jordan pulse -

​AMMAN
​Discharged soldier Ahmed Daqamseh, who served a life sentence following the 1997 Baqoura incident and was released in 2017, revealed details of his first direct encounter with radical Takfiri ideology while serving his sentence.
​In a published account, Daqamseh stated that his initial confrontation with adherents of Takfiri thought occurred in Swaqa Prison during the first few months of his two-decade detention. He noted that the exchange was not physical, but rather a shocking verbal encounter that exposed how extremists prioritize targeting fellow countrymen over confronting an occupying enemy.
​Daqamseh recalled that during his first Eid al-Fitr in prison, he was sitting with his friend, former MP and Senator Ali Awad Al-Sneed—who was imprisoned at the time over a publishing case in his capacity as a writer and journalist—when two unknown men approached them.
​After greeting them, one of the men asked Daqamseh if he was indeed Ahmed Daqamseh, before posing the question: "Wouldn't it have been more fitting to kill your comrades instead of killing the Zionists?"
​Daqamseh expressed his shock, asking how he could attack his fellow servicemen with whom he shared meals and guard duties. The man responded: "These are more deserving of internal purging first, after which we turn to fight the external enemy."
​Daqamseh demanded that the two men leave, rejecting any further meeting with them. Following their departure, Al-Sneed informed him that the individuals belonged to the Takfir wal-Hijra group, explaining that their doctrine declares the state, the leadership, the government, the armed forces, and security agencies to be apostates.
​Daqamseh noted that this incident marked the first time he encountered the concept, prompting him to utilize the prison library to read extensively on the roots and aims of extremist ideologies. He concluded by emphasizing that nations face threats not only from external adversaries, but also from internal doctrines that pit citizens against one another under the guise of religious or liberation slogans.
​Source: Rum News Agency