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AMMAN — Deputising for His Majesty King Abdullah, HRH Prince Feisal on Saturday attended the religious celebration held by the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs to mark Prophet Mohammad’s birthday. 

The celebration, held at the Royal Cultural Palace, was attended by HRH Prince Ghazi, His Majesty’s Chief Adviser for Religious and Cultural Affairs and personal envoy, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra. 

Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Mohammad Khalaileh delivered a speech on the occasion, during which he said that Prophet Mohammad embedded values of fraternity, mercy and human dignity. 

Khalaileh cited a Hadith, sayings of Prophet Mohammad, which calls for mercy and the preservation of human dignity.  

The ceremony featured the screening of a documentary on the prophet’s birth and mission, which centred on the spread of justice, forgiveness and peace.  

The film also addressed the prophet’s role in bringing enlightenment to people’s lives, his keenness on education and the promotion of humanitarian values, according to Petra. 

Also mentioned in the film was the Royal initiative for memorisers of the Koran and the Crown Prince’s Dhad initiative, which takes its name from a distinct sound and letter unique to the Arabic language, launched to preserve the status and integrity of Arabic. 

AMMAN — Jordan on Saturday joined the Islamic world in marking the birth of Prophet Mohammad, who was born on the 12th day of Rabi I of the lunar calendar. 

On the occasion, His Majesty King Abdullah tweeted (Abdullah Bin Al Hussein #‎ABH) to congratulate Arabs and Muslims, highlighting the essence of the Prophet’s peaceful message.

“On the occasion of Prophet Mohammad’s (PBUH) birthday, we ask the Almighty that peace and love prevail, and Jordan to enjoy blessings,” the tweet said.

His Majesty King Abdullah has received cables on the occasion of the birthday of Prophet Mohammad from a number of Arab and Muslim leaders, according to a Royal Court statement. 

In the cables, the leaders expressed their well wishes to King Abdullah and the people of Jordan. 

His Majesty also received cables from senior officials and army officers, heads of security agencies and civil society representatives. 

HRH Crown Prince Hussein received similar cables on the occasion. 

In the cables, the senders highlighted that Prophet Mohammad, peace and blessings be upon him, carried a message of peace, moderation and tolerance that brought the Ummah (Muslim nation) forward. 

They also praised the King’s efforts in defending Islam and safeguarding Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem in line with the Hashemite Custodianship, the statement added.

Highlighting the essence of the Prophet’s message of enlightenment, Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah, in a tweet via her official account, congratulated the Jordanian and Muslim nations on Prophet Mohammad’s birthday.

AMMAN — The Social Security Corporation (SSC) has received more than 2,000 applications from subscribers to withdraw funds from their work-stoppage insurance savings credits one week after the launch of the service on the corporation's new website, SSC spokesperson Musa Sbeihi said on Saturday.

The reasons behind the withdrawals were mainly for subscribers to use the funds to enable their children to pursue higher education and to cover health treatment costs for them or their family members, Sbeihi added, as reported by the Jordan News Agency, Petra. 

The SSC transferred a total of JD1.1 million to some 700 subscribers, while rejecting the applications of 545 subscribers for lack of required documents, the spokesperson said.  

Those whose applications were refused received notification messages on their mobile phones, Sbeihi said. 

He added that the service to withdraw from savings credit is only available through the corporation’s website, www.ssc.gov.jo, which was launched on November 2 for Jordanians who have worked in the private sector since September 1, 2011.

For subscribers to benefit from this insurance, their savings credit should be no less than JD300, and they can withdraw up to 75 per cent of the available savings credit, the SSC official noted.

Earlier in the month, the SSC announced that insurance revenues since its establishment in 1978 up to the end of September of this year amounts to JD17.1 billion.

SSC expenditures to cover insurance services for pensions, work injuries and compensations totalled JD9.8 billion, while the corporation recorded an accumulative surplus of JD6.6 billion, with assets worth JD10.9 billion.

AMMAN — A 25-year-old woman who was reportedly left 100 per cent blind by her husband last week in Jerash is recovering at King Hussein Medical Centre, official sources said.

The victim, a mother of three, was reportedly attacked by her 31-year-old husband while at their home on Wednesday, a senior judicial source and a close relative of the victim told The Jordan Times.

"The husband gouged the victim's eyes and she was rushed to a nearby hospital where attending doctors ruled that the woman had lost her entire vision as a result of the assault," the senior judicial source said.

The victim's husband was ordered to be detained on Thursday by the Jerash Criminal Court prosecutor, according to the judicial source.

"The prosecutor is currently waiting on medical reports to decide what charges to level against the defendant," the judicial source said.

The charges could range from attempted murder to the crime of causing a permanent disability, the judicial source said, adding that the prison term for causing a permanent disability could range from five to 10 years in prison.

The police refused to reveal any details about the incident.

The incident sent shockwaves across Jordan, with many Jordanians using their social media accounts to express their anger and disbelief.

Aseel Alqudah wrote on her Facebook page: "May God damn this man for what he did to his wife.  She is now a mother who will never be able to see her children again in her life."

"Keep teaching men in our society that women are second-class citizens and they are only born to get married and have children in our society of chastity and virtue," Alqudah added.

Nihad Batayneh wrote on her Facebook page: "May you become blind yourself. If you are a real man you would not lay a hand on your wife."

Ashraf Tahat added: "This is a backward and ignorant person… I just hope he gets a stiff prison sentence for what he did."

AMMAN — Resigned ministers who served for at least 10 years in official institutions or who are already in military or civil retirement are eligible for lifetime pensions, according to the Finance Ministry.

Ali Masri, director of the retirement and pensions department at the Finance Ministry, said on Friday that retired ministers eligible for pensions must have spent 10 years in public service, which includes public institutions, ministries, public official departments and municipalities, adding that those who are already military or civil retirees are entitled to accrue pensions at the level of minister pensions.

Cabinet members who served for fewer than 10 years can ask, after leaving office, for their time in service to be included in the social security system, Masri added.

The current government amended the 2018 amended retirement law, which went into effect in October 2018, under which ministers’ entitlement to lifetime pension is linked to at least 10 years of public service.

Masri's statements to the Jordan News Agency, Petra have come in response to citizens' questions on the impact of the recent reshuffle.  

Government sources said that the reshuffle is a necessary step to deal with the requirements of this phase, which will focus on recruiting young people as well as splitting a number of ministries, and has followed the resignation of the former education minister.

AMMAN — Jordan will chair the first Conference on the Establishment of a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction, scheduled for November 18-22 at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

The announcement was made during the 12th Amman Security Colloquium (ASC) by Jordan Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Khaled Toukan, an ASC statement said.

In an address, Toukan said that US and Israeli participation in the upcoming global conference is needed to reach understandings to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction, according to an ASC statement on Saturday.

To prepare for the establishment of a zone free of nuclear weapons, Israel should enter the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Toukan said, stressing the Kingdom's commitment to international standards in implementing the awaited Jordan 2023 nuclear programme.

Addressing the gathering, Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Secretary General Thomas Greminger voiced appreciation for the Kingdom's role as a partner to the organisation, highlighting the OSCE’s cooperation partners from the Mediterranean region including Jordan, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, along with its six Asian partners: Afghanistan, Australia, Japan, Mongolia, Korea and Thailand.

Undersecretary for International Affairs at the Bahraini Ministry of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Al Khalifa at the colloquium voiced appreciation for the Kingdom's support of his country, highlighting the modest policies of the two nations.

Mounir Zahran, chairman of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, said that the success of the upcoming Conference on the Establishment of a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction is tied to US and Israeli attendance and participation.

AMMAN — The Amman bombings were a crucial turning point in Jordan’s position towards extremism and extremist organisations, according to a political analyst.

"Jordan has exerted tremendous effort, regionally and internationally, in combatting extremist ideologies and organisations since the Amman bombings in 2005," Political Analyst and Commentator Bader Madi told The Jordan Times over the phone.

"The events that took place in 2005 restructured the way Jordanians view extremism and shaped popular and official efforts to combat any potential hubs for extremist thought," he said on Saturday. 

This “reshaping” helped Jordan, under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah, to protect itself from the 2011 Arab springs events, Madi said, noting that the clashes that ensued in neighbouring countries and even other countries around the world took place mainly because “extremism found a way to grow there”. 

He added that extremist ideologies target individuals and society. 

Madi cited The Amman Message initiative, which the King launched to portray the true essence of Islam, based on moderation and rejecting extremism, as a major Jordanian milestone in combatting terrorism. 

He also said that Jordan has overseen the work of Islamic parties and groups in the Kingdom to ensure they comply with the initiative, protecting the true image of Islam.

"The Kingdom is a model of coexistence and moderate Islam through its people and leadership, not only on an intellectual level. Jordan has also worked hard on the security and military fronts in cooperation with other countries to corner and extinguish extremism," the analyst said.

For his part, former director of the University of Jordan’s Centre for Strategic Studies Musa Shteiwi said that Jordan is among the first countries to deal with terrorism at an early stage, and is always on the frontline in combatting terrorism and extremism, militarily and ideologically. 

"Jordan... has taken serious steps in this issue, especially via curricula and through the media and religious programmes that teach the true, moderate Islam,” Shteiwi said. 

“His Majesty King Abdullah said that the intellectual battle against extremist ideology will take longer than the military battle, and thus Jordan is one of the countries with a vision and a firm strategy to deal with the issue on all fronts,” Shteiwi said. 

Shteiwi highlighted the Public Security Department's Community Peace Centre as an effective initiative on the community level, as it addresses most segments of society. 

He said that the efforts of this initiative in particular have greatly contributed in the intellectual war against terrorism, commending its programmes and activities.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Saturday took to Twitter to commemorate the Amman bombings as the country marked the 14th anniversary of the attacks.

His Majesty’s tweet in Arabic read: “May God have mercy on Jordan’s blessed martyrs." 

A group of extremists perpetrated the terrorist attacks, targetting three locations in Amman on November 9, 2005, killing 60 people and injuring 200.

Using explosive belts, the terrorists bombed three hotels: The hotel formerly known as the Radisson SAS Hotel at 9:30 pm followed by two other suicide bombings a few minutes later at the Grand Hyatt Hotel and Days Inn.

Safa Mohammad Ali, Rawad Jassem and Ali Hussein Rishawi were identified as the bombers.

A fourth, Sajida Rishawi, was planning to detonate her belt alongside her husband Ali Hussein at the Radisson SAS, but her explosive belt failed to go off.

She was tried and sentenced to death for possessing explosives with illicit intent and plotting subversive acts that led to the deaths of individuals. Rishawi was executed in 2015.

Six others, who were tried in absentia on the same charges, were also sentenced to death.

They include Mazen Mohammad Shehadeh, a Jordanian, and Iraqi nationals Othman Ismail Dalimi, Hiam Hassan and her brother Walid, Nihad Rishawi and Karim Jassim Fahdawi.

AMMAN — Their Royal Highnesses Prince Hamzah and Princess Basmah welcomed a baby boy on Friday, November 8, 2019, 11 Rabi Al Awwal 1441 Hijri.

They named the newborn HRH Prince Hussein, according to a Royal Court statement. The Royal Court congratulated Prince Hamzah and Princess Basmah on this occasion.

AMMAN — Public Security Department (PSD) personnel, tourism directorate employees and volunteer youth on Saturday presented flowers to tourists in Jerash. Jerash Police Director Brig. Gen. Wahid Nawafleh stressed the significance of the initiative as an expression of Jordanians’ good will towards the Kingdom’s guests, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Eight people, including four tourists and four Jordanians, were injured on Wednesday after being stabbed by a man in Jerash.

Nawafleh said that the recent incident has not effected the number of visitors to Jerash, who are always provided with the necessary facilities to enjoy their stay. Several tourists commended the initiative, which aims to enhance respect between Jordanians and the Kingdom’s guests.