Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Dancing in the dark

Yesterday a group calling itself the “follow up committee for the Jordanian national forum” issued a statement on the targeting and arrest of the MP’s of the Islamist movement. The “Jordanian national forum" is a grouping of Islamist, Arabist, leftist opposition movements. It is ironic that they have decided to use a nationalist cloak, as they have historically dismissed Jordanian nationalism as fake and the Jordanian state as an illegitimate product of western imperialism. Now they have decided to use a nationalist cover. Interesting.

Anyway, I found out about this statement after reading two opinions in Al Rai attacking it and its authors. The original statement was not published in Al Rai (lame) and so I found it on the IAF website.

The statement starts with a political context introduction. It states that in this time of American Zionist conspiracy on the Arab and Islamic nation, in which the tools of globalization and its tools such as the WTO, IMF, the World Bank, stock exchanges, banks and money laundering; and at a time of its [globalization] greatest success in liquidating the ownership of the people and loading the peoples with debt, and linking it with globalized imperialism, confiscation of the peoples will and distorting its consciousness, and destroying its cultural, religious and thought structures, converting the people into consumer markets after depriving them of their humanity, destroying entire nations and imposing materialism over all other spiritual and moral values; and in this time in which Iraq is being destroyed and the Palestinian issue is being liquidated and Sudan is being divided, and insistence on dividing and ripping the limbs of the Arab nation, leading to self destruction as a result of the Amero-Zionist-globalization alliance led by Christian Zionists, controlling the sources of energy, money, weapons, media, and transnational communications technology (I think that you get the picture).

Anyway, because of this nasty situation, the statement says that

  1. The Mujahidin are fighting back state terrorism.
  2. Their success is reviving hope in the nation (ummah)
  3. Arab regimes are trying to save their master (the US) from its dilemma.
  4. The Jordanian government is supporting the American invasion of Iraq and stands against the armed struggle in Palestine (again suggesting that the government fabricated the Hamas weapons case), and placed itself in the front lines in the battle against terrorism.
  5. The Jordanian government is confiscating people’s freedoms (which explains how they can issue this statement without facing repercussions).
  6. The arrest of the four deputies is designed to destroy the “nationalist movement” that is not in line with government subservience to American and Zionist designs.
  7. The government is afraid of the IAF popularity, and its failed policies can only be covered up by targeting the Islamist movement.
  8. Our nation is moderate and not a nation of terrorists.

The statement goes on to demand that Jordan become the staging ground to repulse the invaders (in Iraq and Palestine). More immediate demands are to release the deputies, stop bothering Hamas, abrogate the peace treaty with Israel, try the officials who created this crisis, stop support of the US in Iraq, support liberation movements anywhere in the Arab and creating a “national salvation government”.

So, the behavior of the MP’s is not an issue (no need even to mention Abu Fares’ statement), and Hamas’ smuggling weapons is not a problem (since we should become the staging ground for liberation). We should take upon ourselves a task that richer and more populous Arab countries would never dream of. Why? It seems to stem from a deep rooted hostility to Jordan. I still can’t get over their gall of calling themselves nationalists.

Honestly, I can’t believe that anybody can write such a thing anymore with a straight face. I mean, Zionism, globalization, imperialism, the World Bank, conspiracies, and subservience. How many buzz words can be fit into one document? And who honestly wants to convert Jordan into the staging ground for the liberation of the ummah? Not anybody who could honestly call himself a “nationalist”. Why would somebody calling for bringing harm on his country call himself a nationalist?

The opposition would do well to read opinion polls. People don’t want anymore of this sloganeering drivel.

A Jordanian proverb goes “’Ala bal meen yalli bturgusi bil itmeh”, on whose mind could you be on if you dance in the dark. Nobody cares. Please try to become real nationalists, rather than trying to simply use the nationalist cover.

9 Comments:

At 6:21 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

That was the stupid statement by the Opposition in the history of the Jordanian State. I will write about it on Thursday if Addustour gives me good freedom.

 
At 6:50 PM, Blogger Natalia said...

This would be very funny if it wasn't disturbing.

These people should know how much they resemble their Russian Orthodox counterparts. The same overtures about "global Zionism" and the "invader" (although the Orthodox folks tend to throw stuff about "evil free-masons" in as well... Did they do that anywhere?). All of these groups call each other "infidel" but they are actually so incredibly similar that they just seem comic. The rhetoric is EXACTLY THE SAME. It's as if they use the same template for their so-called statements.

 
At 6:57 PM, Blogger Khalaf said...

Batir: I look forward to your article. At least we will read it on your blog if Al Dustour rejects it.

Natalia: Lol. How did they forget the masons? They usually manage to slip a mention of them in such statements. I am sure that they forgot. Either that or the masons managed to infiltrate them in order to execute an evil conspiricy. LOL.

 
At 8:29 PM, Blogger lisoosh said...

Khalaf - slightly off topic I know but I am curious about something. In a lot of blogs comments from Jordanians seem to be pretty nationalistic. Jordan may in some degree be a "Western construct" but it seems that Jordanians are developing a very strong self image regarding their country and their place in the world. Is this impression correct or am I way off base?

 
At 9:14 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

I read the statment and I thought that it is very disturbing. The truth is that there will be always a radical element within any political party(like Abu-Fares) so that is not a new phenomena. However when the radical element become the majority within the group and choose confrontation over any other ulternative dialogue then things turn to be ugly.

In the past, many western and Arab Analyst pointed out the IAF as an example of a moderate Islamic party that is capable to live and tolerate other ideologies within the political process. However these days seem to be coming to an end soon in Jordan.

 
At 1:30 AM, Blogger Khalaf said...

Lisoosh: I agree with your conclusion. As I pointed out in the post, even parties traditionally hostile to Jordanian nationalism are eager now to call themselves nationalist.

Issam: I was never impressed with the arguement that the MB is a force of moderation. Maybe I was right from the begining, or maybe they have changed.

 
At 3:49 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jordan must outlaw torture: UN rapporteur

AMMAN (AFP) - UN special rapporteur on torture Manfred Nowak has urged Jordan to criminalise torture and close special courts that protect police and intelligence offenders.

"I feel there is a general impunity in relation to torture in the country. Impunity is a major reason for why torture happens," Nowak told a news conference after a two-day fact-finding mission in Jordan.

"Torture must be made a crime," he said, adding that he will file a report with his recommendations to the UN's reformed Human Rights Council -- of which Jordan is a vice chair -- and the UN General Assembly.

Nowak singled out the detention facilities in Amman of the General Intelligence Deparment (GID) and the Central Investigation Department (CID) of the Public Security Forces as "notorious" torture centres.

"I have enough evidence to conclude that in those two places torture is practised systematically," said Nowak who visited the GID and CID detention facilities as well as three prisons south of Amman.

Nowak complained that officials at the GID and CID obstructed his fact-finding mission "in violation of the terms of reference of the visit agreed upon by the Jordanian government".

He said he was denied the right to take pictures and have a private interview with detainees at the GID, while officials tried to hide evidence at the CID.

Nowak also charged that police, prison and intelligence officials get away with mistreating detainees because if charged they are prosecuted in "special courts" rather that in ordinary tribunals.

"The special police and intelligence courts must be closed," he said.

He also recommended the closure of the Jafer prison, an isolated desert penitentiary 260 kilometers (160 miles) south of Amman, where he said beatings were "systematic" although he added that he did not believe that was part of a "systematic policy of torture" on the part of the Jordanian authorities.


06/29/2006 11:14

 
At 3:51 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Natalia: why don't you condemn state sponsored terrorism? I have never heard you call your killer marines terrorists? SAY IT NATALIA: I NATALIA CONDEMN AMERICAN TERROR IN IRAQ AND JEWISH TERROR IN PALESTINE.

 
At 6:32 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

This jargon is also the same as Marxist verbiage - the actual words used are different, but the language is the same. I did expect to see "running dogs" in there somewhere. Some people seem to have little engines in their brains for generating this garbage.

 

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