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On April 24, 2011, the Jordanian daily Al-Sabil published an interview with 'Abd Al-Qader Shhade, AKA Abu Muhammad Al-Tahawi, a senior Salafi-jihadi sheikh in Jordan. The interview was conducted on April 13, two days before he was arrested after participating in a Salafi-jihadi demonstration outside the 'Omar ibn Al-Khattab Mosque in Al-Zarqa province after Friday prayers.
In the interview, Al-Tahawi expressed support for the revolutions in the Arab countries, though he added that they met only some of the aspirations of the Salafi movement - the final aim of which is to institute Islam worldwide. He added that it was not desirable for the Salafi streams to cooperate with secular ones or to allow the latter to lead the public, because they represented only a small minority of Muslim communities.
He stressed that even if the majority did not adhere to the tenets of Islam, the Salafi-jihadi movement would not recognize the legitimacy of such a majority, and would work with all its might to change its perception. Tempering this statement, he clarified that the Salafi-jihadi stream is not out of touch with the public, and that if its influence has declined it was only because the tyrannical regimes prevented it from conveying its ideas to the masses.
Al-Tahawi mentioned that the Salafis are demonstrating to demand the release of their detainees and prisoners, and fighting corruption, suppression, and the brutality of the security apparatuses. He emphasized that "all of these demands have one thing in common - imposing the Islamic shari'a," because "the rule of Islam will solve all our problems."
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