by Natasha Tynes | Nov 17, 2005 | Jordan, my nation
I just finished reading the interview that His Majesty king Abdullah gave to foreign papers in which he discussed a number of interesting topics. One particular quote that caught my eye was this:
"There’s a problem inside of Islam. The problem is not Jordan or the United States or Saudi Arabia," the king maintained.
Source [The Financial Times]
I wonder how this statement will be perceived in the Muslim world at large. This Egyptian blogger called His Majesty brave for admitting this.
First Middle Eastern leader admits that there is a problem in Islam. Middle Eastern counrtries like Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco and Saudi Arabic were attacked by Islamists’ terrorism but most defended Islam as saying this is not not the "true Islam". King Abullah, first brave Arab leader, to admit the problem. The language of King Abdullah indictates seriousness and firmness in tackling Jordan’s crisis with terrorism.
Another statement that caught my eye was that Jordan is planning to abolish the death penalty.
"We want to lead as the first country in the Middle East to do away with capital punishment," he said.
Way to go Jordan. I’m totally for abolishing the death penalty.
by Natasha Tynes | Nov 17, 2005 | Jordan, my nation
After quickly glancing at the new Jordanian senate formed yesterday, I couldn’t help but notice that there are now six women in the senatorial mix. Please correct me if I’m wrong, as I’m not sure about this, but isn’t this the largest representation of women the senate has ever had?
It seems the terrorist attacks prompted Jordan to push ahead with promised reforms, which I expect will include greater women’s participation in politics. Not bad!
by Natasha Tynes | Nov 17, 2005 | Jordan, my nation
The mother of a Jordanian bride whose wedding was devastated in last week’s hotel bombings died of her wounds on Thursday, bringing the bombing death toll to 59. A Jordanian official said "Hala al-Alami was in a coma. She died at 02:00". Nadia’s father, Anis, and her father-in-law, Khaled al-Akhras, died in the blast.
Source: [News24.com]
Allah Yer7amha. May her soul rest in peace. Yet another innocent victim of the evil doings of Zarqawi and his sinister supporters. Meanwhile, according to this al-Ghad story (in Arabic) some Jordanian prisoners are celebrating these vicious attacks. Unbelievable! I’m going into a deep-depression. I don’t know if I’ll ever recover.
by Natasha Tynes | Nov 16, 2005 | Jordan, my nation, Music
Yazeed from the Jordan First blog has a link to a Jordanian song, entitled La Ya Amman. The song was made following the terrorist attacks in Jordan and is performed by a number of Jordanian singers, including Zein Awad, Nany Petrao, Fadi Ghassan among others.
Alghad has an article (Arabic) about the song. The article also includes the song’s lyrics (in Arabic). I have already listened to it a number times and I have to say it was very touching. Yes, it brought tears to my eyes. My favorite part is the line: "No matter what happens, we are Jordanians". You can listen to the song here. And read the article here.Thanks Yazeed!
by Natasha Tynes | Nov 16, 2005 | Jordan, my nation
According to David Ignatius, who is currently in Amman, Jordan is determined to get Zarqawi.
A senior official told me that Jordan is considering aggressive new anti-terrorism operations that will seek to capture or kill Abu Musab Zarqawi and his top lieutenants. When I asked King Abdullah about the campaign, he explained, "Zarqawi brought the war to our doorstep, and there’s a feeling in Jordan that we’d like to bring him to justice." …
Sources say that thanks in part to tips from Jordanian intelligence, U.S. forces captured Zarqawi at least twice over the past several years but let him go because they failed to identify him.
Source: [The Washington Post]
Read the whole thing. It is worth your time.
