By Abdullah Bin Zeid

This week marked 40 days since my dear brother, Al Sharif Ali Bin Zeid Al Aoun, a proud solider in the Jordanian Armed Forces, was martyred. In marking this somber event, I wanted to share with you who my brother Ali was and what drove his dedication and commitment to serve his King, county and his sacred religion.

To know Ali and understand what drove him, one must appreciate the fact that he took very seriously the responsibility and obligation that comes with being a Hashemite: to protect the divine message of Islam that was sent through his great grandfather, Prophet Mohammed (pbuh), and to selflessly serve his King and the Jordanian people.

Ali always believed that a strong Jordan was the best way to serve the Arab nation and Islam. It is in this context that we can begin to understand what motivated my brave brother to willingly go to Afghanistan on behalf of his country.

Ali went in order to prevent further vicious, murderous attacks on innocent Jordanians by terrorist organisations. He went to Afghanistan to preempt any savage attacks on innocent civilians by Al Qaeda in the name of our noble Islam.

Ali sacrificed his life to protect every Jordanian mother who goes to the mall with her children; every family who gets on an aeroplane to travel for a family vacation. Ali gave his life so that no more mothers, fathers, sons and daughters will have to endure the anguish and shock of hearing the news that their innocent loved ones were senselessly murdered at a wedding celebration in the name of Islam. Ali gave his life to protect Islam from those who wish to hurt and tarnish it.

That is why my brother Ali was in Afghanistan. He was not there to wage war against another nation or to serve another nation’s interests. Ali was a Muslim Arab who sacrificed his life to protect Jordan and Islam as per his Hashemite obligation.

Like the rest of us, Ali too was frustrated by the foreign policies of the international community, including the United States, towards the Arab world and especially towards a resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. However, Ali adamantly believed that protesting the foreign policy of other nations is not and should not be synonymous with supporting Al Qaeda or any other organisation that commits hideous terrorist acts against innocent civilians under the pretext of defending Islam. He believed that they were two completely different issues.

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.

Before his martyrdom, Ali never lived nor sought to live the simple and comfortable life to which most of us aspire, although he was well positioned to do so. He had been married for just under a year and a half and had yet to take his honeymoon, postponing it due to his work obligations. This passion, dedication and diligence was greatly influenced by and derived from his King, who has worked tirelessly to serve Jordan and its people.

My mother, his brothers and his wife will forever be proud and honoured to be able to call him a son, brother and husband. He has made us all eternally proud as he is Jordan’s and Islam’s martyr.

All of us will do our best to live our lives in a way that would honour him and meet his expectations.

I ask all Jordanians to pray for Ali’s soul and to pray for our King who works day and night to afford the Jordanian people the opportunity to live a proud, productive and dignified life.

I ask you to pray for all Ali’s colleagues in the Jordanian Armed Forces and security apparatuses who dedicate their lives to keeping us safe. I also ask you to pray for all of those who have been deceptively tempted to support or follow Al Qaeda or any other extremist organisation to come back to the righteous path and to utilise their talents, energy and love for Islam to serve our nation and people in a manner that is productive and would benefit all Arabs.

May God have mercy on Ali’s soul and those of all Islam’s martyrs.

(Jordan Times)


** Photo of Sharif Ali Bin Zeid as a groom