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Jordan: Despite government efforts, support for Islamic State grows

Dec 6, 2014 1:50 pm By Robert Spencer

ISIS graffiti JordanWhile Western leaders confidently and repeatedly assert that the Islamic State is un-Islamic and has nothing to do with Islam, Islamic State jihadis present themselves as the exponents of “the real Islam,” and make recruits among peaceful Muslims by doing so. Obama, Cameron and the rest are foolish to ignore this, for all their complacent assurances aren’t doing a thing to stop Islamic State recruitment among Muslims in the their countries or elsewhere.

“Islamic State group support grows in Jordan town, a microcosm of challenge to halt militants,” by Mohammed Daraghmeh and Karin Laub, Associated Press, December 6, 2014:

MAAN, Jordan — Local authorities quickly stripped away public signs of support for the Islamic State group in this desert town. Black flags have been removed from rooftops. Graffiti proclaiming the extremists’ imminent victory have been whitewashed.

But supporters of the Middle East’s most radical extremist group are only laying low after their surprise show of strength in protests last summer. Despite government efforts, support for the Islamic State group is growing in Maan and elsewhere in Jordan, one of the West’s key allies in the region, say Islamic State activists, members of rival groups and experts on political Islam.

One of the leading Islamic State group activists in Maan said he and others are still working to build their base.

“In homes, at work, in mosques, in the streets, we reach out to people to call them to the real Islam,” the 40-year-old blacksmith, Abu Abdullah, told The Associated Press. Like other Islamic State group supporters interviewed by the AP, he spoke on condition he be identified only by his nickname for fear of troubles with authorities.

Militants like Abu Abdullah talk confidently of eventually having enough numbers to make their takeover of Jordan inevitable.

That may be overconfidence. Hardcore supporters of the Islamic State group’s self-proclaimed “caliphate” likely number in the thousands in a nation of 6.5 million. The government says the threat is overblown. But extremists do have momentum, attracting followers with promises of radical change and an ostensibly more just society at a time when many Jordanians can’t find jobs, struggle with rising prices or feel abandoned by the pro-Western ruling elite.

The war in Syria gives them a cause and battlefield experience. Up to 2,000 Jordanians are fighting in rebel ranks in Syria and Iraq, most of them with extremist factions, and several hundred have been killed, according to Hassan Abu Haniyeh, an expert on Islamic movements, and Marwan Shehadeh, a scholar who was once part of the ultraconservative Salafi movement.

Over the summer, jihadi Salafi marches were held in Maan, Zarqa and several other cities, with protesters raising black banners and chanting slogans in support of the Islamic State group.

Given the poverty and anger at perceived government neglect, such protests could easily erupt again and spread, warned Maan’s mayor, Majed al-Sharari.

Study after study has shown that poverty doesn’t cause terrorism, and that terrorists are generally wealthier and better educated than their peers, but this goes against the dogma that everyone accepts, and so is universally ignored.

“My expectation is that because of this pressure, there will be a huge explosion in Jordan,” he said. “I don’t expect 2015 to pass peacefully. The signs are there.”

Jordan’s King Abdullah II called the fight against the Islamic State group and extremists “a third world war by other means.”

“This is our war. This is a war inside of Islam,” he said in an interview with CBS News on Friday ahead of White House talks with President Barack Obama. “We have to own up it. We have to take the lead.”…

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Filed Under: Featured, Islamic State (aka ISIS, ISIL, Daesh), Jordan Tagged With: Maan, real Islam


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Comments

  1. Peter Buckley says

    Dec 6, 2014 at 2:39 pm

    More de-bunking of the “tiny minority” myth.

    I think whenever we hear anyone claim yet again that it’s a “tiny minority”, they should be laughed out of court…..

  2. TH says

    Dec 6, 2014 at 3:19 pm

    Lenin and the Bolsheviques never had any majority in Russia when the took control of the the State.

  3. jewdog says

    Dec 6, 2014 at 6:05 pm

    I can certainly understand how the Islamic State can help the economy, what with new jobs opening up:
    IS Want Ads:
    -Whipper:- (midrange) 2-3 years experience enforcing Sharia Law preferred, good physical condition.
    -Beheader – (entry level) at least 2 years from accredited Islamic college for cutting edge training.
    -RPG gunner – (senior level) 4-6 years in the field, preferably shooting infidels; rival militias accepted.
    -Propagandist – (midrange) 2-3 years filming engagements, Sharia punishments for recruitments. Degree from Ivy League College preferred
    -Suicide Bomber – (entry level) Desire for fast track to virgins. No experience needed.

    • Don McKellar says

      Dec 7, 2014 at 1:33 am

      There is a great deal of truth in this very funny black humour list! Nice work.

    • Darren says

      Dec 8, 2014 at 10:41 am

      You have to add a liberal arts degree in crucifying. This degree could be part of the islamic arts program.

  4. George says

    Dec 6, 2014 at 10:46 pm

    Several hundred took aver Mosul, a city of over 2 million, so this is still concerning (especially since Jordan didn’t have a “Spring” as countries like Tunisia and Egypt did.

  5. Steve says

    Dec 6, 2014 at 11:31 pm

    Jordan is an entirely artificial country and the so-called “king”, who is half English, has no legitimacy whatsoever. He rules because certain of the Bedouin tribes which dominate the army and national security establishment still support him, along with the CIA. If they withdraw their support, he goes and the country goes. And where does it go? Even with no ISIS, the people are rabid Jew haters and West haters. Jordan is nothing but “tribes and Sunni Islam”, exactly as northern Iraq and eastern Syria. The veneer of civilization, left over from the British, is very thin. This absurd “king” has probably already loaded up three quarters of the “Jordanian” treasury (and all the US aid) in Swiss bank accounts and has a plane fueled and ready to go at any time.

  6. Charli Main says

    Dec 7, 2014 at 4:48 am

    This absurd “king” has probably already loaded up three quarters of the “Jordanian” treasury (and all the US aid) in Swiss bank accounts and has a plane fueled and ready to go at any time.
    You have got that 100% right. Any guesses in which direction the plane will be heading??
    Now let me see–Libya ?? Algeria?? any old Islamic Paradise so the “King” can be surrounded by his Muslim brothers and immersed in the religión of peace.

  7. Raymond Hietapakka says

    Dec 7, 2014 at 6:15 am

    Abu should stick with making shoes for the local camels, and stay out of politics…

  8. Maxx says

    Dec 7, 2014 at 8:10 pm

    You know, it is not a far leap to read this back into history;

    “Germany: Despite government efforts, support for Nazi fascism grows”

    Just not that hard at all.

    • Charli Main says

      Dec 8, 2014 at 3:17 am

      The more the German Government allows Muslims to swarm into the country, the more support for Nazi organisations will grow. People will eventually turn to those organisations that say ” we will solve the problem for you ”
      Nazi type organisations will use the actions and behaviour of the Muslims, as tools to take control of Germany, just as they used the Communists and the threat of Communism in the 1930’s to eradicate democracy and introduce a one party Fascist State.
      Angela Merkel take note—-

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