"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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