The terrorists planned for the attack to be a moment of defeat for Jordanians and chaos in their country, but it turned into a moment that revealed the true mettle of the Jordanian people, the solidity of their state, and the depth of their national and humanitarian bonds.
The official reaction was swift and decisive, starting with the positions of His Majesty King Abdullah II, his visit to the wounded in Karak hospitals, his attendance at the funeral house to console the victims' families, his vow that the terrorists would not escape punishment, and his directives to review the counter-terrorism strategy, through to the declaration of official mourning and the follow-up of the crime by the government, security, and judicial apparatuses, up to the arrest of the perpetrators.
Yes, the entire state was present in the moment of pain and fear, not only through its security institutions but also through its humanitarian and moral presence, standing by the victims' families and the injured, supporting them and alleviating their burden. These positions were a balm for the wounds of the people of Hamoud and the hearts of all Jordanians.
The popular scene was magnificent in its solidarity; the funeral house turned into funeral houses everywhere, and cities, villages, tribes, and official, social, and religious figures came to Hamoud so that the Muslim stood by his bereaved Christian brother, to the extent that one could no longer distinguish between the host of the funeral and the mourner.
The terrorists struck, but the official and popular response came as a balm to heal the wounds and a message stronger than bullets: You will not succeed in dividing us, you will not make our religious difference a cause for discord, and Jordan will not be a homeland for hatred and fear.
This is the mettle of the Jordanians, whom hardships refine and increase in solidity, cohesion, and rallying around their state and political system.
Inevitably, terrorism did not find in the Jordanian street what it aimed for; it found no panic or fear, no revenge or incitement, or calls to take up arms and retaliate; it found no hate speech or mutual accusations, but rather solidarity, unity, and determination to protect Jordan.
Herein lies the defeat of the perpetrators and their operators; for while they possessed weapons, they did not possess the ability to strip love and humanity from the hearts of Jordanians. They succeeded in killing innocent people, but they could not erase the idea of coexistence that characterizes the genes of the Jordanian people.
It is true that Hamoud Church will remain a witness to a heinous terrorist crime, but it will also remain a witness to a noble official and popular stance, and the blood of the martyrs will remain a trust on all our necks, not to fuel hatred and the spirit of revenge, but to consolidate civil peace and protect Jordan.
What is required today is to transform this heinous crime into a national moment to review the roots of takfiri ideology, the sources of its nourishment, and the methods of its spread, and for it to be an intellectual, religious, educational, and cultural confrontation that is no less important than the security confrontation.
For terrorism does not start with bullets immediately, but begins with a person who thinks in an extremist way that strips the other of their humanity and grants the aggressor the illusion that they possess the absolute truth and the right to declare others infidels and kill them.
We stand firmly with the state in controlling the public scene and activating the Cybercrime Law to prevent lawlessness in people's private lives via social media. And to scrutinize every word that attacks private freedoms or assaults human dignity, so that the instigator of sedition knows that their words will not pass without a deterrent punishment according to the law.
Glory and immortality to the martyrs of Jordan.
(Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Jordan News Agency)
