I just finished reading parts of the 2005 US State Department report on International Religious Freedom. The section on Jordan is quite long and detailed. The report focuses on the hot topic of conversion from Islam to Christianity:
There was no change in the status of respect for religious freedom during the reporting period. A convert from Islam to Christianity was detained on the orders of a Shari’a court in September 2004 and charged with apostasy. In November, the Amman Shari’a Court found him guilty of apostasy, stripped him of his civil rights, and annulled his marriage. A Shari’a appellate court upheld the conviction in January 2005. Members of unrecognized religious groups and converts from Islam face legal discrimination and bureaucratic difficulties in personal status cases. Converts from Islam additionally risk the loss of civil rights. There is no statute that expressly forbids proselytizing Muslims. However, Shari’a courts have the authority to prosecute proselytizers.
I blogged about this particular case one year ago, so my comments can be seen here. Other sections of the report discuss alleged discrimination against the Druze and Bahai communities in Jordan.
The Government does not recognize the Druze or Baha’i faiths as religions but does not prohibit their practice. The Druze face official discrimination but do not complain of social discrimination. Baha’is face both official and social discrimination. The Government does not record the bearer’s religion as Druze or Baha’i on national identity cards; Druze are listed as Muslim, and Baha’i do not have any religion officially listed.
All that said, I’m glad the report made mention of the fact that Christians in Jordan enjoy a very good status.
The generally amicable relationship among religions in society contributed to religious freedom. In general, Christians did not suffer discrimination. Christians held high-level government and private sector positions and were represented in the media and academia approximately in proportion to their presence in the general population
Read the entire report on Jordan here.
lol it really doesnt matter about the sharia’, either way people who are ignorant will see Islam as evil and discriminatory. so let them eat cake.
at the end of the day, while I hesitate to call myself a Muslim in North America or in Europe, Christians don’t have that problem in Jordan. Sure you have some dummies who say things like “may Allah show you the right way” but I assure you Islam didn’t make them dumb, they were just born that way. The same way that old lady who sits next to me on the bus tries to convert me to Christianity because without Jesus my soul will be lost. I tell her we believe in Jesus but she just gets confused and tries again tomorrow.
jareer, organized religion, meaning islam, catholocism, christianity, Judaism, etc.
These are all social constructions that keep and promote the dominate one in what ever region you live in. it is these things that cause wars, hate and violence. while obviously they are meant to be good things, society takes them and rapes these religions for their pwn social and political gains.
and while this might not directly have anything to do with your discussion, after reading all these comments, I am just glad that i am open minded and dont follow an organized religion.
I believe more in spirituality, and my relationship between God and I is between us and thats that 😉
Organized religion? What is this? and what does that have to do with our discussion.
and this is why i do not believe in organized religion!
Dan,
What you see in TV is different than whats practiced in the street.
Happy Thanksgiving.
OOPS! Really sorry about that,Natasha! I went back and checked the link to April 1st,and realized I had gotten your post mixed up with the one below it.The one I was referring to was written by “Nas” and alluded to a rather harsh,intolerant comment by Pat Robertson.I think Pat is a good man,although he tends to say some outlandish things that he later has to retract.
Anyway,Nas thought we should “know our enemy,” but did the 9-11 terrorists really know THEIR enemy?Not all infidels are alike,you know…
I honestly thought you were a muslim,though you obviously have a greater understanding of them than I.
Didn’t realize there were semi-secret police in Jordan.Does the king approve of this? I think he’s one of the most balanced,intelligent,and articulate leaders in the Middle East,and I hope and pray he does not become a target of extremists.
Dan, I meant the Muxabaraat, the semi-secret police. It’s (HWMNBN) sort of a term ex-pats in Jordan use for this division of the police force.
Abu Sinan, you make a very good point. Family pressure is intense. A Christian neighbor of mine had a daughter who ran off with a Muslim man. The family ordered the son to kill her to cleanse the family’s honor, and when he didn’t, her actions and his unwillingness to kill her meant none of her first cousins would ever marry (within that clan).
The main problem comes with a C to I conversion is then they children automatically become Muslims even when born into a Christian tribe. In many cases, the husband divorces the C wife and she loses her kids (although the gov’t has made it a requirement to personally interview any C man who has converted in order to divorce a C wife for a M wife).
Yet, Abu S, although family pressure in a C to I conv. is intense, it doesn’t compare to having your marriage dissolved, losing custody of your kids, being declared insane and a minor and essentially being exiled from your homeland. For the husband in question, a Palestinian, he is now twice-exiled.
Jack,
true, if you take Islamic law out of the equation then you wouldn’t have the problem I pointed out, just as if you take the wheels and tires off a car, you won’t have to deal with flat tires.
Dear Dan,
I really have no idea what you are talking about. Where did you get the impression that I think Christians and Americans are at war with Islam? No I do not have any problem with you being American Christian and for the record I’m a Jordanian Christian married to an American and currently living in the United States so your assumption about my views is completely wrong.
I’m glad that you are interested in the Middle East. I would be more than happy to answer any of your queries.
Regards,
Very interesting topic.I am heartened by the amount of intelligent,objective,honest dialogue on this site (which I stumbled upon quite by accident.)
I am not an expert on Islam or Jordan,but probably know more that the average American.I would like to know what the heck “They-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named” means,please.
Natasha,I read your post from last year about this case,and am a bit offended by one of your comments.Why do you assume we (Americans,Christians?) are at war with Islam? While there have been some skirmishes with radical Islamists (terrorists),we have not invaded any Muslim countries for the purpose of ruling them or adding them to our empire.Removing a dictator and trying to encourage democracy was a good idea,at least in theory,but it hasn’t worked out as well as was hoped.Yes,we are somewhat hypocritical for allowing Saddam to fight against Iran,then turning against him when he invaded Kuwait,but politics is seldom an honorable or totally honest field of endeavor.
I do agree that we should at least learn the basics of the Koran,Muslim countries,Middle Eastern cultures,etc…which is exactly what I am doing in various ways,including communicating with people like you that can educate me.