Jordan Struggles With Islamic Extremism at Home Jihadists speak out more openly as country endures rare string of terror attacks By Maria Abi-Habib
http://www.wsj.com/articles/jordan-struggles-with-islamic-extremism-at-home-1471225840
BAQA, Jordan—A self-taught imam and Islamic State recruiter who goes by the nom de guerre Abu Otaiba takes the lectern at his local mosque when the government-approved preacher fails to show, as happens most days.
Soliciting recruits there has become too risky these days because the mosques “are filled with intelligence officials,” he said. So he uses his time to identify those he thinks could be drawn to his radical cause.
“We take them to farms, or private homes. There we discuss and we organize soccer games to bring them closer to us,” he said in a recent interview in northern Jordan.
His words reflect a new boldness among Jordanian jihadists, who are speaking out more openly these days in support of Islamic State.
That openness, along with a rare spate of terror attacks, illustrates how the threat of Islamist extremism has spread in this relatively stable U.S. ally, which has long served as a bulwark against terrorism in the Middle East.
ENLARGE Mosques are no longer the hotbed of recruitment they once were. Instead, university students are quietly sharing Islamic State propaganda in dormitories, sports clubs or other youth venues, according to Western officials working on programs to counter violent extremism in Amman.
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