Nas drew my attention to the following news item that was published in the Jordan Times last week:
AMMAN (Petra) — The government has given its consent to a request by the Coptic Orthodox bishop in Amman for the establishment of a church court for the Coptic community in Jordan. The court, chaired by Bishop Anba Abraham, is to be housed at the Coptic Patriarchate in the Abdali neighborhood.
The story grabbed me mostly because I was not aware that the Coptic community in Jordan was so sizeable that it would need its own court. Also, I wonder what would this court be in charge of? I assume it would handle marriage and divorce cases, but what about inheritance? Will Copts be able to handle issues like inheritance through this court instead of following the Sharia-based inheritance law that is currently applied to both Muslims and non-Muslims alike?
A prominent Jordanian lawyer told me years ago that Christians in Jordan could avoid having their inheritance divided according to Sharia, which gives female siblings half the share that their male siblings receive, by referring their case to a Christian court. I wonder if this is feasible? Can anyone shed some light on this matter?
Dear Lone Wolf,
Thank you for clarifying things regarding the inheritance law in Jordan. You have a point. It is up to the Christian churches to get together and come up with a unified law. Although if it was up to me I would rather have my inheritance divided in a secular manner. I really do not want the division to be based on any theological interpretation whether it be Christian or Muslim.
Intersting post. Actually there is a Church Court for each of the “officially recognized” churches by the Jordanian Government. Each major demonination in Jordan has a church court that generally deals with issues such as marriage, divorce, custody (I think), and parental support. These church courts by law are not able to deal with inheritance. The primary reason for this is not because the government does not allow or it is against Islam. It is because Sharia had to be used in the absence of a uniform inheritence code for Christians as defined by the Churches. The fact is that Chrstians themselves have not gotten together and agreed on a uniform standard for Chrstians. Your lawyer friend is a sense is right but the initiative has to be taken by the Churches who have often fought against each other instead of collaborating together.
There is a “mahkameh kanasiiyyeh” but it wasn’t for coptics just chrisitians in general. Coptic are Orthodox Chrisitians. I honestly don’t know how different are they from the Orthodox church.
Most Coptics in Jordan are Egyptian workers , usually from Sa3eed.
Firas,
I’m merely referring to the inheritance law which is applied on all citizens.. It was applied on my family so I’m talking from experience here. Also if you read this report http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51602.htm you will realize that the sharia-based inheritance law is applied on all citizens.
Here is a one excerpt from the report:
Natasha…ur Christian right?
Seriously u have never heard of “Mahkameh Kanaseye”?
There are no Christians forced to go by SHaira in Jordan! In Jordan there is a civil court where muslims and nonmuslim could choose, beside this there is a Christian court!
The orthodox christian court is in Abdali.