Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): It was his destiny to confront with his bare body what he fought against with his free words: to die in the name of God.

Nahed Hattar, a Jordanian writer well-known for voicing his rejection of "Saudi Arabia's policies and its terrorist agents", was assassinated in Amman by gunfire.

He was about to enter the Palace of Justice courthouse where he was facing charges of "inciting sectarian strife," yet his calm peaceful footsteps were slower than that of his killer, who wanted to flee and get away with his crime. He succeeded in firing three shots directly at Hattar, yet failed to escape.

The killer is a living notion that refuses what is different and sanctions killing it. Hattar died for the sake of putting an end to such beliefs, opening a door for many questions on whether the Jordanian government is determined to face these "extremist" convictions. Nahed Hattar's brother, Majid, said that "Jordan has transformed from a civil state seeking secularism and scientific development into a merely Wahhabist project."

It is true that the government denounced the attack and promised that the murderer will face "punishment". Majid; however, didn't find that to be enough, accusing the government of negligence in providing protection for his brother. Although Majid informed the authorities that there are individuals and groups that threatened to kill him, all they did after releasing Nahed was telling him: "You're responsible for your own security."

The authorities arrested Hattar last August for posting a cartoon mocking the (distorted) image of Islam perceived by Takfiris and extremists. They deemed this action an insult to Allah Himself. Hattar; however, issued a statement at the time explaining that the posted cartoon is "mocking the terrorists and how they picture the Lord and Heaven and has nothing to do with God at all."

The government didn't take any action towards the reports filed by Hattar, while religious scholars continued to incite people against him, as if the government was just a spectator awaiting the moment of his death.

Hattar, like the Bahraini people, was a victim of the Jordanian government's involvement with brutal extremists, as it remained silent towards his death and joined the Bahraini government in the ongoing murder of its people by sending extremist police forces to kill and torture Bahrainis.

The same Takfiri ideology that killed Hattar is killing and tormenting Bahrainis everyday. This is not an exaggeration, as everyone remembers how the "clan" of a Jordanian policeman, who was killed in clashes with protesters in an impoverished Shiite village west of Manama in December 2014, deemed him a martyr slain in "the defense of Islam".

A few days following this incident, Hattar expressed his opposition to the Jordanian military presence in Bahrain, and stressed that "the Jordanian policy is going in line with the Saudi policy, and that's why Jordanians are being sent to offer security services in the Gulf."

"This doesn't represent Jordan. The military relations between two governments shouldn't have an effect on any of the peoples," said Hattar, further calling for "finding a sort of brotherhood between the Bahraini and Jordanian oppositions in order to preserve the humane relationships."

Hattar's humaneness lead him to his death, for those who killed him wanted to kill peace which he had called for. Hattar no longer needs to apologize to the Bahraini people, as he died in honor of freedom of expression and his free words that he once uttered: "I, as an Arab, apologize to this small civilized peaceful people that have been left to be devoured by the Saudi ogre and have the doors of political and social development be closed in their faces."

Arabic Version