A tribute to the Jordanian victim of the CIA bombing

Here's a side of the Arab world that you probably aren't accustomed to seeing. A few days ago, the English-language Jordan Times ran an op-ed by the brother of Al Sharif Ali Bin Zeid Al Aoun, the Jordanian intelligence agent who was killed, along with 7 CIA officers, by the Jordanian double-agent he was handling. It's worth reading in its entirety, but here is a sample:

Ali always stressed that we should not allow Al Qaeda or any other ideological extremist organisation to continue defaming and distorting our religion and proud culture under the pretext of defending them.

He was adamant that we should not allow these unholy and devious political organisations to hijack and manipulate the deep, personal emotions and frustrations currently felt by many Arabs (whether the cause be their sense of helplessness in witnessing the misery and anguish of the Palestinian and Iraqi people, or from the daily frustrations that Arab people face in finding jobs or paying for their children's education or health needs) to justify their evil deeds.

Here I would like us to ask ourselves a basic question far from emotions or rhetoric. How has Al Qaeda, through any of its activities or actions, helped the Muslim and Arab people address or alleviate any of our daily concerns and problems? Has it, in any way, helped to achieve justice and freedom for the Palestinian people? Has it helped address the immediate concerns of people in finding work, providing healthcare or helping lift them out of poverty? Has it given justice to the message of Islam as it was brought down to us?

The fact is that the only achievements and proof points this non-religious, political terrorist organisation can claim is in the number of its victims. And here, I ask, how many of them are civilians? How many of them are Muslims? And how many of them are women and children?

My brother, Al Sharif Ali Bin Zeid, went to Afghanistan and sacrificed his life for a clear, noble, Islamic and national goal, which is to prevent any more innocent Jordanians from being added to Al Qaeda's "death roll", in which it takes so much pride.