As Easter celebrations unfolded this weekend, Jordan visibly heightened security in Churches across the country.
Jordan is home to some of the oldest Christian communities in the world, many of whom are adherents of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Holy Land, founded during the lifetime of Jesus. Although making up only around 2% of the population of the country, Jerusalem Bishop William Shomali stated earlier this year that their presence is strongly felt in the community.
This weekend marked Easter, one of the oldest and most important celebrations in the Christian calendar commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christians from different denominations in Jordan gathered to practice religious traditions and worship together, but the visibly strong presence of security at churches all over Amman did not go unnoticed among worshippers and bystanders alike.
This seemingly heightened security level could well have been as a result of last week’s Daesh claimed attacks on two Coptic churches in Egypt’s Tanta and Alexandria on Palm Sunday, which killed around 44 and injured more than 100 Christian worshippers.
Lieutenant colonel Amer Al-sartawi from the Police Department of Public Relations and Press told albawaba that the heightened security presence was not a direct response to the attacks in Egypt but based on intelligence from the ground. In his statement he gladly informed us that ‘Everything so far is going well and the Christians are happy and attending church as normal, worshipping and carrying out their rituals in peace, we have not faced any problems until now.’
A Coptic church in Abdali is kept under watch as police and armed military vehicles surround the building on standby. The church stands directly opposite King Abdullah Mosque, one of the largest mosques in Amman, what should be an indication of harmonisation and peaceful co-existence among Muslims and Christians in Jordan. (File/Mo'taz Sulaimain)
Ibrahim Rantissi, a worshipper from the Orthodox Church in Sweifie in Amman witnessed at least two police cars in front of his church as well as the erection of steel barriers. He stated that most of his friends and family avoided going to church for fears over their safety. Despite this he believes that the celebrations went well and everyone was safe.
One churchgoer claimed that a warning had been issued to her church from state security to discourage people from gathering in Churches over the weekend, however this was denied by the official police statement which stated that ‘on the contrary, we encourage worshippers to gather and worship as usual, and we will provide the necessary security to protect worshippers.’
Jordanian Catholic Omar Khozouz witnessed a strong security presence at many churches around Amman, he acknowledged that the number of people attending mass was less than previous years, however says that the celebrations went through peacefully.
Despite fears aroused by the tragic events of Palm Sunday in Egypt, it seems that Christians in Jordan ultimately succeeded in exercising their freedom to worship and celebrate Easter this year. The Jordan Times also reported that Muslim communities in the Balqa region of Jordan stood in solidarity with Christians in their community, volunteering to guard Churches whilst worshippers attended mass inside.
