Why does this page look this way?
It appears that you are using either an older, classic Web browser or a hand-held device that allows you to view our content but may not work with every feature of our site. If you are using an older browser, please upgrade for the best experience.
Navigation
home > by publication type > op-eds > What Comes After the Explosions?
| Translator: | Riad Houry |
|---|
November 11, 2005
Al-Ghad
The regional and global equation makes it possible for any country or society to be the target of terror and attacks. Economic openness makes it difficult to prevent the infiltration of any country by terror groups, but we should not accept these attacks as something inescapable. There is a necessary political and security effort that has to rise to the level of the challenges, dangers, and ideological distortion that has affected the minds and attitudes of the groups which are behind such violence.
The government did not need a warning to realize the insistence of some groups upon targeting Jordanian stability and security; and the circumstances and policies which helped those responsible for the Aqaba operation may still be propitious, directly or indirectly, for future attempts.
The problem with the adherents to extremist ideology is that they lack any political vision, and he who chose that his message be expressed through the killing of Arabs and Muslims has antagonized every household which has been touched by grief and every Jordanian household in general. Such killing affects every aspect of society. Whoever believes that the causes of the Umma [the Islamic community] can be served by bombing hotels and streets and causing the death of innocents lacks the maturity and the capacity to achieve anything meaningful [in the interest of the Umma]. Any gang of thugs is capable of causing such killing and terror and instigating fear in the country. Destruction by bombs is not an achievement, but rather an act that can be carried out by any group without the need for organization on an international scale or a discourse full of distorted ideology.
If the language of killing and revenge could replace wisdom, and had these been mature priorities, then the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) would have used them with the Hypocrites around him. But when some amongst his Companions advised him to kill Abdullah Bin Abi, the leader of the Hypocrites, the Prophet refused and established a golden rule, "So the Arabs will never say that Mohammed kills his Companions." How, then, would he look upon the killing of innocent civilians at a wedding?!
What the American and Zionist occupation is doing to the Umma cannot be addressed with unclear minds and misguided actions. What is certain is that the priorities of some consist of targeting themselves and registering their presence in our societies, rather than responding to the occupation. The road to Jerusalem does not pass through Amman or Riyadh, and the liberation of Iraq can be achieved without the bombing of hotels and the killing of innocents.
Finally, whoever justifies to himself the killing of innocents will never see his actions against the occupation yield any results. Rather, this killing will reflect negatively on other issues, even if these were positive.
To order Task Force reports, Council Special Reports, and Critical Policy Choices, please call, fax, or order online from our distributor, the Brookings Institution Press: phone +1.800.537.5487, fax +1.410.516.6998.
For information on other reports that are not for sale, or for general publications information, please call +1.212.434.9516 or email publications@cfr.org.
Start-Up Nation addresses the trillion-dollar question: How is it that Israel—a country of 7.1 million, only sixty years old, surrounded by enemies— produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada, and the UK? With the insights of geopolitical experts and investors, the authors examine this nation’s adversity-driven culture to answer this question and offer prescriptions for a global economy on the rebound.
In Forces of Fortune, Vali Nasr presents a paradigm-changing revelation that will transform the understanding of the Muslim world at large. He reveals that there is a vital but unseen rising force in the Islamic world—a new business-minded middle class—that is building a vibrant new Muslim world economy and that holds the key to winning the cold war against Iran and extremists.
In Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know, Julia E. Sweig presents a remarkably accessible portrait of Cuba's unique place on the world stage over the past fifty years, including its internal politics, its often fraught relationship with the United States, and its shifting relationship with the global community.
Complete list of CFR Books
Browse Content By Region IssuePublication TypeThe Think TankFor The MediaFor Educators About CFR
Copyright 2009 by the Council on Foreign Relations. All Rights Reserved.
