From the Jordan Times...

Zarqawi hometown seethes after blasts


ZARQA — In the hometown of the man whose Al Qaeda wing in Iraq says it carried out triple bombings of Amman hotels, neighbours and relatives had one message for Abu Mussab Zarqawi: Repent.

Wednesday's attacks, the deadliest by militants in the Kingdom shattered a sense of immunity from suicide attacks that have bloodied neighbouring Iraq.

Zarqa, Zarqawi's birthplace, was seething on Friday, two days after the bombings.

Some residents said Zarqawi deserved death for attacks on his own country. Others vowed personally to hand him over to the security forces should he ever set foot in his hometown.

“If I saw him, I would tell him to repent and try to learn about true religion that does not kill innocent civilians,” said Hazem Madadha, 34, who said he was a childhood neighbour of Zarqawi.

“I have very bad feelings toward him. He has hurt the name of Zarqa, Jordan and Islam,” he added as he sat in a grocery shop chatting with two cousins of the militant in the Masoum neighbourhood where Zarqawi grew up.

....

“If Abu Mussab killed children, it is right to kill him,” said Yousef Khalayleh, a 26-year-old cousin.

“If he was involved in what happened in Amman, we want nothing to do with him.”

Another cousin, 30-year-old Amjad Khalayleh, said he would consider Zarqawi “an enemy for all eternity” if it was proved that he was behind the Amman attacks.

Thousands rally in unity against terror



AMMAN — Thousands of angry Jordanians of all walks of life on Friday marched through Amman in a display of unity, condemning Wednesday's triple suicide bombings.

Worshippers poured out of mosques after Friday prayers to join demonstrations called by trade and professional unions and opposition groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood as well as NGOs and civil society institutions.

“This was a criminal, cruel act that Islam has nothing to do with. Those terrorists carried out the attacks to distort the image of Islam,” said Jamal Mohammad, a shop owner, as he marched waving a national flag. “The terrorists wanted to shake our security, stability and economy because Jordan is a peaceful country.

Demonstrators, including women and children, Muslims and Christians condemned Al Qaeda's Iraq chief Abu Mussab Zarqawi as a “coward,” pledged to fight terrorism.

“Zarqawi you're evil, Jordan will not bow for you,” shouted the crowd of 3,000 as it marched through the streets of Amman's downtown, waving the flags and portraits of His Majesty King Abdullah.

And from the editorial...

The day after

It is always hard to deal with tragedies. For Jordanians, it might be even harder to deal with the horror that befell them Wednesday night. It was the first ever suicide bombing operation in this country, and it was a crime of unimaginable brutality.
The almost impeccable record of our security agencies had made us used to viewing terrorism threats as something somewhat distant, though not for a second did we ever think we would be immune to this evil.

No country can ever be prepared to face such difficult times and confront such blind hatred. And we are not the first civilised nation that has to pick up the pieces after a disaster of the magnitude of Wednesday night's

....

As Wednesday night's wounds are still fresh, messages of solidarity are pouring in, and so are encouraging gestures of confidence.

Tourist groups are going ahead with their holiday plans here. Arab and foreign investors are voicing their trust in this country and their commitment to the partnership for its further growth and development.

They cannot be thanked enough. And they will not be disappointed.

From the Jordanian bloggers...this...


...and finally...Jordanians to al-Zarqawi: 'Burn in hell'