The most recent horrific attack on Christians in Iraq struck a personal cord with me. Of all the attacks happening daily in Iraq, this one somehow hit home. It might have been the way the worshippers were ambushed during Sunday mass and then slaughtered that’s causing me to lose sleep. It is horrifying to realize that the only reason these Iraqis were butchered was because they belonged to the wrong religion. Being the over-dramatic type, I couldn’t stop thinking about my family in Jordan and wondering what if?
Iraqi Christians mourning their dead. Source (Reuters).
What if they were worshiping at a church in Amman and something similar happens. Al-Qaeda members seem to manage to cross borders so easily these days that a similar attack in Jordan might not be that remote. I know I’m probably going over the top since these things don’t normally happen in Jordan even after the Al-Qaeda-inspired attacks of 2005. But I did think about it, and for a brief moment I panicked.
This horrific massacre of Iraqi Christians has stirred debate of a potential exodus of Christians from the Middle East, with media outlets like Foreign Policy (The End of Christianity in the Middle East) and Voice of America (Al-Qaida Threatens Christians in Egypt, Elsewhere in Middle East) both drawing a very gloomy picture of Christians in the region.
The London-based Arabic publication Elaph also discussed the issue and highlighted this distinct fact: Jordan has become a safe haven for Christians in the region, including Iraqi and Palestinian Christians that are feeling extremism in their home countries.
The article also quoted a piece in the Independent by Robert Fisk in which he referred to Jordan as “the only flame of hope in the region” when it comes to the situation of Arab Christians.
Yes, Jordanian Christians are in a superb position compared with the rest of the region. No one denies this. Coexistence is the name of the game, with many Jordanian Christians occupying senior positions in the government and parliament. Christians and Muslims live in the same neighborhoods and in some cases interact as members of the same family.
However, I don’t think Jordan is completely off the hook. The fact that a Jordanian Christian can’t become a prime minster is a problem that should be resolved sooner than later. The former head of the Jordanian parliament, Abdul Hadi Majali, was actually asked about it in an interview with an Arab Satellite channel. His response was the “minority” can’t rule the majority.
Another fact still affecting Jordanian Christians is the issue of inheritance, where Sharia law still applies to them. The male sibling takes double the share of his sisters and male relatives take a share of the daughters’ inheritance in the absence of a male sibling.
Since I have a big mouth, I have discussed these ticklish issues with many of my friends and coworkers when I lived in Amman. The answer I got most of the time was that Jordan is a Muslim country and we can’t change the rules for a “minority.” Throwing the “minority” label at me never made me feel special, to the contrary, it made me feel like a pariah. I used to respond with: “Come on, you can’t deprive my unborn child from ever dreaming that one day he (yes, a he, she, is another story) will become prime minister. Even minorities should have equal rights.”
But that was back then, when I was young, naïve and passionate. It was back when I thought writing, talking, and arguing would take me somewhere.
I’m now a thirty-something, jaded Christian Arab who has joined the ranks of those who are in the “exodus.” I might not have lots of ground to stand on simply because I packed my bags and left. Ah well, I’m just blowing off some steam on a breezy Friday morning in the suburbs of Washington, DC. Blowing off steam is probably the most I can do at this point since I’m only a “minority”.
Natasha,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. I had written once about the subject of Christians in Jordan and did not receive such a warm response. There is no doubt that the Christian minority is not treated equally. Yes, we do have most rights, but we are not equal to Muslims. I don’t care to compare Jordan to other Arab or Muslim countries because that is not a benchmark to aspire to. If Jordan has aspirations to become more democratic, there has to be a basic understanding that democracy is not about the rule of the majority but rather the protection of the minority.
However, the main issue that is at heart in everything that happens is the fact that the state (the government) does not relate to me as a citizen in Jordan. It relates to me as someone who happens to have a Jordanian passport. It may see me as a:
– man or woman
– Christian or Muslim or other
– of Palestinian decent or a real Jordanian
and the list goes on. I would like for the state to see me as a Jordanian, nothing more, nothing less.
Peace
Generally, our Christian brothers live better than muslims, they are more educated and above the average economic level of most Jordanians.
Jordan Christians are an authentic part of Jordan, I wont start a lecture in history but they are a fundamental part of Jordan.
I did not like almajali comment when he described them as a minority, even they are around 5% of the population but the context and the description was not smart.
what I don’t like more is Christians are stopping at this comment and giving it more importance than what it is worth.
Wow, quite the heated debate. I’ll say this much, and maybe it’ll put a price on my head. I noticed that Arabs are the first to judge if another country discriminates against Muslims, yet always the ones to tell us to thank God for the very few rights we have as minorities in the Arab world. Just because I can go to a church without someone beating me up, doesn’t mean i have enough rights and should be content. I should have the right to have my religious law applied to me if I was religious, and if I was an atheist to not adhere to anyone else’s religious laws. We don’t have any synagogues in Jordan, and don’t even have any openly Jewish people. Bahai’s are forced to study Islam in school. I’m not attacking Islam here, so halt the attacks. I’m suggesting that our system of judgement is not rational when it comes to this issue, and while we want all rights for Muslims in non-Muslim countries, we never give non-Muslims the same respect in Arab countries. I hear people griping about how difficult Ramadan is since not everyone fasts and understands that you’re fasting in other countries, but never heard anyone address how difficult it is to be a Christian during that month, forced to shut up and remain hungry all day. You can’t go eat or drink anything anywhere. I’m all for respecting people, I am not for fining me if I’m eating in public. You can’t force your beliefs on me, just like I can’t ask you to abstain from chocolate for 40 days during Lent. We have double standards when it comes to religious freedoms. Not just between the treatment of Christians and Muslims, but everyone-atheists, jews, bahais, etc. The sooner we address this, the better. That being said, being a Christian isn’t the only problem, in Jordan it’s being Palestinian too, but that’s a story for another day. It’s not whether or not we should see a Christian PM, it’s whether or not that is even a possibility. I think Natasha touched on something here, which why passions are fueled.
well i think that people who are being heard asking for rights for muslims in non-muslim countries are the extremest and to prove that all you have to do is to see who is asking for it a mile long newly reborn shaik ,, a Hijab + veil + extra thick black undies woman ! while the majority of muslims in non-muslims countries are happy and content with their current status!
last time i checked their were no jews in jordan and bahai have their own study groups on fridays in their temple and no body is complaining plus bahai are basically considered one of the many muslim subtype so will your argument would work for a shi3i guy studying in any of our school,,,i think not ! would it work for a non- catholic christain in a catholic school ?
peace
What is “enough rights†then??? If its not just “going to church without getting beaten�?
Never heard a Christian complaining that people hassle them or tell them to thank god for the rights they have?? and I know a lot of Christians.
Christians here are just fine, there was never an issue, so lets not create one.
There is no Minority/Majority rules/trends in Jordan, I’m not going to argue against the point of Christians not being able to be prime ministers, actually I think anyone with the right credentials should have a shot at it, but it doesn’t work like this in Jordan, Palestinians are not a minority if I recall right, they don’t have a shot at alot of things, the army for example, actually high officials in the army recently voiced their concern about fellow Jordanians (from Palestinian origins this time) occupying high ranks in the government
So probably we’re not going to have a Christian prime minister before we have a from-a-Palestinian-origin head of the army, based on numbers at least
As for the Iraqi church, its blown out of proportion, for some reason, just like that guy wanting to burn the Quran, some ppl have interest in magnifying these stories, Christians are just fine in the region, this is an individual stupid act, doesn’t represent or indicate anything , and these things happen in Iraq everyday