Give me that Old Time Religion

Some Old Time Religion from Jordan:

Hattar, a balding man with white hair and dark eyebrows, sits in his home near a statue of the Virgin Mary. There’s wind and anticipation outside. Pope Benedict XVI is in Jordan on a three-day pilgrimage to improve relations between Christians and Muslims. Hattar says that’s a noble effort, if perhaps more spiritual than practical, and besides, the pope is too friendly with the Jews across the border in Israel.

“You know, coexisting with Muslims is difficult,” he says, choosing his words so as to convey truth but not offend. It is the way of conversation here, to let nuance reach the heart. “Muslims don’t accept others. They want everyone like them. We show them friendship. They don’t show outward hostility, but you feel it inside your soul.”

In 1950, Christians made up about 30% of the Jordanian population. That’s dropped to less than 4% in this overwhelmingly Islamic nation where Jesus was baptized and Moses was buried. Most Christians, like Hattar’s brother and four sisters, left for better opportunities in Europe, the United States and Canada.

Holding on to tribal lands is approached with more sanctity than taking Communion; when a Palestinian recently bought property on the hillside, Hattar went down to make sure his new neighbor had the New Testament, not the Koran.

“We don’t sell land to Muslims. We don’t want mosques amidst us,” he says. “Once, in the 1960s, a Christian man from the tribe wanted to sell his land to a Muslim. The priest gathered other men and they went to this man’s house. They asked him, ‘Why are you doing this?’ He told him he needed money, 10,000 dinars. The priest and the men gave him 10,000 dinars and then they beat him and threatened to kill him if he ever sold land to a Muslim.”

~~Jeffrey Fleishman. For Christian enclave in Jordan, tribal lands are sacred. (Los Angeles Times May 10, 2009) (Via Western Confucian)