http://www.tkb.org/NewsStory.jsp?storyID=63453
Known for moderation and tolerance, Jordanian city at center of storm over Islamic radicals The Associated Press, Apr. 14, 2005 SALT, Jordan This city _ with its numerous churches, its liquor stores and its past as a cosmopolitan trading hub _ was an unusual one to suddenly develop a reputation as a center of Islamic radicals traveling from Jordan to fight in Iraq. Jordanian officials say it's undeserved, the result of a series of misunderstandings. In fact, they say, the city is home to only a small handful of the Jordanians known to have joined the insurgency in Iraq. Nevertheless, all sides acknowledge the city of Salt has its share of disaffected Muslim youths dismayed by economic problems, angry at foreign troops on Muslim lands and vulnerable to messages of extremism. It was the city's custom of holding public wakes that brought publicity here. Specifically, it was the wake for a native son, Raed Mansour al-Banna, who was accused of carrying out the biggest suicide bombing in postwar Iraq _ an attack on Feb. 28 in Hilla, south of Baghdad, that killed 125 people. His family held a solemn, three-day ceremony, which was erroneously reported by a Jordanian newspaper as a "celebration" to honor a "martyr." That outraged Iraqis. Thousands of Iraqi Shiites rioted against Jordan, assaulted its heavily guarded embassy in Baghdad and raised tensions between governments. On March 20, Baghdad and Amman recalled their envoys for "consultations" in a tit-for-tat diplomatic spat. Since then, the truth about the wake emerged _ and the Jordanian government said evidence showed al-Banna had nothing to do with the Hilla blast. Instead, he carried out an attack in which he died in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, where he was buried after the attack. The identity of the Hilla bomber remains unknown. The Jordanian charge d'affaires has taken up his post in Baghdad again, and Iraq has promised to return its envoy soon. Jordan's King Abdullah II's disapproval of his ministers' handling of the dispute reportedly helped lead to the government's resignation on April 5. Still, Salt _ a city of 83,000 people spread over the hills 25 kilometers (15 miles) northwest of Amman _ bears the burden of the reputation. "Salt came to the attention of many because the customs of its tightly knit tribal community allows for wakes to be held, like that of al-Banna, unlike other areas in Jordan where suspected fighters were killed and buried quietly," Asma Khader, who was the spokeswoman of the government that resigned last week, told The Associated Press. She said it was "inaccurate to accuse Saltis of militancy," considering there were suspected fighters from other Jordanian cities, like Zarqa _ the hometown of one of the top terror leaders in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi _ and the wider phenomenon of militancy in other Muslim nations. Few Salt natives have been implicated in terror plots in Jordan. Military court records show that the bulk of terror suspects in trials over the past year came from other parts of the country. Security officials said there were no exact figures on Jordanians who fought or were killed in battle in Chechnya, Afghanistan and Iraq _ hotspots that draw in Islamic fighters from all over the Middle East. But they insisted that the number did not exceed a few dozen since 1987, partly because the country has kept militants under check and banned them from traveling abroad. Salt boasts religious tolerance and a significant Christian population. Men and women wearing Western-style clothing are common. But it hasn't been immune to the spread of extremist thought. Al-Banna was a pro-American Jordanian lawyer who got his thrills from riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle before he became a "mujahed" in Iraq. His turn to militancy has been largely unexplained. "Frustration, alienation and poverty are leading the younger generation to become increasingly receptive to the slogans of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden," said political analyst Musa Keilani. He warned that "unqualified" state-appointed mosque preachers in Salt have brought about an "intellectual vacuum" that could be a breeding ground for extremists. Salt shoemaker Ghareeb Bitar, 34, said his brother Rabah was one of the first Jordanian jihadists to fight in Afghanistan. Rabah returned home in 1991 after losing a leg in battle with the Russians, he said. "Before traveling, Rabah was known as a delinquent and a drunkard. Then one night, I was shocked to see him praying," said the bearded Bitar. At the turn of the last century, Salt was Jordan's trade hub, lying at a major commercial crossroad with then British-mandate Palestine. Early in the 1920s, King Abdullah I _ Jordan's founder and the great-grandfather of the current monarch _ lived in Salt, giving political weight to the city. Salt's Secondary School was the kingdom's first and for a long time only learning institution, where most Cabinet officials and lawmakers were educated. But in 1956, the late King Hussein temporarily banned a multiparty system after a leftist coup attempt, beginning the process of stripping some of the city's elite of power. The city was turned into a quiet backwater over time, said Keilani. ___ Associated Press writer Jamal Halaby contributed to this report from Amman. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Give underprivileged students the materials they need to learn. 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