AMMAN (Reuters) – Jordan’s mainstream Muslim Brotherhood urged authorities on Tuesday to increase civil liberties, saying any clampdown after triple suicide bombings would only fuel religious extremism. Abdul Majid Thunaibat said the suicide bombers who killed 54 mostly Jordanian people on Wednesday were a product of a militancy flourishing in a climate of despair, disaffection and domestic repression which worsened in the region after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Iraq’s al Qaeda, led by Jordanian-born Abu Musab Zarqawi, claimed responsibility for the three bombings in Amman that targeted hotels popular with diplomats and Western security contractors who work in Iraq. "The way to counter extremist views is to allow more freedoms," said Thunaibat, whose party is the largest organized political movement in the kingdom and has borne the brunt of an erosion of civil liberties in recent years that rights groups say has suppressed dissent in workers’ unions and mosques.
Jordan’s monarch said after the bombings the country would not turn into a police state but officials have privately warned that sweeping anti-terror legislation being discussed after the attacks could infringe even further the right of expression. [source]
I absolutly, absolutly, absolutly, agree with Abdul Majid here. We need to avoid the pitfalls of a "Patriot Act". The King wants to avoid a police state and honestly I don’t think we can actually afford one financially.
There need to be greater civil liberties in Jordan and hopefully the "upside" of this tragedy will be accelerating social reforms to better the lives of everyday citizens. When you put bread in someone’s stomach he is less inclined to turn towards crime and extremism and terrorism.
Hopefully the aftermath of this tragedy will become a launching pad for reforms and the implementation of the national agenda’s suggestions. We need to make use of the atmosphere that is being created. We cannot resort to the cliche of "life goes back to normal", it CANNOT go back to normal, it wasn’t meant to go back to normal, it is a kitchen light switch in the middle of the night that unveils the cockroaches and we need to deal with these things while that light is still on.
And for God’s sake…
OPEN THE MOSQUES FOR THE CITIZENS THROUGH THE WHOLE DAY!
DO NOT LOCK THEM AFTER EVERY PRAYER!! LET PEOPLE SAY WHAT THEY WANT TO SAY IN NEWSPAPERS!!
AND IF IT’S SHIT THAT COMES OUT OF THEIR MOUTH THEN WHO CARES, BECAUSE IN ALL LIKLIHOOD ITS SHIT THAT WENT IN!!
Amman was supposed to be a healthy balance between a moderate Islamic society accomodating all walks of life, specifically foreigners. Hence the bars and night clubs. But the balance has become overwhelming, and everytime I visit there my friends complain more and more and more, and the people complain more and more and more. It does not take much for a person to point and say "see what they’ve become, this is why you need to kill".
The truth is these places are filthy and the majority of Jordanians DO NOT like them. Some see them as some symbol of freedom, especially those who have lived in the western world. How can you afford freedom without progress? I would rather see factories, industries and businesses flourishing over these places which have become massive breeding grounds for a growing prostitution market among other things like drug sellers. This isn’t my opinion, this is fact. Check out an undercover feature on prostitution in on of this years back issues of JO Magazine if you don’t believe me.
The more these places increase the greater prostitution, the greater drugs (in the majority of drug overdoses and such cases, the druggies get their stuff from night clubs and well known cafes), and more importantly greater targets as they offer up greater excuses. I would rather see more publications like JO Magazine and AlGhad, with the ability to write anything they want over these places. I would rather see actual progress over some supposed symbol of freedom.
Real freedoms do not lie in the lap of luxery, but in the hearts and minds of every citizen. If the government takes a position of clamping down, especially especially (as I truly fear) on Muslims in the country then it will suffer such a great backlash that next time around Zarqawi and his like will have no problem recruiting from within. They might as well just open a regional office in Amman. Because when you take away what little freedoms a poor man already has he becomes desperate.
And in the words of King Abdullah a few years ago "Desperate times call for desperate measures". And as every Jordanian knows the Muslim Brotherhood is a huge asset to the country and has the biggest social support. There is not an election, be it local, municipal, parliamantery, or even in any universitiy in the kingdom, that it will not win. So they deserve to be heard.
Patrick Henry, political leader in the American Revolution famous for saying Give me liberty or give me death…but preferably liberty!
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