Religion in Jordan

For the next several days our activities are intended to inform us about religious life in Jordan and on Saturday (July 11) we will visit some of the key holy sites. Officially Jordan is a secular nation: Islam the dominant religion. Ninety-two percent of Jordanians are Sunni Muslim. The recorded call to prayer – by the Muezzin - sounds five times a day from mosque minarets around the city, shaping the rhythm of daily life. Friday noon prayers are the most important and all males are expected to attend. There are approximately 150,000 Christians in Jordan (less than 3 % of the population) divided between Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant, and their number continues to decline.

We met with Fr. Nabil D. Haddad, a Uniate Catholic priest, who reminded us that “Jordan is the birthplace of Christianity,” and noted “I am very proud to be an Arab Christian.” After 911 “Arabs and Muslims were victims of a small minority, I felt insulted. I am a Muslim by civilization, my culture is Arab Christian.” Deeply concerned by the increasing tensions and misunderstandings between the Islamic and Christian world, Fr. Haddad founded and serves as Executive Director of the Jordanian Interfaith Coexistence Research Center (JICRC) an NGO. JICRC is dedicated to promoting “coexistence on national and international levels through the establishment of intercultural understanding and communication” (see http://www.coexistencejordan.org/Default.htm and photo). The Amman Message to the Muslim world delivered to the UN in 2004 is worth a read. - http://www.coexistencejordan.org/amman_msg.shtm I am impressed with JICRC and its mission.

We then visited the modern King Abdullah Mosque. Its distinctive blue mosaic dome can be viewed from many points in the city. The mosque is named for King Hussein’s Grandfather, who was assassinated outside the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem in 1951. King Hussein, 15 at the time, was with him. There is a museum and photographic exhibit dedicated to King Abdullah and the Royal Family. Communal prayer is a Muslim religious obligation. Men and women have separate prayer rooms. The men’s, being much larger, holds 3,000.The women in our group all wore long sleeves and head covering, but were asked to don a black nylon abayua to cover our clothes (photo). All entering the mosque remove their shoes.

On Saturday we go to the Dead Sea, Jordan River and Mt. Nebo – if the weather is clear we will be able to see Jerusalem.