March 8, 2008

WASHINGTON, DC – In light of King Abdullah II of Jordan's visit to the White House tomorrow, the Institute on Religion and Public Policy has urged President Bush to press the King on recent religious freedom violations in his kingdom.

In the last year, Jordan has deported at least 27 foreign evangelical Christians and their families for "illegal" missionary activities. Through restrictive registration laws, Jordan allows only four traditional churches the right to proselytize. In the letter to President Bush, the Institute notes that this contravenes the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Jordan accepted as legally binding in 2006.

"Even more disturbing, the Jordanian government in a statement defended such blatant discrimination," the letter to President Bush says. The government cited complaints from Jordan's Council of Church Leaders, who represent 95 percent of the country's Christian community. According to the statement, the Council ‘had complained for years about the role of missionary groups in Jordan and the proliferation of missionary work in the Kingdom by various foreign groups and organizations. The Government is under the obligation to consider the concerns of its Christian community'

"The Jordanian government, however, is obliged to allow freedom of religion to all classes of believers, and not just certain acceptable denominations. Jordan allows freedom of religion insofar as it does not conflict with the customs and public order of the Kingdom. Unfortunately, the murkiness of such a rule in practice means that Jordanians and foreigners alike suffer infringements on their individual freedom of belief."

Institute on Religion and Public Policy