THE 'PALESTINIAN' PEOPLE
Jordanian Islamists 'understand' Hamas pretext for Gaza takeover
Amman - Jordan's largest political party, the Islamic Action Front (IAF), said Tuesday that it "understood" the pretexts cited by the Hamas movement for its takeover of the Gaza Strip. However in a statement the IAF, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood movement in Jordan, said that it "rejected the geographical and political partition of the Palestinian people," a reference to the existence of separate administrations in Gaza and the West Bank.
"We understand the justifications which forced the Islamic movement (Hamas) to take such a step in order to deal with the state of anarchy that thwarted any progress in the Palestinian national project," the IAF said.
Since its victory in January 2006 elections "Hamas has been the target for international and regional attempts that sought to confiscate the will of the Palestinian people," it added in a reference to the Western financial and diplomatic boycott of the Hamas government over the past 18 months.
Western governments had withheld aid to Hamas over the militant Islamist movement's refusal to disavow violence, recognize Israel and agree to abide by past peace treaties.
The IAF urged the Jordanian government to take "a neutral attitude towards all Palestinian factions and show due respect to the Palestinian people's democratic choice."
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Jordanian Islamists 'understand' Hamas pretext for Gaza takeover
Amman - Jordan's largest political party, the Islamic Action Front (IAF), said Tuesday that it "understood" the pretexts cited by the Hamas movement for its takeover of the Gaza Strip. However in a statement the IAF, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood movement in Jordan, said that it "rejected the geographical and political partition of the Palestinian people," a reference to the existence of separate administrations in Gaza and the West Bank.
"We understand the justifications which forced the Islamic movement (Hamas) to take such a step in order to deal with the state of anarchy that thwarted any progress in the Palestinian national project," the IAF said.
Since its victory in January 2006 elections "Hamas has been the target for international and regional attempts that sought to confiscate the will of the Palestinian people," it added in a reference to the Western financial and diplomatic boycott of the Hamas government over the past 18 months.
Western governments had withheld aid to Hamas over the militant Islamist movement's refusal to disavow violence, recognize Israel and agree to abide by past peace treaties.
The IAF urged the Jordanian government to take "a neutral attitude towards all Palestinian factions and show due respect to the Palestinian people's democratic choice."
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Jordanian Islamists 'understand' Hamas pretext for Gaza takeover
Monday, June 11, 2007
DAR AL ISLAM - JORDAN: ISLAMIC ACTION FRONT SOUGHT TO EMPLOY MILITIA TO DESTABILIZE THE HASHEMITE KINGDOM
JORDAN BATTLES ISLAMIST MILITIA
AMMAN [MENL] -- Jordan has been battling efforts by the Islamic opposition to establish a militia.
Jordanian authorities have been arresting members of the Islamic Action Front, aligned with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, on charges of establishing a militia. The IAF members were said to have sought to employ the militia to destabilize the Hashemite kingdom.
So far, at least nine IAF members have been arrested, most of them residents of the northeastern city of Zarqa. The Islamic movement, which has also formed ties to Iran, has denied the allegations.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) JORDAN BATTLES ISLAMIST MILITIA
AMMAN [MENL] -- Jordan has been battling efforts by the Islamic opposition to establish a militia.
Jordanian authorities have been arresting members of the Islamic Action Front, aligned with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, on charges of establishing a militia. The IAF members were said to have sought to employ the militia to destabilize the Hashemite kingdom.
So far, at least nine IAF members have been arrested, most of them residents of the northeastern city of Zarqa. The Islamic movement, which has also formed ties to Iran, has denied the allegations.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) JORDAN BATTLES ISLAMIST MILITIA
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
DAR AL HARB/ISLAM - LEBANON/JORDAN: A MOTHER (MOSLEMA) PRAYS & BESEECHES ALLAH TO MAKE HER SON, AL-ABSI, SUCCESSFUL IN THE JIHAD HE WAGES IN LEBANON
Brother of Fatah Islam leader says their mother begged God on deathbed for son's victory in Lebanon
On her deathbed, the mother of Fatah Islam leader Shaker Shaker Youssef al-Absi beseeched Allah to grant her al-Qaida-inspired Palestinian son "victory" in his battle against the Lebanese army, his brother said Wednesday.
Fatima al-Zaatrah died of old age 10 days ago in her home in Amman's Wehdat Palestinian refugee camp. She was 87.
But in her last days, al-Zaatrah was glued to her television set, watching the conflict evolve between the Lebanese army and her son, al-Absi, holed up with his Fatah Islam militants in the Palestinian refugee camp Nahr el-Bared near the northern Lebanese port city of Tripoli.
"Her last words were mostly about Shaker," said al-Absi's brother, Abdul-Razzaq, an Amman orthopedic surgeon. "She said that she missed him a lot and had wished to see him before she dies."
"She besought God to protect Shaker and grant him long life and victory in his cause," Abdul-Razzaq told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
...
Though moslem women are victims of islam, they do play a big part in creating these jihadist monsters...
Afterall, it is the mothers that raise these children exposing them to the jihad in the very first years of their young lives...
Moslemas are victims, but they are also a big part of the problem...
Pertinent Links:
1) Brother of Fatah Islam leader says their mother begged God on deathbed for son's victory in Lebanon
On her deathbed, the mother of Fatah Islam leader Shaker Shaker Youssef al-Absi beseeched Allah to grant her al-Qaida-inspired Palestinian son "victory" in his battle against the Lebanese army, his brother said Wednesday.
Fatima al-Zaatrah died of old age 10 days ago in her home in Amman's Wehdat Palestinian refugee camp. She was 87.
But in her last days, al-Zaatrah was glued to her television set, watching the conflict evolve between the Lebanese army and her son, al-Absi, holed up with his Fatah Islam militants in the Palestinian refugee camp Nahr el-Bared near the northern Lebanese port city of Tripoli.
"Her last words were mostly about Shaker," said al-Absi's brother, Abdul-Razzaq, an Amman orthopedic surgeon. "She said that she missed him a lot and had wished to see him before she dies."
"She besought God to protect Shaker and grant him long life and victory in his cause," Abdul-Razzaq told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
...
Though moslem women are victims of islam, they do play a big part in creating these jihadist monsters...
Afterall, it is the mothers that raise these children exposing them to the jihad in the very first years of their young lives...
Moslemas are victims, but they are also a big part of the problem...
Pertinent Links:
1) Brother of Fatah Islam leader says their mother begged God on deathbed for son's victory in Lebanon
Thursday, May 24, 2007
DAR AL HARB/ISLAM - U.S.A./JORDAN: AMERICA'S N.D.I. HELPING ISLAMIC ACTION FRONT, THE POLITICAL ARM OF THE MOSLEM BROTHERHOOD MOVEMENT
Jordan Islamists met with US democracy experts (Roundup)
Amman - The Islamic Action Front, Jordan's main political party, on Thursday conceded that its secretary general, Zaki Bani Ershaid, had met with personnel from a US-based democracy expert group as part of a 'civilization dialogue' with Western research institutions.
But the IAF denied a report carried by the pro-government daily newspaper al-Rai that Bani Ershaid had asked the US National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) for help in the field of 'training' Islamic candidates ahead of the municipal and parliamentary elections set for this year.
'The report included fallacies which are part of the government's deliberate campaign designed to distort the image of the Islamic movement ahead of the elections,' the IAF said in a statement.
Quoting no sources earlier Thursday, al-Rai said in a front-page story that Bani Ershaid met on May 15 NDI officials at the party's headquarters in Amman and discussed with them 'how they can help train IAF cadres in the field of elections.'
'The IAF secretary general also asked the NDI officials to keep the meeting confidential out of fears that it may affect the image of the party,' the paper added.
The IAF said that while it was observing a boycott of the Israeli government, the US administration and their embassies in Amman, it continued to have tens of meetings with representatives of US and other Western civic institutions.
'IAF officials wanted to keep them informed about the justifications for the party's rejection of the unjust US policy and to ask them to relay the party's viewpoint to the American people so as to press their administration to stop their crimes against the Islamic world,' the statement said.
The NDI conducts democracy training around the world, with a focus on newly emerging democracies, and receives some US taxpayer money. In Washington, the NDI said it has had programmes in Jordan since 1995 and has had contact with the IAF along with 'every other party or group' represented in Jordan's Parliament.
...
'NDI works with Islamist parties around the region and we are completely open to working with any legal, non-violent political party,' said Les Cambpell, NDI's Middle East director, in an e-mailed response to Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
The IAF said the al-Rai report, which was not attributed to any sources, could be based on information obtained through 'bugging' the IAF offices by the authorities in a bid to curtail the chances of Islamists in the forthcoming elections.
The government has decided to conduct municipal elections on July 31, but no date has so far been set for the parliamentary elections, which should be held before the end of November, according to the Jordanian constitution.
The IAF, the political arm of the influential Muslim Brotherhood movement, stands a good chance of markedly increasing its seats in the lower house of parliament, given the successes scored by the Hamas group in the Palestinian territories and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, diplomats said.
Pertinent Links:
1) Jordan Islamists met with US democracy experts (Roundup)
Amman - The Islamic Action Front, Jordan's main political party, on Thursday conceded that its secretary general, Zaki Bani Ershaid, had met with personnel from a US-based democracy expert group as part of a 'civilization dialogue' with Western research institutions.
But the IAF denied a report carried by the pro-government daily newspaper al-Rai that Bani Ershaid had asked the US National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) for help in the field of 'training' Islamic candidates ahead of the municipal and parliamentary elections set for this year.
'The report included fallacies which are part of the government's deliberate campaign designed to distort the image of the Islamic movement ahead of the elections,' the IAF said in a statement.
Quoting no sources earlier Thursday, al-Rai said in a front-page story that Bani Ershaid met on May 15 NDI officials at the party's headquarters in Amman and discussed with them 'how they can help train IAF cadres in the field of elections.'
'The IAF secretary general also asked the NDI officials to keep the meeting confidential out of fears that it may affect the image of the party,' the paper added.
The IAF said that while it was observing a boycott of the Israeli government, the US administration and their embassies in Amman, it continued to have tens of meetings with representatives of US and other Western civic institutions.
'IAF officials wanted to keep them informed about the justifications for the party's rejection of the unjust US policy and to ask them to relay the party's viewpoint to the American people so as to press their administration to stop their crimes against the Islamic world,' the statement said.
The NDI conducts democracy training around the world, with a focus on newly emerging democracies, and receives some US taxpayer money. In Washington, the NDI said it has had programmes in Jordan since 1995 and has had contact with the IAF along with 'every other party or group' represented in Jordan's Parliament.
...
'NDI works with Islamist parties around the region and we are completely open to working with any legal, non-violent political party,' said Les Cambpell, NDI's Middle East director, in an e-mailed response to Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
The IAF said the al-Rai report, which was not attributed to any sources, could be based on information obtained through 'bugging' the IAF offices by the authorities in a bid to curtail the chances of Islamists in the forthcoming elections.
The government has decided to conduct municipal elections on July 31, but no date has so far been set for the parliamentary elections, which should be held before the end of November, according to the Jordanian constitution.
The IAF, the political arm of the influential Muslim Brotherhood movement, stands a good chance of markedly increasing its seats in the lower house of parliament, given the successes scored by the Hamas group in the Palestinian territories and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, diplomats said.
Pertinent Links:
1) Jordan Islamists met with US democracy experts (Roundup)
Monday, May 21, 2007
DAR AL ISLAM - JORDAN/KUWAIT: STOP PEGGING THE DINAR TO THE DOLLAR
Jordan Islamists demand an end to dinar-dollar pegging
Amman - An Islamic member of Jordan's parliamentary Economic Affairs Committee on Monday urged the government to follow Kuwait's steps in ending the 12-year-old peg between the national currency, the dinar, and the US dollar. "Jordan should follow Kuwait's steps in tying the dinar to a basket of currencies, because the drastic decline in the dollar's exchange rate is having negative repercussions on the Jordanian economy," Jaafer Hourani said.
"The decline of the dollar's exchange rate versus other major currencies has also helped to shrink the purchasing power of the Jordanian dinar and spur the inflation rate," he added.
Hourani belongs to the Islamic Action Front (IAF), Jordan's largest political party, which is at odds with the US policy in the region.
The Jordanian dinar has been pegged to the greenback since October 1995.
Central Bank of Jordan officials have shun calls for ending the dinar-dollar peg, saying it bestowed stability on the country's commercial dealings with other parts of the world.
Hourani contended that the continuation of the dinar-dollar relationship was motivated by "political reasons."
...
and
Kuwait drops peg to dollar
KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait dropped its dinar’s peg to the dollar yesterday, throwing into disarray plans to create by 2010 a single currency in the GCC region.
Delays to a monetary union among the Gulf oil exporting states, including Qatar, were a principal reason for the switch that now links the Kuwaiti dinar to a basket of international currencies, the Kuwaiti government said.“(Monetary union) was delayed … and therefore we went back on this decision today,” Deputy Prime Minister Faisal al-Hajji said, referring to Kuwait’s decision to adopt the dollar peg in 2003 to prepare for the single currency.
Kuwait, also switched the exchange rate mechanism to a basket of currencies, had been battling speculators for weeks to defend the peg.Another reason was the dollar’s slide against other currencies Kuwait said that forced it to break ranks with fellow Gulf states to contain inflation from the rising cost of some imports.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Jordan Islamists demand an end to dinar-dollar pegging
2) Kuwait drops peg to dollar
Amman - An Islamic member of Jordan's parliamentary Economic Affairs Committee on Monday urged the government to follow Kuwait's steps in ending the 12-year-old peg between the national currency, the dinar, and the US dollar. "Jordan should follow Kuwait's steps in tying the dinar to a basket of currencies, because the drastic decline in the dollar's exchange rate is having negative repercussions on the Jordanian economy," Jaafer Hourani said.
"The decline of the dollar's exchange rate versus other major currencies has also helped to shrink the purchasing power of the Jordanian dinar and spur the inflation rate," he added.
Hourani belongs to the Islamic Action Front (IAF), Jordan's largest political party, which is at odds with the US policy in the region.
The Jordanian dinar has been pegged to the greenback since October 1995.
Central Bank of Jordan officials have shun calls for ending the dinar-dollar peg, saying it bestowed stability on the country's commercial dealings with other parts of the world.
Hourani contended that the continuation of the dinar-dollar relationship was motivated by "political reasons."
...
and
Kuwait drops peg to dollar
KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait dropped its dinar’s peg to the dollar yesterday, throwing into disarray plans to create by 2010 a single currency in the GCC region.
Delays to a monetary union among the Gulf oil exporting states, including Qatar, were a principal reason for the switch that now links the Kuwaiti dinar to a basket of international currencies, the Kuwaiti government said.“(Monetary union) was delayed … and therefore we went back on this decision today,” Deputy Prime Minister Faisal al-Hajji said, referring to Kuwait’s decision to adopt the dollar peg in 2003 to prepare for the single currency.
Kuwait, also switched the exchange rate mechanism to a basket of currencies, had been battling speculators for weeks to defend the peg.Another reason was the dollar’s slide against other currencies Kuwait said that forced it to break ranks with fellow Gulf states to contain inflation from the rising cost of some imports.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Jordan Islamists demand an end to dinar-dollar pegging
2) Kuwait drops peg to dollar
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
DAR AL HARB/ISLAM: WORKING OUT THE KINKS IN THE ARAB MOSLEM PLAN FOR ISRAELS DEMISE, CLOAKED IN THE GARBS OF PEACE
ARAB AND ISRAELI PEACE ACTIVISTS TO MEET IN JORDAN
Over 200 peace activists from Jordan, the Palestinian territories and Israel are expected to gather Wednesday in the southern Jordanian city of Aqaba to discuss the Saudi Arabian sponsored peace plan which offers Israel diplomatic ties with the Arab world in exchange for the Jewish state giving up land it conquered in 1967. One of the meeting's main organisers is former Jordanian prime minister Abd al-Salam al-Majali who is the kingdom's top negotiator with Israel.
A manifesto of intent will be signed at the end of the conference if delegates agree on a common strategy in favour of the Saudi plan, the organisers say.
In a preparatory meeting last Thursday some 50 Israeli and Jordanian academics and politicians met to discuss the peace plan.
...
and
Over 200 peace activists from Jordan, the Palestinian territories and Israel are expected to gather Wednesday in the southern Jordanian city of Aqaba to discuss the Saudi Arabian sponsored peace plan which offers Israel diplomatic ties with the Arab world in exchange for the Jewish state giving up land it conquered in 1967. One of the meeting's main organisers is former Jordanian prime minister Abd al-Salam al-Majali who is the kingdom's top negotiator with Israel.
A manifesto of intent will be signed at the end of the conference if delegates agree on a common strategy in favour of the Saudi plan, the organisers say.
In a preparatory meeting last Thursday some 50 Israeli and Jordanian academics and politicians met to discuss the peace plan.
...
and
'Right of return' urged for Palestinians
by Abir Sarras
More than 2000 Palestinians from all corners of Europe gathered last Saturday in Rotterdam at the 5th conference on the 'right of return' under the motto: "A united nation, with a firm right". The Palestinians chose a tactful date (5 May, Liberation Day in the Netherlands) to remind this country that while it celebrates freedom, the Palestinians are still fighting for theirs.
The conference was held despite much earlier upheaval about the refusal of Dutch authorities to allow the Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh an entry visa to the Netherlands: the EU considers Hamas a terrorist organisation.
Just a day before the conference, another Hamas minister, Basem Naim, was denied entry by Belgium authorities, which withdrew the Dutch visa he was granted, calling it a mistake.
But the refusal of Dutch minister Maxime Verhagen to allow Haniyeh to come to the Netherlands, did not prevent his presence. He spoke to an enthusiastic crowd from Gaza in what later turned to be a taped speech he'd prepared a day earlier.
...
Read the rest, as well as the comments by readers...
Pertinent Links:
1) ARAB AND ISRAELI PEACE ACTIVISTS TO MEET IN JORDAN
2) 'Right of return' urged for Palestinians
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
HOLY LAND: IF ISRAEL WANTS PEACE, IT MUST SIGN ONTO THE ARAB PEACE INITIATIVE
Jordanian king: Israel must make peace to coexist with Muslims
Jordan's King Abdullah said Tuesday that if Israel wanted to "coexist with a billion Muslims" worldwide, it must make peace.
The king told the French news agency that the Arabs have already expressed their desire for peace by accepting the Saudi peace initiative.
Pertinent Links:
1) Jordanian king: Israel must make peace to coexist with Muslims
Jordan's King Abdullah said Tuesday that if Israel wanted to "coexist with a billion Muslims" worldwide, it must make peace.
The king told the French news agency that the Arabs have already expressed their desire for peace by accepting the Saudi peace initiative.
Pertinent Links:
1) Jordanian king: Israel must make peace to coexist with Muslims
Monday, February 26, 2007
DAR AL HARB - U.K.: ABU QATADA LOSES APPEAL AGAINST DEPORTATION
Radical Islamic cleric loses appeal against deportation from Britain
LONDON: A radical Islamic cleric accused of having links to terrorist groups has lost his appeal against deportation to Jordan, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission ruled on Monday.
Abu Qatada, 44 — also known by his real name, Omar Mahmoud Mohammed Othman, and as Omar Abu Omar — has been accused by the British government of raising funds for extremist groups and offering "spiritual advice and religious legitimacy" to Islamic extremists planning to carry out terrorist attacks.
"We have concluded that there is no real risk of persecution of the appellant were he now to be returned with the safeguards and in the circumstances which now apply to him," the court said.
The case tested the government's reliance on "memoranda of understanding" with other countries which aim to guarantee the safety of deported suspects.
Government attorneys previously have claimed that Qatada — a London-based preacher described by a Spanish judge as Osama bin Laden's "spiritual ambassador in Europe"_ is a threat to national security and should be deported to his homeland of Jordan.
Qatada's case is seen as the first real test of the British government's plan to deport terrorist suspects to countries with poor human rights records by agreeing to "no torture" deals with foreign governments.
Opponents claim the agreements — not legally binding under international law — offer no protection to suspects.
His lawyer, Gareth Peirce, said she would seek to appeal.
"It is accepted by our government that Mr. Othman would be tortured in Jordan if it were not for a diplomatic assurance which is not enforceable, which carries no sanction if it is breached," she said.
"We believe that in resorting to a diplomatic assurance, this government is evading its responsibilities not just to Mr. Othman but to all refugees potentially to abide by its international and domestic obligations."
The court, however, found Jordan's assurances credible.
"If he were to be tortured or ill-treated, there probably would be a considerable outcry in Jordan... The likely inflaming of Palestinian and extremist or anti-Western feelings would be destabilizing for the government," he judgment said.
"The Jordanian government would be well aware of that potential risk and, in its own interests, would take steps to ensure that that did not happen."
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Radical Islamic cleric loses appeal against deportation from Britain
LONDON: A radical Islamic cleric accused of having links to terrorist groups has lost his appeal against deportation to Jordan, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission ruled on Monday.
Abu Qatada, 44 — also known by his real name, Omar Mahmoud Mohammed Othman, and as Omar Abu Omar — has been accused by the British government of raising funds for extremist groups and offering "spiritual advice and religious legitimacy" to Islamic extremists planning to carry out terrorist attacks.
"We have concluded that there is no real risk of persecution of the appellant were he now to be returned with the safeguards and in the circumstances which now apply to him," the court said.
The case tested the government's reliance on "memoranda of understanding" with other countries which aim to guarantee the safety of deported suspects.
Government attorneys previously have claimed that Qatada — a London-based preacher described by a Spanish judge as Osama bin Laden's "spiritual ambassador in Europe"_ is a threat to national security and should be deported to his homeland of Jordan.
Qatada's case is seen as the first real test of the British government's plan to deport terrorist suspects to countries with poor human rights records by agreeing to "no torture" deals with foreign governments.
Opponents claim the agreements — not legally binding under international law — offer no protection to suspects.
His lawyer, Gareth Peirce, said she would seek to appeal.
"It is accepted by our government that Mr. Othman would be tortured in Jordan if it were not for a diplomatic assurance which is not enforceable, which carries no sanction if it is breached," she said.
"We believe that in resorting to a diplomatic assurance, this government is evading its responsibilities not just to Mr. Othman but to all refugees potentially to abide by its international and domestic obligations."
The court, however, found Jordan's assurances credible.
"If he were to be tortured or ill-treated, there probably would be a considerable outcry in Jordan... The likely inflaming of Palestinian and extremist or anti-Western feelings would be destabilizing for the government," he judgment said.
"The Jordanian government would be well aware of that potential risk and, in its own interests, would take steps to ensure that that did not happen."
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Radical Islamic cleric loses appeal against deportation from Britain
Sunday, February 25, 2007
DAR AL ISLAM - JORDAN: JORDAN'S ISLAMIC PARTY HAS ITS ONLY CHRISTIAN MEMBER RESIGN
Sole Leading Christian Member In Jordan Islamic Party Resigns
The only leading Christian member in the Islamic Action Front (IAF), Jordan's largest political party, has resigned, citing "rumours" that sought to offend his reputation, IAF sources said Sunday.
Aziz Massaadeh's resignation came only one week after he was elected to the membership of the administrative panel of Amman's third constituency.
"My election to the administrative panel has sparked a campaign of rumours that sought to offend my reputation," Massaadeh said in his resignation letter which he faxed to the party's headquarters from his southern city of Karak.
Massaadeh also cited "several other reasons" which he did not mention.
However, he indicated in remarks to the daily newspaper Alghad that he was accused of converting to Islam.
"I did not expect my election to the membership of the IAF administrative panel to take such religious and social dimensions that prompted me to resign," he said.
Massaadeh disclosed that 33 Christians had submitted applications to join the IAF, which was founded in 1992 as the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood Movement, but that only three of them were admitted as members of the Islamic party.
The IAF Deputy Secretary Geneal Rahil Gharaibeh expressed surprise over Massaadeh's resignation.
He said he believed Massaadeh was "exposed to pressures from certain circles which were displeased" by his election to the IAF leading post.
"We are proud to be a political and not a religious party that fights discrimination on the basis of religion, ethnic or sect," he added.
Pertinent Links:
1) Sole Leading Christian Member In Jordan Islamic Party Resigns
The only leading Christian member in the Islamic Action Front (IAF), Jordan's largest political party, has resigned, citing "rumours" that sought to offend his reputation, IAF sources said Sunday.
Aziz Massaadeh's resignation came only one week after he was elected to the membership of the administrative panel of Amman's third constituency.
"My election to the administrative panel has sparked a campaign of rumours that sought to offend my reputation," Massaadeh said in his resignation letter which he faxed to the party's headquarters from his southern city of Karak.
Massaadeh also cited "several other reasons" which he did not mention.
However, he indicated in remarks to the daily newspaper Alghad that he was accused of converting to Islam.
"I did not expect my election to the membership of the IAF administrative panel to take such religious and social dimensions that prompted me to resign," he said.
Massaadeh disclosed that 33 Christians had submitted applications to join the IAF, which was founded in 1992 as the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood Movement, but that only three of them were admitted as members of the Islamic party.
The IAF Deputy Secretary Geneal Rahil Gharaibeh expressed surprise over Massaadeh's resignation.
He said he believed Massaadeh was "exposed to pressures from certain circles which were displeased" by his election to the IAF leading post.
"We are proud to be a political and not a religious party that fights discrimination on the basis of religion, ethnic or sect," he added.
Pertinent Links:
1) Sole Leading Christian Member In Jordan Islamic Party Resigns
Thursday, February 15, 2007
DAR AL HARB / ISLAM - E.U. / U.S.A.: MOSLEM JIHADISTS URGE EUROPEANS TO END SUBSERVIANCE TO THE UNITED STATES, CAN ANYONE SAY: DIVIDE & CONQUER?!?!?!?
Jordan Islamists urge Europeans to end "subservience" to US
dpa German Press Agency
Amman- Jordan's most influential political party, the Islamic Action Front (IAF), on Thursday called on Europeans to end their "subservience" to the United States. The party also offered to enter into "serious dialogue" with both European governments and peoples, according to a statement released by the IAF.
The statement said that the remarks were made by party Secretary General, Zaki Bani Ershaid during a meeting with Michael Broning, the Jordan resident representative of Germany's Friederich Ebert Foundation.
"Bani Ershaid urged the Europeans to reconsider their policies in the region so as to refrain from being subservient to the US agenda," the statement said.
"The Europeans have no interest in following the US policy and opportunism in the region, particularly the bias with the Zionist entity (Israel)," the statement quoted the IAF leader as saying.
The IAF is the political arm of the powerful Muslim Brotherhood movement. It has 15 deputies in Jordan's 108-member lower house of parliament.
"The Europeans stand to lose and draw negative repercussion from behaving in tandem with the antagonistic US policy in the Middle East," Bani Ershaid maintained.
He further criticised what he described as the European Union's "aligning with the United States by adopting a hostile stand toward the democratically elected Hamas government" in the Palestinian territories.
"The EU attitude in this respect is tantamount to an ethical scandal," the IAF chief said.
...
Don't be subservient to the United States, be subservient to Islam...That is your rightful place like the good dhimmis you have spent 40 yrs becoming ! ! !
Pertinent Links:
1) Jordan Islamists urge Europeans to end "subservience" to US
dpa German Press Agency
Amman- Jordan's most influential political party, the Islamic Action Front (IAF), on Thursday called on Europeans to end their "subservience" to the United States. The party also offered to enter into "serious dialogue" with both European governments and peoples, according to a statement released by the IAF.
The statement said that the remarks were made by party Secretary General, Zaki Bani Ershaid during a meeting with Michael Broning, the Jordan resident representative of Germany's Friederich Ebert Foundation.
"Bani Ershaid urged the Europeans to reconsider their policies in the region so as to refrain from being subservient to the US agenda," the statement said.
"The Europeans have no interest in following the US policy and opportunism in the region, particularly the bias with the Zionist entity (Israel)," the statement quoted the IAF leader as saying.
The IAF is the political arm of the powerful Muslim Brotherhood movement. It has 15 deputies in Jordan's 108-member lower house of parliament.
"The Europeans stand to lose and draw negative repercussion from behaving in tandem with the antagonistic US policy in the Middle East," Bani Ershaid maintained.
He further criticised what he described as the European Union's "aligning with the United States by adopting a hostile stand toward the democratically elected Hamas government" in the Palestinian territories.
"The EU attitude in this respect is tantamount to an ethical scandal," the IAF chief said.
...
Don't be subservient to the United States, be subservient to Islam...That is your rightful place like the good dhimmis you have spent 40 yrs becoming ! ! !
Pertinent Links:
1) Jordan Islamists urge Europeans to end "subservience" to US
Friday, January 26, 2007
DAR AL ISLAM - JORDAN: SUPPORT FOR SHI'ISM?!?!?!?
Jordan begins reacting, ominously, to the Sunni-Shiite rift
By Mohammed al-Masri
Saturday, January 27, 2007
The timing of the execution of Saddam Hussein on the first morning of Eid al-Adha, the video clips officially released by the Iraqi government and those from the cell phones documenting the execution, triggered a wave of anger and provoked anti-Shiite and anti-Iranian sentiment in Jordan. Jordanians interpreted the event as an act of Iranian-Shiite revenge against Sunnis in Iraq and throughout the Arab world.
Jordanians expressed their outrage and protest in different ways, ranging from declining to offer sweets during Adha to restraining wedding celebrations and hanging posters praising Saddam as a martyr. Some dedicated their Adha rituals to him and opened houses of mourning. Demonstrations organized in some cities generated calls for revenge.
However, despite the anger, there were no reported reprisals against the 200,000 or so Iraqi Shiite refugees in Jordan - thanks both to measures taken by the security services and precautions taken by some Iraqis to avoid certain areas of Amman for a few days following the execution. Opinion writers in newspapers of different political and cultural leanings, including the Islamic Action Front, expressed anger and dismay and concluded that the execution itself demonstrated the sectarian, militant nature of the Iraqi government, and revealed its servitude to American, Iranian and Israeli interests in the region.
Not surprisingly, the execution led to an upsurge in feelings against Iraqi Shiites in particular, Shiites at large, and Iran as a Shiite and Persian state determined to undermine both Sunni and Arab beliefs and aspirations. Twenty-two Jordanian parliamentarians called for a severing of diplomatic relations with Iran.
The Shiite question does not assume the same level of importance in Jordan as in some Arab countries, where there are significant Shiite communities. The overwhelming majority of Jordanian Muslims are Sunni; Shiites number fewer than 4,000 according to the most generous estimate. The Jordanian public's lack of awareness of this minority that has been part of Jordanian society for around 100 years signifies its assimilation. It has never been a focus of public debate.
The Shiite question becomes relevant to the Jordanian public and Jordanian elites only as a consequence of the American occupation of Iraq. It is political developments in Iraq and the region and the impact of Iraqi refugees in Jordan that have heavily influenced the formation of attitudes toward Shiites in recent times.
Those attitudes, at least during the first 18 months after the war, were only one facet of Jordanians' approach to Iraqis. The general Jordanian attitude was shaped by two widely held perceptions. The first was that Iraqis at large and Shiites in particular determined the outcome of the war by facilitating and welcoming the American occupation. The second was that Iraqi refugees entering Jordan in the wake of the war were mainly from the affluent middle class and skilled laborers, and that they contributed to an overall price surge, especially in the real estate sector. The Iraqis therefore became the focus of Jordanian grievances about increased traffic, prices and fuel costs. Friction between Jordanians and Palestinians receded as mutual resentment of the newcomers emerged.
The new refugees from the 2003 Iraq war were not a homogenous community, but rather a transparent reflection of the complex ethnic, religious and sectarian composition of contemporary Iraqi society. The collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime and subsequent political developments encouraged Iraqis to be open about their sectarian background. Books about Shiism, its history and its martyrs found a place in downtown Amman bookstalls. Jordanians became familiar with Shiite symbols, with the result that differences between Shiite and Sunni Islam were both underlined and exacerbated. Religious lessons given at mosques and Friday sermons emphasized differences between the Sunni and Shiite schools of thought, thereby alerting the Jordanian public to the "correctness" of Sunni interpretations of Islam.
Jordanians observed the new political developments within Iraq that signaled the rise of Shiite power at the expense of the Sunnis. The formation of the new Iraqi government, the elections and the drafting of a constitution all generated heated debate and uneasy feelings toward Iraqi Shiites. These anxieties deepened as a result of the intensified mutual attacks between the two communities in Iraq.
Iraqi Shiites were thought by Jordanians to have established political hegemony through their collaboration with US occupying forces, and to have marginalized the political role of the Sunnis. Southern and central Iraq came to be viewed as Iranian outposts, and the perception evolved that many Shiite militias and politicians constituted an anti-Sunni camp serving an anti-Arab agenda - be it Iranian, American or both.
King Abdullah's well-known warning of the emergence of a Shiite crescent two years ago deepened Jordanian society's concerns about a possible Iranian threat, creating a corresponding unease over Shiite politics in Iraq. The Jordanian establishment warned frequently of the conversion of some Jordanians to Shiism. While the number of such converts is extremely limited and does not exceed hundreds by even the most generous estimate, the Jordanian state has followed a zero-tolerance policy toward the public practice of Shiism. Since the main concern of the Iraqi Shiites in Jordan right now is to keep their residency rights valid and intact, they practice their religious rituals in private.
In fact, the threat to the Jordanian state is not conversion to Shiism as such, but what may be termed political Shiism: support for Shiite political organizations and acceptance of their political paradigms. For example, the sweeping support for Hizbullah during the war in Lebanon last summer was a clear manifestation of political Shiism. As much as events in Iraq and interaction with Iraqi communities within Jordan lead to Jordanian antipathy toward Iraqi Shiites and Iran, the Israeli factor and potential conflict between Israel and Hizbullah still encourage support for Hizbullah-style Shiite organizations. Therefore it might be misleading to assume that new anti-Iranian feelings in Jordan are sustainable, when the Israel factor in regional developments could undermine them.
Pertinent Links:
1) Jordan begins reacting, ominously, to the Sunni-Shiite rift
By Mohammed al-Masri
Saturday, January 27, 2007
The timing of the execution of Saddam Hussein on the first morning of Eid al-Adha, the video clips officially released by the Iraqi government and those from the cell phones documenting the execution, triggered a wave of anger and provoked anti-Shiite and anti-Iranian sentiment in Jordan. Jordanians interpreted the event as an act of Iranian-Shiite revenge against Sunnis in Iraq and throughout the Arab world.
Jordanians expressed their outrage and protest in different ways, ranging from declining to offer sweets during Adha to restraining wedding celebrations and hanging posters praising Saddam as a martyr. Some dedicated their Adha rituals to him and opened houses of mourning. Demonstrations organized in some cities generated calls for revenge.
However, despite the anger, there were no reported reprisals against the 200,000 or so Iraqi Shiite refugees in Jordan - thanks both to measures taken by the security services and precautions taken by some Iraqis to avoid certain areas of Amman for a few days following the execution. Opinion writers in newspapers of different political and cultural leanings, including the Islamic Action Front, expressed anger and dismay and concluded that the execution itself demonstrated the sectarian, militant nature of the Iraqi government, and revealed its servitude to American, Iranian and Israeli interests in the region.
Not surprisingly, the execution led to an upsurge in feelings against Iraqi Shiites in particular, Shiites at large, and Iran as a Shiite and Persian state determined to undermine both Sunni and Arab beliefs and aspirations. Twenty-two Jordanian parliamentarians called for a severing of diplomatic relations with Iran.
The Shiite question does not assume the same level of importance in Jordan as in some Arab countries, where there are significant Shiite communities. The overwhelming majority of Jordanian Muslims are Sunni; Shiites number fewer than 4,000 according to the most generous estimate. The Jordanian public's lack of awareness of this minority that has been part of Jordanian society for around 100 years signifies its assimilation. It has never been a focus of public debate.
The Shiite question becomes relevant to the Jordanian public and Jordanian elites only as a consequence of the American occupation of Iraq. It is political developments in Iraq and the region and the impact of Iraqi refugees in Jordan that have heavily influenced the formation of attitudes toward Shiites in recent times.
Those attitudes, at least during the first 18 months after the war, were only one facet of Jordanians' approach to Iraqis. The general Jordanian attitude was shaped by two widely held perceptions. The first was that Iraqis at large and Shiites in particular determined the outcome of the war by facilitating and welcoming the American occupation. The second was that Iraqi refugees entering Jordan in the wake of the war were mainly from the affluent middle class and skilled laborers, and that they contributed to an overall price surge, especially in the real estate sector. The Iraqis therefore became the focus of Jordanian grievances about increased traffic, prices and fuel costs. Friction between Jordanians and Palestinians receded as mutual resentment of the newcomers emerged.
The new refugees from the 2003 Iraq war were not a homogenous community, but rather a transparent reflection of the complex ethnic, religious and sectarian composition of contemporary Iraqi society. The collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime and subsequent political developments encouraged Iraqis to be open about their sectarian background. Books about Shiism, its history and its martyrs found a place in downtown Amman bookstalls. Jordanians became familiar with Shiite symbols, with the result that differences between Shiite and Sunni Islam were both underlined and exacerbated. Religious lessons given at mosques and Friday sermons emphasized differences between the Sunni and Shiite schools of thought, thereby alerting the Jordanian public to the "correctness" of Sunni interpretations of Islam.
Jordanians observed the new political developments within Iraq that signaled the rise of Shiite power at the expense of the Sunnis. The formation of the new Iraqi government, the elections and the drafting of a constitution all generated heated debate and uneasy feelings toward Iraqi Shiites. These anxieties deepened as a result of the intensified mutual attacks between the two communities in Iraq.
Iraqi Shiites were thought by Jordanians to have established political hegemony through their collaboration with US occupying forces, and to have marginalized the political role of the Sunnis. Southern and central Iraq came to be viewed as Iranian outposts, and the perception evolved that many Shiite militias and politicians constituted an anti-Sunni camp serving an anti-Arab agenda - be it Iranian, American or both.
King Abdullah's well-known warning of the emergence of a Shiite crescent two years ago deepened Jordanian society's concerns about a possible Iranian threat, creating a corresponding unease over Shiite politics in Iraq. The Jordanian establishment warned frequently of the conversion of some Jordanians to Shiism. While the number of such converts is extremely limited and does not exceed hundreds by even the most generous estimate, the Jordanian state has followed a zero-tolerance policy toward the public practice of Shiism. Since the main concern of the Iraqi Shiites in Jordan right now is to keep their residency rights valid and intact, they practice their religious rituals in private.
In fact, the threat to the Jordanian state is not conversion to Shiism as such, but what may be termed political Shiism: support for Shiite political organizations and acceptance of their political paradigms. For example, the sweeping support for Hizbullah during the war in Lebanon last summer was a clear manifestation of political Shiism. As much as events in Iraq and interaction with Iraqi communities within Jordan lead to Jordanian antipathy toward Iraqi Shiites and Iran, the Israeli factor and potential conflict between Israel and Hizbullah still encourage support for Hizbullah-style Shiite organizations. Therefore it might be misleading to assume that new anti-Iranian feelings in Jordan are sustainable, when the Israel factor in regional developments could undermine them.
Pertinent Links:
1) Jordan begins reacting, ominously, to the Sunni-Shiite rift
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
DAR AL ISLAM - JORDAN: A TERRORIST ATTACK FOILED AS JORDANIAN AUTHORITIES CAPTURE AND KILL AL QUEDA TERRORISTS
Wanted Terrorist Killed in JordanAbdul Jalil Mustafa, Arab News
AMMAN, 10 January 2007 — Jordanian security forces killed a suspected member of the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization and captured another yesterday in a shootout in the northern city of Irbid, 80 km from here, a government spokesman said.
“A group belonging to the General Intelligence Department (GID), backed by a force from the Public Security Directorate (PSD), killed an Al-Qaeda member and arrested another during the four-hour shootout in Irbid,” a security source was quoted as saying by the official Petra news agency.
The official identified the slain man as Suleiman Al-Anjadi and the captured Al-Qaeda member as Ramadan Al-Mansi. Both are Jordanian nationals.
A number of security men were “lightly wounded” in the operation, the official said.
The Jordanian forces “stormed the house after receiving information about plans by Al-Qaeda to carry out attacks inside Jordan, he added.
A security official, who declined to be identified, said the operation began at around seven in the morning and lasted until noon, and that a large number of weapons, ammunitions and explosives were seized.
An Agence France Presse photographer who traveled to Irbid said police cordoned off the Matlaa neighborhood in Irbid where the shooting took place and kept journalists at bay. The ground floor stone house where the suspects had been holed up was damaged, said the photographer, adding that some 20 policemen backed by a civil defense car and a bulldozer were posted outside the house. The Matlaa neighborhood is on the edge of Irbid.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Wanted Terrorist Killed in Jordan
AMMAN, 10 January 2007 — Jordanian security forces killed a suspected member of the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization and captured another yesterday in a shootout in the northern city of Irbid, 80 km from here, a government spokesman said.
“A group belonging to the General Intelligence Department (GID), backed by a force from the Public Security Directorate (PSD), killed an Al-Qaeda member and arrested another during the four-hour shootout in Irbid,” a security source was quoted as saying by the official Petra news agency.
The official identified the slain man as Suleiman Al-Anjadi and the captured Al-Qaeda member as Ramadan Al-Mansi. Both are Jordanian nationals.
A number of security men were “lightly wounded” in the operation, the official said.
The Jordanian forces “stormed the house after receiving information about plans by Al-Qaeda to carry out attacks inside Jordan, he added.
A security official, who declined to be identified, said the operation began at around seven in the morning and lasted until noon, and that a large number of weapons, ammunitions and explosives were seized.
An Agence France Presse photographer who traveled to Irbid said police cordoned off the Matlaa neighborhood in Irbid where the shooting took place and kept journalists at bay. The ground floor stone house where the suspects had been holed up was damaged, said the photographer, adding that some 20 policemen backed by a civil defense car and a bulldozer were posted outside the house. The Matlaa neighborhood is on the edge of Irbid.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Wanted Terrorist Killed in Jordan
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
DAR AL ISLAM-JORDAN: JORDANIAN KING ABDULLAH II SAYS THAT ISRAELI COWS SMELL BADLY, WHAT A WEENIE ! ! !
Jordan king complains of Israeli odors
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
JERUSALEM -- Israel says it's doing what it can to eliminate a royal stink that's developed along its border with Jordan. That's after Jordanian King Abdullah II complained of a less than princely odor wafting from the Israeli side of the countries' shared southern border, Israel's environment minister said Monday.
Gideon Ezra told Israel Radio that Jordanian officials last week asked that the stench from a livestock quarantine facility in Eilat be neutralized after it drifted across the border frontier toward Abdullah's palace in Aqaba.
Upon receiving the complaint, Ezra said, Israeli officials immediately spread deodorants around the site to clear the air and planned a thorough cleanup shortly.
"I think that when we get a request from Jordan, just as when we make a request of Jordan, it's one country's duty to do as much as possible for the other," Ezra said.
Israel also has ordered the owners of the facility to clean up the large amounts of animal waste that had built up at the site, Environment Ministry spokesman Sharon Achdut said.
Obviously the man doesn't know that he is smelling $$$$$$$...
Pertinent Links:
1) Jordan king complains of Israeli odors
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
JERUSALEM -- Israel says it's doing what it can to eliminate a royal stink that's developed along its border with Jordan. That's after Jordanian King Abdullah II complained of a less than princely odor wafting from the Israeli side of the countries' shared southern border, Israel's environment minister said Monday.
Gideon Ezra told Israel Radio that Jordanian officials last week asked that the stench from a livestock quarantine facility in Eilat be neutralized after it drifted across the border frontier toward Abdullah's palace in Aqaba.
Upon receiving the complaint, Ezra said, Israeli officials immediately spread deodorants around the site to clear the air and planned a thorough cleanup shortly.
"I think that when we get a request from Jordan, just as when we make a request of Jordan, it's one country's duty to do as much as possible for the other," Ezra said.
Israel also has ordered the owners of the facility to clean up the large amounts of animal waste that had built up at the site, Environment Ministry spokesman Sharon Achdut said.
Obviously the man doesn't know that he is smelling $$$$$$$...
Pertinent Links:
1) Jordan king complains of Israeli odors
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
