The following are excerpts from interviews with Al-Zarqawi sympathizers in Jordan following his assassination. The interviews aired on New TV on June 12, 2006; on Al-Arabiya TV on June 14, 2006; on Al-Jazeera TV on June 12, 2006; and on Al-Jazeera TV on June 8, 2006.

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"I Believe Your Son is a Martyr and a Mujahid"

Banner: "The Wedding of the Heroic Martyr Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi"

Reporter: "The condolence visit paid by members of parliament, from the Islamic Action Front and from the Muslim Brotherhood movement, to the Al-Zarqawi [family] was denounced officially, as well as by the public - especially after one MP declared that Al-Zarqawi was a martyr and mujahid while refusing to describe as martyrs the victims of the Amman [hotel] bombings, for which Al-Zarqawi was responsible."

Jordanian MP Muhammad Abu Fares: "Our jurisprudence says that whoever fights to make the word of Allah supreme and for the sake of Allah is a mujahid, and if he dies while fighting the enemies of Allah he is a mujahid and a martyr.

"The Jordanian government wants to issue fatwas for us? No. We are the ones who issue fatwas for the government to begin with."

[...]

"I said to [the Al-Zarqawi family]: 'Say not of those killed for the sake of Allah that they are dead. They are alive, only you perceive it not.'

"I said: I believe your son is a martyr and a mujahid, and we bless you for his martyrdom. How can we not? After all, he will speak on behalf of 70 of you."

"The True Way to Liberate the Muslim Countries... is Fighting and Jihad"

"The true way to liberate the Muslim countries - whether Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, or Chechnya - from the Americans and from others is fighting and Jihad. Allah commanded the Muslims to do so: 'Fight them. Allah will torture them at your hands and will humiliate them. Allah will help you to overcome them and will heal the hearts of the believers.' This is the essence of what I said.

"We prayed that they persevere and be rewarded. We asked Allah to help us wage Jihad for His sake, and to grant martyrdom to us too."

[...]

"The Americans and their allies came to Iraq, occupied it, destroyed it, ripped it to shreds, did all sorts of things, and still do. Ultimately, he fought them, and they were the ones who killed him.

"It is peculiar that with all that has happened, we still find it strange that he is called a mujahid. He is a mujahid. Otherwise, he could have been like all those young men who have a comfortable life, and so on... But he preferred to wage jihad for the sake of Allah."

"I Know From His Family That He was Eager to Seek Martyrdom"

"I know from his family that he was eager to seek martyrdom, and it seems that Allah granted it to him, because Allah knew that he was devoted to this."

[...]

"We believe that a martyr is someone who has fought for the sake of Allah. In this case, he is a martyr, you see? When someone drowns or is killed in a fire, this constitutes 'moral martyrdom.' But the martyr who is not washed, and not buried... I mean, not put in shrouds, and is not prayed over, is the one killed in battle, fighting the enemies of Allah. This is a martyr, as I've said... a 'battle martyr.' As for someone who drowns [or dies in a fire], he's a martyr, if he is pleased with this, and is not vexed by Allah's decree, when fire consumes his body. In this case, he's a martyr. But if at the end, he is vexed by Allah's decree, he is not a martyr. You see? Their fate is determined by Allah."

[...]

Reporter: "You pronounced Al-Zarqawi a martyr and a mujahid, but left the victims of the Amman bombings up to Allah..."

Muhammad Abu Fares: "Because Al-Zarqawi went to fight the Americans. Who were the bombing victims fighting? There is a great difference between the two. This man left his family and his country, and went off to fight the plundering occupying Americans, and tried to fight the Jews.

"Those killed [in the Amman bombings] were Muslims. You see? I pray that Allah enfolds them in His mercy, but I cannot call them martyrs. Only demagogical and ignorant people say: 'So-and-so is a martyr.' A martyr, as the Prophet said... The Prophet was asked about people who fight for spoils, people who fight to defend their homes, or people who fight for... He said: Whoever fights to make the word of Allah supreme does so for the sake of Allah."

[...]

Zaki Sa'd, Secretary-General of Islamic Action Front: "Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi was performing various types of legitimate and obligatory resistance against the American occupation forces in Iraq. We fully and clearly support these operations. At the same time, we denounce any operation that targets innocent civilians, and especially the martyrs of the bombings of the Amman hotels."

[...]

"We Have Lost a Martyr of the Islamic Nation"

Abu Qudama, Al-Zarqawi's brother-in-law: "By Allah, we received the news with both grief and joy. We feel grief because we have lost a martyr of the Islamic nation, and an imam of the Islamic nation, which holds the imams in esteem, with the exception of those who serve the rulers and welcome humiliation.

"We rejoice because we believe that he is a martyr next to Allah."

[...]

"Woe betide you, my nation, that curses its greatest people. By Allah, if Abu Mus'ab were in Europe, the president would kiss his feet. If Abu Mus'ab were in Europe, the president would kiss his feet. He deserved to have his feet kissed."

[...]

Reporter: "I think there is an attempt to stop the live TV broadcast. They have arrested Abu Qudama, Al-Zarqawi's brother-in-law... He has just been arrested. We cannot broadcast, but I will stay on the air until the transmission stops."