April 10th, 2011
By Mohammad Ben Hussein
MMAN - Jihadist Salafists plan to hold their next protest near the Interior Ministry Circle later this week in attempt to pressure authorities to release prisoners they allege are being held for preaching this conservative school that adopts a strict interpretation of Islam and preaches jihad.
“Next time it will be at the Interior Ministry Circle. We are ready to go as far as it takes to release our brothers from prisons. They are held unfairly behind bars just for being Salafists,” said one Salafist cleric, Othman Mohammad, who has taken part in several such gatherings in different towns.
On Friday, a group of Salafists from various areas took to the streets in the northern town of Irbid calling for releasing their peers, some of whom are convicted of terror-related charges.
The gathering near the city’s main mosque was the fifth of its kind in less than a month.
Relatives of detainees have also taken part in the protests, where participants have also called for eradicating corruption and greater political freedom.
The protesters came from several cities including Maan, hometown of Abu Sayyaf (Mohammad Shalabi), who is currently serving a 15-year prison term for his role in the 2002 Maan riots.
“We want Abu Sayyaf and all Salafist prisoners released. They have not committed any crime to be treated like this,” said Kareema Mohammad, whose son is in Swaqa prison for terrorism-related charges.
Many Salafist scholars promote violence, but others have renounced it since the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. The first group is called jihadist Salafists, or takfiris, in reference to a trend among them to label Muslims as infidels for mere differences in religious opinion.
The government has banned protests at vital intersections like the Interior Ministry Circle, where on March 25, anti-riot police cracked down on two rival demonstrating groups, leaving scores injured, while one man died of a heart condition.
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