Global IssuesZarqa Lives Up to al-Zarqawi’s Ideals
Infamous for being the hometown of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the late al-Qaeda’s leader, Zarqa is dominated by Islamic parties.
From the white, rocky desert expanding away from the capital Amman rests the city of Zarqa, Jordan’s second-largest industrial city, where waves of concrete blocks are crisscrossed by narrow streets that bustle with activity.
Zarqa is known to the outside world not only for its association with Ahmad Fadeel al-Nazal al-Khalayleh, aka Abu Musab al Zarqawi, but also as the home of Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balaawi, the Jordanian suicide bomber who in December 2009 killed seven employees of the Central Intelligence Agency at a United States base in Afghanistan.
'Like most Jordanian urban centres, Zarqa is a modern city dating back to the early 1900s,' explains Mohamad Masri, researcher at the Centre for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan.
The city, which boasts a large population — just short of a million — was built by the Chechen community and the Arab Bani Hassan tribe. 'The population was further bolstered following the influx of Palestinian refugees in 1948,' he adds.
Relatively prosperous in the 1970s because of the oil and phosphate industries, the city began diminishing in wealth as the upper crust moved to the richer neighbourhoods of Amman. 'Zarqa was basically stripped of its ruling elite and became mostly inhabited by blue collar workers and labourers,' points out the professor.
As a result of the increasingly impoverished conditions, the Muslim Brotherhood found in Zarqa a fertile terrain for recruitment. The city is also largely dominated by Palestinians, many of whom share a strong feeling of marginalisation, which further facilitated the rise of Islamic factions.
'The current welfare system of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is now rooted in Zarqa, has contributed to making the society more conservative,' underlines the professor.
According to Mohamad Al Zyoud, the head of the Islamic Action Front (IAF), the political arm of the Jordanian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, the movement currently supports a network of free clinics, 13,000 orphans and 15,000 families, and also finances the education of 10,000 students. About 30 percent of these charitable efforts are concentrated in Zarqa and its suburbs.
'The Muslim Brotherhood and the IAF appeal to Palestinians, who represent the majority of the party’s followers and make up the majority of Zarqa’s population,' adds Masri.
The evidence of the Muslim Brotherhood’s influence over the city is clear. Over the years, women have replaced the loose-fitting white mandil (head scarf) and colorful Bedouin robes with the more conservative hijab.
'In the 1980s, a Salafi movement called ‘Tabligh wal Daawa’ (Muslim Calling) emerged in the city,' says Masri. Salafis tend to advocate a ‘purer’ and more conservative form of Islam and they introduced the salwar kamiz (the traditional Pakistani costume worn by many Salafists) and the burqa to Zarqa.
Today, the IAF dominates the city’s political background. 'In 2003, Islamic parties obtained four of the 110 parliamentary seats, and six in 2007. We could have secured more seats if the last elections had not been rigged,' accuses Al Zyoud.
Admitting that elections might have been tampered with, Masri estimates that Islamists could have obtained 15 of the 110 seats. In 2007, the IAF also withdrew from the municipal race because they claimed it was fixed.
'Our constituents trust us because they share similar beliefs and are convinced that we are not corrupt and that we will keep on defending their interests when we get to power, something other members of parliament might not be able to achieve,' insists Al Zyoud.
Other parties, such as the more moderate Al Wasat, claim not to focus on the promotion of Islamic beliefs, but rather on the political role of Islamic parties. However, most are doubtful about the upcoming elections at the end of the year and the opportunity for Islamic parties to be fairly elected to office.
'We are waiting to see what the new electoral law has in store for Islamic parties. The new law has to focus on creating a culture of parties, something that can’t be achieved unless citizens are educated and encouraged in joining political movements. As long as parties fall under the close jurisdiction of the interior ministry, this will not be possible,' says Haytham al Anayni, a representative of Al Wasat.
Al Zyoud admits that the Muslim Brotherhood will wait for the publication of the new electoral law to decide whether or not to campaign for office.
Sidelining Islamists in the next elections may, however, prove counterproductive. According to a 2008 study, some five to seven percent of the Zarqa population shares Zarqawi’s radical beliefs, which implies that a portion of the residents follow ultra-conservative Jihadi Salafism, says a source privy to Islamic movements in Zarqa.
Suppressing the Muslim Brotherhood and other such movements, therefore, could result in people supporting even more fundamental groups.
'Further marginalisation may erode the popularity of Islamic movements, such as the IAF,' adds the source, 'and could end up promoting more radical factions in the process.'
© Inter Press Service (2010) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service