Jordanian Christians are up in arms over the activities of foreign missionaries in the conservative Muslim kingdom, which is rich in biblical sites, including the spot where Jesus was baptized.
The dispute erupted after the government announced last month that it had deported an unspecified number of expatriates for carrying out Christian missionary activities under the guise of charity work.
The move was welcomed by several Christian figures, with many voicing concern that foreign missionaries were seeking to upset the traditionally stable ties between Muslims and Christians in Jordan.
"Missionary groups have hidden agendas and are close to Christian Zionists," said former member of parliament Odeh Kawwas, a Greek Orthodox.
Fellow Christian Fahd Kheitan, an outspoken columnist at Al-Arab Al-Yawm newspaper, said the majority of Christians are "very suspicious and worried."
"The [missionaries] target the strong beliefs of traditional churches in Jordan and try to create religious links with the Zionist movement, which is extremely dangerous," Kheitan said.
Some Christian supporters of Israel, notably a segment in the US, believe the return of Jews to the Holy Land and the 1948 creation of the Jewish state are in line with biblical prophecy.
Acting Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh told parliament last month that "some foreign groups have come to Jordan under the cover of doing charity, but they broke the law and did missionary activities." He did not give figures.
Converting from Islam to Christianity is prohibited in Jordan and foreign missionary groups are banned from seeking converts, although they can run schools, charitable organizations, hospitals and orphanages.
"For years we have been urging the government to close such Christian shops that have nothing to do with Christianity and tolerance," said Kawwas, referring to missionaries who convert Muslims in violation of the law.
"It is an old problem," he said.
"They create sensitivities and provoke discord among Jordanian Christians, not to mention their threat to Muslim-Christian coexistence," he said.
"These groups don't belong to any church, but they try to hunt followers of other churches and trick some of our Muslim brothers to convert them," he said.
Christians represent around 4 percent of Jordan's population of nearly 6 million, including Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Armenian and Latin rites.
They are well integrated in the kingdom, where one Christian holds a ministerial post while 8 percent control seats in the 110-member lower house of parliament.
The kingdom is home to Mount Nebo overlooking the Dead Sea and the hills of Jerusalem, where according to biblical tradition God showed Moses the Promised Land.
It is also where Jordanians say Jesus Christ was baptized by his cousin St John and where the latter preached and was beheaded by Herod the Great.
After the 1994 Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty, archaeologists found ancient churches and baptismal pools on the east bank of the Jordan River, leading them to conclude they had found the place where Jesus was baptized.
The kingdom is also home to several tombs of the Prophet Mohammed's companions and Mount Nebo is a destination for Christian, Muslim and Jewish pilgrims alike who revere Moses.
Kheitan says the US has put pressure on its allies in Amman to allow missionaries into the country, where he says these groups have used their relations with some officials to "build a base."
"But the kingdom has realized now that the situation threatens the internal front," Kheitan said.
The authorities have not provided figures about the number of missionaries operating in Jordan, but a 2006 report by the US Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor said there were 42 groups.
The decision to deport foreign missionaries came as Jordan's Council of Churches warned last month about what it called 40 sects that "threaten national security and create religious discord at the heart of the Christian community and between Muslims and Christians."
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