AMMAN, Jordan, July 12 (UPI) -- The crisis between the state and Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood eased as the latter denounced terrorism and apologized for lamenting Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's death.
A Brotherhood statement reaffirmed Wednesday the Islamists' commitment to the state's principles and placing Jordan's national interests above all. It also condemned all types of terrorism and presented an indirect apology for the Jordanian people and the families of the victims of the Amman bombings which were claimed by Zarqawi's al-Qaida branch in Iraq.
The crisis emerged more than a month ago when four Islamist legislators from the Islamic Action Front bloc offered their condolences to the family of Zarqawi, who was killed in a U.S. air raid near Baghdad.
The legislators were later arrested on charges of undermining national unity and stirring internal divisions. One of them was released on Tuesday while the three others were referred to trial.
The change in the stance of the Brotherhood, which previously refused to make an apology, followed a meeting Tuesday night between Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit, intelligence chief Mohammed Zahabi and Interior Minister Eid Fayez with the Brotherhood's spiritual guide Salem Fuleihat and the IAF's Secretary-General Zaki Bin Arshid.
An informed source said the Muslim Brotherhood received assurances that the issue of the four legislators will be settled in return for a clarification and apology on the part of the Islamists.
During the meeting, Bakhit stressed that Jordan's national interests are sacred and necessitate practices on the ground which do not contradict them.
Fuleihat, for his part, stressed the Islamists' commitment to respecting national principles, the constitution and the law. He reaffirmed loyalty to the state and king and condemned terrorism in all its forms, regardless of the sources, especially terrorist activities targeting Jordan and its national interests.
