21 Years Since Amman Bombings .. Al – Sharafat to “Al-Taj”: Terrorism Does Not End with the Defeat of Organizations

Al-Taj News – Haneen Zubaideh

From the 2005 hotel bombings to the Humud and Al-Salayteh events.. Is terrorism reshaping its threat to Jordan?

Coinciding with the 21st anniversary of the Amman terrorist bombings that targeted three hotels in the capital in 2005, resulting in the martyrdom of 60 people and the injury of about 115 others, the file of terrorism returns to the forefront of the Jordanian scene, in light of recent bloody security events in the Kingdom, represented by the terrorist attack on the Humud Church in Karak and the martyrdom of Corporal Jawad Al-Salayteh, amidst questions about whether terrorism is once again testing Jordanian security using different methods and tools.

In a reading of the scene, Dr. Saud Al-Sharafat, Director of the Shorufat Center for Globalization and Terrorism Studies (SCGTS), believes that what Jordan is witnessing does not necessarily represent a return to the model of large-scale organizational terrorism, as much as it reflects shifts in the nature of the terrorist threat, in which small cells, individual initiatives, and ideologically influenced individuals overlap, alongside the continued possibility of traditional organizational activity.

Al-Sharafat said, in statements to “Al-Taj News”, that terrorism is not a rigid or fixed phenomenon, but rather a dynamic phenomenon whose patterns, tools, and organizational structure change according to political, historical, technological shifts, and the environments in which it arises.

He added that the Humud and Al-Salayteh events should be read within the context of these shifts, as security indicators that require vigilance, analysis, and re-evaluation of threat patterns, without rushing to consider them sufficient evidence of the return of a large-scale terrorist wave to Jordan.

Terrorism Does Not End with the Defeat of Organizations

Regarding the ability of terrorist organizations to reactivate their cells and move individuals influenced by their ideology within the Kingdom, Al-Sharafat confirmed to “Al-Taj” that security and military strikes, no matter how effective, may succeed in dismantling organizational structures, weakening operational capabilities, and limiting planning and execution, but they do not necessarily mean the elimination of extremist ideology or ending the networks of influence, attraction, and recruitment associated with it.

He explained that the threat is no longer exclusively linked to the presence of a central organization possessing leadership, organizational structure, and direct ability to issue orders; rather, it has become possible for the influence of organizations to continue through individuals and small cells that adopt their ideology, even in the absence of direct organizational contact with them.

He pointed to the importance of distinguishing between a lone actor and a lone wolf, explaining that the former may adopt the ideology of terrorist organizations and move independently, while the concept of a lone wolf refers to a more specific pattern of actors who adopt the ideology of a terrorist organization and act individually without a direct organizational link to it.

He noted that this distinction gains importance in security analysis because it separates independence in execution from independence from ideological and organizational influence.

The Digital Space Expands the Scope of the Threat

In a related context, Al-Sharafat considered that the process of globalization and technological acceleration, particularly in the fields of communications, transportation, digital space, and social media, contributed to expanding the spread of extremist ideologies and hate speech, and provided faster and wider tools for influence, attraction, recruitment, and incitement.

He added that geography and national borders no longer constitute the traditional barrier to the transfer and circulation of extremist ideas, which has made the challenge not limited to security and operational aspects, but extended to intellectual, cultural, and digital aspects.

He stressed that confronting contemporary terrorism requires moving from being limited to dismantling cells and pursuing terrorist elements, to addressing the environments and incubators that allow the production and reproduction of violent extremism, and drying up its sources of influence and attraction.

Jordan and the Experience of Confronting Terrorism

In his reading of the trajectory of the terrorist threat in the Kingdom, Al-Sharafat considered that understanding the scene requires placing it within the context of the historical cycles and waves of the phenomenon, pointing out that historical experience proves that terrorism does not end permanently merely by defeating an organization or dismantling its cells, but rather passes through stages of rise, decline, and reshaping, during which its tools, patterns, and means of operation change depending on the surrounding circumstances.

He clarified that since the establishment of the state in 1921, Jordan has faced different types, forms, and patterns of terrorism, extremism, and political violence, and through its security and intelligence institutions and national capabilities, it was able to contain these challenges and maintain its national security and stability, alongside accumulating extensive experience in confronting terrorism and dealing with violent extremism.

During his speech to “Al-Taj”, Al-Sharafat cited data from the “Terrorism Index in Jordan” issued annually by the Sharafat Center for Globalization and Terrorism Studies and Research in Amman, which indicates, according to the adopted methodology and data, that the average occurrence of terrorist operations in Jordan is about two operations per year.

He explained that this average should not be read in isolation from the operations and plots that the security and intelligence services manage to foil before reaching the execution stage, all details of which are not necessarily announced in the media or open sources.

He stressed that measuring the level of terrorist threat should not be limited to the number of executed operations, but must also take into account thwarted plans and the preventive and proactive capabilities of the state.

Stability Indicators Do Not Mean the Absence of Threat

Regarding international indicators, Al-Sharafat pointed out that Jordan ranked 44th globally in the Global Terrorism Index for 2026, issued by the Institute for Economics and Peace, while it ranked 68th in the Global Peace Index for the same year.

He considered that these indicators reflect the relative level of stability enjoyed by Jordan and its ability to contain security threats, but they do not mean the negation of risks or a guarantee against their recurrence.

Al-Sharafat concluded his talk with “Al-Taj” by emphasizing that national security is not a final state that is reached and automatically maintained, but rather an ongoing process that requires vigilance, readiness, and adaptation to rapid shifts in the nature of threats.

He noted that the challenge facing Jordan is not limited to maintaining the efficiency of its security and intelligence system, but extends to developing strategies for prevention and countering violent extremism, enhancing institutional coordination, and keeping pace with intellectual and technological shifts that are reshaping the environment of contemporary terrorism.