Ansamed

(ANSAmed) - AMMAN, APRIL 18 - Jordanian officials on Sunday said an investigation has been opened into reports of a Jordanian salafi being involved in the slaying of Italian activist Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni. Security sources said the government is currently collecting information on the incident after it was reported of possible involvement of a Jordanian salafi.

''Until this moment everything is merely speculation. The killing of an activist is an ugly crime strongly condemned by Jordan. However it is premature to point figures,'' said a security source from the public security department.

The Jordanian government has no contact with Hamas due to political sensitivities, but maintains a military hospital presence in the coastal enclave.

Reports in Israel and Gaza says a Jordanian salafi who entered Gaza from Rafah tunnels could be involved in Arrigoni murder. Earlier last month, Hamas announced it arrested a Jordanian salafi, Hisham Saidani in an apartment west Gaza.

However, experts in the salafi movement expressed doubt that the killing of Arrigoni is the making of these groups.

''The circumstances surrounding the killing and the quick action against Arrigoni shows it is a professional group that has far deeper goals than salafi's way of thinking,'' said Hassan Hanyah, a salafi expert who wrote several books on the group.

''Salafis are suffocated by Hamas in Gaza. They can not make a move without Hamas watching over them, mostly after placing most of its leaders in jail,'' said Hanyah, noting that the kidnapping of BBC journalist by salafis ended peacefully after a prolonged saga. ''The killing of Arrigoni seems to be linked to some sides not interested in having activists in Gaza,'' he told ANSA in an interview.

Meanwhile human rights activists and opposition figures plan to stage a demonstration near the Italian embassy in Amman today to express solidarity with family of Arrigoni.

Salafis across the Middle East have recently surfaced following popular uprisings that swept north Africa and the Middle East. In Jordan the reclusive group defied security forces and took to the street in demand for the release of activists held for political reasons. Authorities, angered by what it claims was an attack on police, rounded up nearly 70 of salafi followers in the past 24 hours after a recent protest saw clashes between salafis with regime loyalists and police.

The government said it will deal with salafis in an iron fist after the incidents.

Many Salafist scholars promote violence, but others have rejected it since the September 11, attacks. The first group is called jihadist salafists, or takfiris, in reference to a trend among them to label Muslims as infidels for mere differences in religious opinion.(ANSAmed).