Introduction

Summary

‘Is there a problem with your car?’ I asked. A member of the Muslim Brotherhood in Amman, whom I had just interviewed, insisted on driving me home, but we were moving so slowly that I could not help but think that his car was not in mint condition anymore. We were certainly not going any faster than 40 kilometres per hour and other cars were passing us left and – this being Amman – right, often loudly sounding their horns. Moreover, the car was producing such an amount of noise that suggested it was being powered by a jet engine, which – given our lack of speed – was clearly not the case. Despite all this, my host answered my question by saying: ‘Oh, the car is fine.