An uncertain future for Jordan's Christians
Jordan is commonly regarded as one of the most moderate and stable countries in the Middle East. For this reason many Christian refugees from Iraq and Syria have taken refuge in the country. Recent instability has raised concern about the future of Christianity in Jordan.
By Georgia L. Gilholy
Refugee camp in Jordan. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)
On May 25th, the Kingdom of Jordan will celebrates 75 years of Independence from the United Kingdom. Yet the prevailing mood in Jordan is not one of joy but confusion and uncertainty. As of early April 2021, former crown prince Hamzah bin Hussein, the half-brother of King Abdullah II, has been on house arrest following a coup attempt, after which over a dozen people, including high-profile Jordanian politicians, were arrested in connection to threats to the nation’s “security and stability”.
Refugees in Jordan. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)
Despite these ongoing issues, the Kingdom remains one of the most stable countries in the region. The constitution declares Islam the religion of the state but safeguards “the free exercise of all forms of worship and religious rites” as long as these are consistent with public order and morality. It is perhaps for this reason, alongside its geography that Jordan remains a prime location for refugees from neighbouring Iraq and Syria, tens of thousands of whom are Christian. Yet with Jordan’s political stability increasingly under question, the region’s Christians may find themselves once again caught between a rock and a hard place.
A Historic Community
The land where modern-day Jordan is part of the Holy Land, and thus its native Christian communities are some of the most ancient in the world, with their presence dating back to the early 1st century AD. The former Jewish population had similarly deep historical ties, but their numbers declined to zero after the expulsion of the Tel Or village in 1948.
The majority of Christians in the region have adhered to the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Holy Land founded in the early First Century AD. The denomination is thought to number around 300,000. Jordanian Catholics number around 114,000, alongside around 30,000 adherents to various Protestant groups. The influx of Christian refugees escaping the Islamic State mainly from Mosul, Iraq number about 7,000, alongside 20,000 from Syria. While Christians today make up about 4% of the country’s population, down from 20% in 1930, their absolute numbers have increased.
Refugees from Iraq in a church in Jordan. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)
Toleration: Within Limits
Jordan's ruling monarchy is highly tolerant of Christian minorities, and many royals have even attended Christian schools for parts of their education. When at the end of the 1990s academics linked to the Muslim Brotherhood deliberately selected December 25th as an exam day, Abdullah immediately granted Christmas national holiday status. In a 2014 speech to the UN General Assembly. King Abdullah II affirmed:
"Let me say once again: Arab Christians are an integral part of my region’s past, present, and future."
Christians are allotted a minimum of 7% of the seats in the Jordanian parliament, an overrepresentation compared to their proportion of the Jordanian population. Jordanian Christians also hold and have held key political, diplomatic and military roles. The highest position reached by a Jordanian Christian is Deputy Prime Minister, most recently held by Rajai Muasher.
Most hurdles faced by Christian groups in Jordan is a result of sectarian and cultural tensions rather than top-down state discrimination. The US International Religious Freedom Report for 2013 states that Muslim converts to Christianity that had been harassed by government intelligence services in the past reported that "they had not been followed or interrogated in recent years". Yet while "the state does not play an active role" in opposing conversion to Christianity, American NGO Open Doors claimed in a 2018 report that elements of the state "maintain a permissive attitude towards the threats and violence that arise out of such conversions''.
Refugees from Syria & Iraq
Displaced men living on church grounds in Jordan. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)
Yet while Jordan’s historic Christian community has achieved a commendable level of freedom and prosperity, the same cannot necessarily be said for Jordan’s many Iraqi and Syrian refugees.
According to research published by the University College London Migration Research Unit:
“Due to sectarian tensions and fears of reprisal attacks, Syrian Christian and Druze refugees often choose not to register with UNHCR and in order to avoid formal refugee camps, they seek lodging in urban centres, often living in monasteries, clustered housing, or makeshift camps. In such settings, religious minorities experience isolation, stigmatisation, and (perceived or real) discrimination in accessing humanitarian aid and assistance.”
Iraqi Christians in Jordan also face more barriers than incoming Syrians, as the government does not allow Iraqi refugees to work legally. Additionally, most Christians in Iraq are of the Assyrian-Chaldean minority who speak Aramaic rather than the Arabic language Syrian Christians and Jordan at large have in common.
Remel Somo, a Chaldean-Assyrian refugee of Iraqi citizenship, told America Magazine: “Iraq is a Frankenstein, not a state” because of the persistent ethnic and sectarian divisions, and that “ISIS was only an episode...not the whole series.” In other words many Christian refugees have no place to turn but Jordan, and how the state, along with the various international organisations in the region, deal with this process of integration and resettlement will surely impact the strength and stability of MENA Christian going forward.
The Outlook for the Future
According to Freedom House’s 2020 Report, Jordan’s status declined from ‘Partly Free’ to ‘Not Free’ as a result of harsh new restrictions on freedom of assembly, a crackdown on the teachers’ union following a series of strikes and protests, and factors including a lack of adequate preparations that harmed the quality of parliamentary elections during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is unknown how the 2021 review will take into account the current struggles, but it is certainly a sign of change- which may not play out positively.
While we must not get ahead of ourselves- Jordan remains stable and the rights of Christian minorities are generally safeguarded- the potential for unravelment is high. While interfaith relations are generally amicable, we know well from the conflict and unrest that erupted in Syria, Iraq and various Arab Spring nations that upheaval so often disproportionately impacts the already precarious status of minority communities. Thus a similar unravelment of Jordan’s status quo- which is of course in no way predetermined- could easily do the same. Indeed, given Jordan’s strategic location as a bulwark of stability and refuge in the region, any tipping of its equilibrium would likely come with equally dire consequences not only for its Christian minorities, but for the nation and region at large.