The revulsion and horror voiced across the Arab world at the bombings of three hotels in Amman that killed, among the fifty-seven victims, Jordan-ians celebrating a wedding will rally the country around King Abdullah’s tough stance against Islamist extremism. Jordanians and Palestinians alike condemned the indiscriminate slaughter and the ravings of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian terrorist heading al-Qaeda in Iraq, who claimed responsibility. The Palestinian President ordered flags to be flown at half-mast. Arab leaders called for greater efforts to combat international terrorism. And Jack Straw, touring the ruins of the Grand Hyatt hotel, said that Britain, as one of Jordan’s closest Western allies, shared its grief and was sending forensic science experts to Amman.

Few people were surprised by the attack, however. Jordan, peaceful, moderate, pro-Western and committed to a peace settlement with Israel, has long been a prime target for nihilistic extremists, and especially for al-Zarqawi, who was jailed for 15 years in Jordan but, sadly, released by the King on his accession three years ago. According to al-Qaeda’s brutal reasoning, Jordan embodied everything the Islamists want to destroy. It is an oasis of calm and stability in a violent region, enforcing security through extremely efficient intelligence and tough policing. It is tolerant — welcoming Western tourists, Israeli businessmen and international organisations using Jordan as a base for operations in Iraq. It has given moral and material backing to the US-led overthrow of Saddam Hussein, and has been pivotal in providing training for the Iraqi Army. And it has shown that Islam is compatible with democracy by encouraging well-trained religious leadership and allowing moderate Islamist groups to contest elections.

Some of this, especially the backing for the US and détente with Israel, is unpopular within Jordan. King Abdullah, who was planning to visit the West Bank and Israel soon, is in conflict with the parliamentary opposition over political and economic reform. But the attacks in Amman have rallied all Jordanians behind his Government. No one wants to see the collapse of tourism, stability and prosperity; even the Islamist Opposition will be anxious to assure the King of its loyalty.

To the extent that the Sunni heartlands of the Arab world can now see how deluded and immoral is the strategy of Sunni extremists, al-Zarqawi’s brutalities may have backfired. There will be greater support across the Arab world for the hunting down of extremists, greater determination not to let the jihadists extend their mayhem beyond Iraq. But Jordan has already been hurt severely. Its vaunted stability can no longer be assumed. And though its security services daily catch terrorist infiltrators and have foiled many a plot, they are vulnerable. The Hashemite monarch, a man who has shown some of his father King Hussein’s noted courage, should seize this moment. What is needed is a campaign across the Muslim world to end the violence and terrorism that betray a religion and a civilisation.