‘To preserve humanity’

News of the murder of Lt. Muath Kasasbeh shook the nation. A grim cloud of sadness occupied the streets; no sane human being could believe his eyes after a shocking video of the brutal murder went viral. Links and screenshots of grief, sadness and anger flooded every social network.

After a few hours of following the news, I sensed a sudden shift in the nature of the content people were posting. Grief turned to strength and Jordan became one unified front, and from then on we were all Muath.

People all over the world expressed support for Jordan and offered condolences over the death of a hero.

People all over the world were commending Jordan and His Majesty’s leadership, some even eager to have him as their own.

Moments after King Abdullah heard of the tragic death of Muath, he cut short his visit to the US to be with his people.

He was a father to his people; he vowed that the blood of one of his own would never be spilled in vain. He stood beside Muath’s family as his own while they mourned.

He refused to allow those barbarians to terrorise his people, nor was he going to let their deed go unpunished. His leadership gave strength to his people; every Jordanian was honoured to have him as his commander.

This barbaric group, which cannot be characterised as human, may have taken the life of one of our soldiers, but it will never take away our unity.

Every Jordanian should hold his head high in honour and remember Muath for the soldier he was, a soldier who risked his life to protect his country and his faith.

The war that Muath was fighting was a war against terrorists who bring shame to a religion of peace.

At this point, the war is not only a war to honour Muath, nor is it a way to protect a faith, but it is a war to preserve humanity.

Religion, race and nationality are of no consequence, for we are all soldiers of humanity and should stand as one to fight for our being.

Alanoud M. Khalifeh,
US