Saturday, June 10, 2006

Families of the victims of Amman's terrorist attack demand a public apology from the IAF


The IAF members' controversial visit to Al-zarqawi's family continued to dominate the local news in Jordan, as families of the victims of the Nov, 9th terrorist attack issued a statment demanding a public apology from the Islamic Action Front (IAF). The families threatened to take all necessary legal and tribal actions to gain this apology. With this new development, the ball is clearly in the IAF's field. Will the IAF issue an apology?

There are two scenarios here. First: It will, if the moderate faction within the IAF, particularly the new moderate-sounding chairman who was elected this last February manages to convince the IAF's board of directors,(bunch of hardliners) that it is in the best interest of the group not to isolate itself further from the public and the government. However many believe the new chairman who was elected after Hamas' victory next door was simply a figurehead whose presence is intended to calm anxieties in the government and really has no power over the board of directors.

In that case the IAF will refuse to issue this apology and allow for the controversy ball to keep rolling. By doing so, the Islamists in Jordan hope to set the stage for their future major upcoming confrontation with the government over the election law. No one should forget that Jordanians are going to the polls in 2007 to choose a new parliament, and that the IAF wants to push through a reform that would fully legalize political parties -- and could dramatically increase the Islamist representation. By refusing to issue an apology the IAF might hope to galvanize their base of supporters and help to unite Islamists and other sympathizers to wrap around the party in the coming election. In doing so, the IAF hope to achieve it ultimate objective of establishing an Islamic government in Jordan similar to what their brothers Hamas achieved in Palestine.
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Update: According to Alghad newspaper, the 4 MPs who offered their condolences to Alzarqawi's family have been arrested today.