Due to the nature of my job as a news-person, I am almost unaffected by regional political mayhem. But there is one current affair that infuriates me to no end: The fact that the notorious Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi is actually Jordanian. I still can’t fathom how this pedophile thug who runs around beheading people comes from the country where I was born and spent some of the happiest days of my life.
What makes the situation still worse is that because I’m working in a newsroom I’m cursed, always subjected to the most recent updates of Zarqawi’s ill doings. The minute I hear his latest news I get this irresistible urge to hide, to run away from the scandalous piece of information generated by my fellow countryman.
I’m not sure if I am becoming overly obsessed with Zarqawi’s nationality but I notice that for some reason news outlets covering his wrongdoings tend to highlight his country of origin. In almost every news item I see Zarqawi referred to as: "Jordanian-born militant" or "Jordanian fugitive" or even "Jordanian al-Qaeda ally." It is always "Jordanian" this or "Jordanian" that. No one fails to mention his birthplace! Ah, the shame!
I remember back in the old days when Jordan was not a country that everyone immediately knew when I was asked my place of origin. Many thought it was a city in the US state of Georgia. Others joked about it being a country named after Michael Jordan. It was still a fairly small, unknown Middle Eastern country. Things are not the same anymore. Due to the satanic deeds of Zarqawi and his followers my nation has been stained forever.
To Zarqawi and his cronies, I say damn you! I will dance a dance of joy and sing a song of bliss the moment you are brought to justice for your hideous crimes. Shame on you for tarnishing the reputation of my country and shame on you even more for acting in the name of God.
Well said Ameen. My advice to you is quit deciphering the Arab street and pursue a real PhD degree;-)
PS Natasha, thanks for not playing censor.
Please don’t delete my entries. 😉
Waaaaaaaaaaal, I can’t believe I missed this lively debate. Anyhow, Zarqawi sucks, he has tarnished Jordan’s name.
I hate angry replies full of spelling mistakes (my grammatical errors are based on incompetence and not anger), full of hate, and full of what has sadly come to define our Arab psyche.
This overblown passion has become our Achilles’ heel. We blame the media and yet we let it so easily sway how we’re feeling. We’ll ban “The Road to Kabul,” but we’ll allow hate rhetoric in all sorts of religious settings.
We are an enigma, and if I had put the same kind of effort into my college career as I did in trying to decipher the ‘Arab Street,’ I would have a PhD by now.
Who Is Abu Musab al-Zarqawi?
By DON VAN NATTA Jr. LONDON — From a safe house in Falluja last January, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi wrote a rambling, 17-page letter to Osama bin Laden. The letter asked Mr. bin Laden to send Al Qaeda operatives to Iraq to help Mr. Zarqawi continue the guer…
Dear Natasha
I think the reason why Zarqawi’s Jordanian nationality is mentioned is to make sure people understand that he is not an Iraqi. So Jordanian here means basically non-Iraqi, underlining the claim that there are foreign people involved in what’s happening currently in Iraq. That’s how I understood it.
Zeinab 🙂
Please don’t let the feedback to your comments keep you away. Honest opinions are always welcome, hell honest emotion is welcome as well. I think it is good to have a forum where one can vent such things and get equivalent feedback in return. It’s sort of a reality check for where the world is today: honest opinions from those known and veiled threats from those anonymous, content to hide in the shadows and throw stones.
Don’t let the little people of this world hold you back from your opinions or desires.
lana who? thats not my real name : )
i have an idea of who anonymous and zarqawi are and i’d rather they dont reveal their identities!
this the first time i comment on anything tasha wrote and the last…so i think for tasha’s sake we should end it here…
for anymore bad mouthing and angry attacks please send your emails to lana@localstreet.com.
Thanks,
zeinab
I hate to overexercise all the big brains working on this particular topic but I have to ask and suggest a few things here. First of all Lana is mistaken that our international man of mystery is Palestinian. He is in fact Jordanian. But is her suggestion that hailing from another country could change someone’s loyalties so off the mark?
I would never question any individual’s allegiance. But logic would dictate that if you were from another country — particularly one under an unlawful attack and an illegal occupation — your focus would likely be there. Most would be in their home country if they had the choice. Until then they would persevere until such time as they are able to make that move. Am I mistaken? This seems logical.
I would suggest that if it were to come to a question of following the directives of your real home or that of your host — given that choice — most would follow their hearts homeward to their heritage.
I realize the roots of this particular tree go quite deep. But I think to call this racism is a bit off the mark. Would you expect a man born in Japan who is granted citizenship in the Czech Republic to lose all his connections, his loyalty, indeed his allegiance to his home? I offer that generally he would not.
Allowing for individuality, perhaps in individual cases he could but on the whole would not most deep down connect with “home,” particuarly when home is under occupation? The suggestion inherent in Lana’s comment here, I think, is that because he does not have that deep-seated allegiance that a “Jordanian-Jordanian” would, he really would not give two spits about how his actions reflect upon his passport. Unfortunately in this case our man of the hour is a native-son, negating such sentiment.
I would also offer one other observation: It is interesting to note that Lana was willing to offer her view alongside her identity while those that followed up did so either anonymously or with a bogus credentials. What does that say about the courage of these particular convictions?
i guess it was a racist comment!! just for tasha’s sake i will try to explain why i said that, first of all, jordanians unlike palestinians are not famous for their suicide attacks and acts of martyrdom…the palestinians are the only arab people who actually fight for their country…
secondly, I dont appreciate any person taking it upon himslef to drag a whole nation with him to “terrorsit land”…people should appreciate that what they do as individuals is affecting the whole region…
as for my narrow mindednessn i dont see you to be any better anonymous and zarqawi its actually funny to read ur comments, threats of attacking a website!!! maybe i deserve to be called a shit head but i dont expect it from a “broad” minded person.