by Natasha Tynes | Jun 11, 2006 | Jordan, my nation, Political mayhem, The Mideast
Jordanian bloggers have expressed anger over the actions of a number of Islamic Action Front (IAF) deputies who paid condolences to Zarqawi’s family and called him a "mujahid" (Arabic). Jordanian blogger Ahmad Humeid calls the deputies’ actions "shameful," saying:
… anger for Palestine, Iraq and no feeling of oppression or humiliation and no ‘jihad’ justifies the killing of 60 people in Amman’s hotels last year. The public stance of the three IAF deputies in mourning and praising Zarqawi is shameful. What kind of society will we live in when some of our elected representatives are ready to offer us for slaughter by anyone who ‘fights the Americans.’
Meanwhile, Nas wrote a personal letter to the IAF:
… I don’t care about Hamas calling him a martyr. I care when IAF deputies in Jordan go to his funeral and call him a "Mujahid," someone fighting for the "Islamic" cause. Those deputies should be removed from their seats. I would try them for treason if I could. And what was their excuse for attending the funeral? It was a religious duty, they said. They can’t pass judgment on a fellow Muslim, they said. Screw You! When a fellow Muslim turns against the Ummah and starts killing his own people in cold blood that should be some indication that he isn’t one of us, you dumbasses! And to the IAF, if these deputies spoke out of line from the party’s position then now would be a good time to condemn them and for good measure state your position clearly to Jordanians.
Batir has a powerful post (Arabic). He’s also posted in, unleashing his anger at both the state of Israel and Zarqawi:
… other bastards are here, living amongst us and stabbing us in the back. The four "deputies" of the Islamic Action Front who visited the Zarqawi home to consider him a martyr are a shame to Jordan and the country, they are nothing but a group of leeches sucking our blood and supporting criminals and terrorists like Zarqawi. They must be prosecuted, go to jail and never ever be allowed to represent the Jordanian people who were targeted by Zarqawi gang. I hate the IAF, and if they do not apologize right now to the Jordanian people they must be chased down in every corner of this country and never be allowed to express any kind of political activity. The 60 people who died due to Zarqawi’s acts, plus the [tears] of the Jordanian girl Marah who lost her father in Iraq at the hands of a Zarqawi assistant is a real Jordanian purity that will wipe away all those cockroaches thriving on the dirt of the worst ideas in our time and by this I mean the terrorist IAF. Those do not need to blow bombs themselves, if they support Zarqawi then they are terrorists as well.
I just want to echo much of what my fellow bloggers said. What the deputies did is simply despicable and can never be justified. Their actions show the ultimate disrespect to the souls of the 60 victims who died last November as a result of the sinister acts of the "Mujahid" Zarqawi.
In other news, Batir reports that there is a sit-in tomorrow in front of Parliament to condemn the actions of the MPs and to pay tribute to the victims of the Amman bombings. In other developments, the same deputies who showed support for Zarqawi were arrested today. Batir thinks it’s a "step in the right direction."
by Natasha Tynes | Jun 8, 2006 | Political mayhem
So Zarqawi is dead. Good riddance. To all the skeptics out there, it seems that Zarqawi wasn’t a "US invention" or a "creation by Jordanian intelligence" after all! What will the conspiracy theorists say now? "We need proof!" "We want to see the corpse." [There’s now pictorial evidence] Frankly, I would have preferred seeing him captured and then put to justice so that everyone could see how sinister this man was and that he really existed, inflicting terror upon millions and millions of people.
David Igantius wrote in the Washington Post in November of last year that Jordan was determined to capture or kill Zarqawi following the terrorist attacks on the kingdom.
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."
Well, they were true to their word as:
A Jordanian official said Jordan also provided the U.S. military with information that helped in tracking al-Zarqawi down. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was addressing intelligence issues, would not elaborate, but Jordan is known to have intelligence agents operating in Iraq to hunt down Islamic militants. Source: [MSNBC]
Today is a good day for humankind!
Update: Zarqawi’s relatives are now calling him a martyr. Yeah, whatever! I hope he enjoys a prime place in hell as a slave to the devil himself. What’s wrong with these people, really! Were they not the very same ones who declared that they disowned him following the terror attacks in Jordan last November.
Update 2: According to Aljazeera (Arabic), Al-Qaeda in Iraq has confirmed Zarqawi’s death.
by Natasha Tynes | Jun 7, 2006 | Film
As expected, the proposed banning of the controversial film version of the book The Da Vinci Code in Jordan has increased interest in the film. Here is an excerpt from a Jordan Times article:
…shops selling pirated DVDs in downtown Amman are awash with copies of the controversial film, which is based on the controversial blockbuster novel of the same name by American writer Dan Brown. DVD shop owners say customers are showing "unusual" interest in the movie. "The first batch of movies I brought was sold out in less than an hour. Customers are eager to know why this movie attracted so much attention," said one shop owner, who refused to give his name.
Meanwhile, Egypt is exercising still tougher measures. According to AP:
Police seized 2,000 pirated DVDs of "The Da Vinci Code" on Saturday, and the Egyptian Coptic Christian church demanded the film be banned in Egypt. The film has not been shown here and the government has not yet decided whether to permit it. Police arrested the owner of a local movie production company when they discovered he had 2,000 pirated DVDs of the film, a police source said…
I understand why the Council of Churches in Jordan would ask for the film to be banned, as it challenges some basic foundations of Christianity. However, the Council should recognize that in this day and time nearly anything is going to be accessible in one form or another. Banning the movie has done nothing but arouse the curiosity of the public. Instead of banning it, the Council could have arranged seminars to counter the allegations found in the movie, based upon a largely acknowledged fictional novel. In the US, some evangelists decided to go positive with their approach. According to the Economist:
… many other Christians, particularly evangelicals, are taking a different approach. For them the film provides a golden opportunity to get people talking about Christian subjects. Some churches are giving away tickets along with Starbucks vouchers to encourage post-film discussion. The Campus Crusade for Christ has printed 1m copies of its guide to the code. This Sunday, thousands of preachers across the country will be addressing Mr Brown’s book.
One reason why evangelicals are embracing Mr Brown is that shunning proved such a disaster with Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ in 1988. All the outrage and marches simply made Christians look bigoted and silly, and brought a tedious film much publicity. But there are two more positive reasons.
I watched the movie last week and I personally thought it dragged and failed to fully engage me. I thought it concentrated heavily on the theoretical and failed to invest in visual elements. The book was by far more engaging. Neither the book nor the movie has made me question the basic foundations of Christianity. But I went there with full knowledge that the movie narrates a fictional tale. Anyway, that’s my two cents. Here is what Sandmonkey thought of the movie.
by Natasha Tynes | Jun 6, 2006 | Music
Thanks to my bother-in-law, David, I got acquainted with one of the coolest free on-line radio stations out there: Pandora. The amazing thing about this radio is that it selects music for you based upon your taste. For example, let’s say you like Massive Attack, so you add them to your list. Based on this specific choice, Pandora might select something for you along the same lines, like Thievery Cooperation.
I have been listening to Pandora for the past two days non-stop. It really is pretty cool. It introduced me to a number of new bands and artists that I’d not heard of that were similar to my choices. I’m enjoying it a great deal. I’m listening to Pandora as we speak, as it plays a song by an artist called Mary Black. I have never heard of her before but she is pretty darn good. So for all the music fans out there, make sure to pay Pandora.com a visit (no I don’t make any money from this). It really is worth your time. And yeah, it is free!
by Natasha Tynes | Jun 3, 2006 | Food and Drink, Jordan, my nation
In solidarity with Roba, whose dream is to own Amman’s Lavazza, which is now called Duinde Gallery, I decided to put up a picture I took of the coffee shop, which I visited for the first time a month or so ago when I was in Amman.
Actually it was Hal who suggested we go there for our first face-to-face meet-up. I’d been corresponding with Hal for a while but it was the first time that we actually crossed over the online barrier and got to meet in person.
With its vibrant colors, Duinde is very artistic yet it has an extremely homey feeling to it. It was also remarkably quiet, allowing for a wonderful conversation to unfold with Hal. I highly recommend this place for anyone visiting – or residing — in Amman. For those that might be wondering, Hal got the bill! Isn’t she sweet.
