In the modern sense, Jordan is a new state that came into existence as a result of World War I and postwar developments. In 1921, the country was recognized as the Kingdom of Transjordan. In 1950, it was renamed the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan following the annexation of Arab Palestine west of the Jordan River.
During World War I, the Hashemite family queried Britain for support in an Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire. After reaching an agreement, Sharif Hussein and his four sons began the Great Arab Revolt in 1916. They played a considerable part in the routing of the Turkish armies in the Near East. After the war, various countries were placed under the mandatory control and protection of Britain and France. Palestine was placed under a British mandate, and Jordan (or Transjordan) was created to provide a bastion. It was constituted an emirate and ruled by Abdullah ibn Hussein of the Hashemite family.
When the state of Israel was proclaimed at Tel Aviv on May 14, 1948, the resentment of the Arab nations and their fear that this would lead to greatly increased immigration and a consequent seizure of more land caused an explosion of feeling. Jordan immediately took action and Hebron, Bethlehem, Ramallah, Nablus and the old city of Jerusalem were captured and, with other territory taken by Jordan, were officially annexed in 1950 to the dismay and anger of the Israelis. At the same time, thousands of Arabs, who had been living peacefully in the newly created state of Israel, fled for fear of retaliation, while others were eventually expelled by the Jews.
The population of Transjordan tripled in 1948 because of the large influx of refugees from Israel, and the population of east Jordan increased again when Palestinians fled during the Israeli invasion of 1967.
The land called Transjordan by geographers occupies an area of just more than 90,000 square kilometers (37,738 square miles). The Palestinian West Bank, which occupies 5,500 square kilometers (2,160 square miles), was officially united with Jordan from 1951 to 1988. The population of the Transjordanian territory has varied in size from one historical period to another. In the late 1920s, the population was less than 400,000. In December 1994, the population of the East Bank was 4,095,579. The total population in 2009 was 5,980,000, according to Jordan’s Department of Statistics.
Arab Muslims, particularly of the Sunni branch of Islam, constitute the great majority of the population. Ethnic minorities include the Circassians and Chechens. Caucasian groups settled in Jordan during the 19th century after they fled to Turkey for safety from persecution in Russia. Smaller groups of Syrians, Armenians and Greeks and other Europeans are located primarily in the urban centers. The country has almost complete ethnic homogeneity as a result of the inclination of the dominant Arab majority to assimilate minority groups.
A high percentage of the Jordanian population is comprised of Palestinian refugees who lost their homes, land and loved ones.
About 78.7 percent of Jordan’s population is urban; less than 6 percent of the rural population is nomadic or seminomadic. The population is highly educated with a literacy rate of 90.7 percent. Jordan’s annual growth rate is 2.3 percent. More than 35 percent of Jordanians are under age 15.
Much of the early development of the Christian church took place within present-day Jordan. Jesus Christ traveled, taught and healed in the land beyond the Jordan River. When the Christians of Jerusalem faced persecution, they fled to Pella in Transjordan. Seven of the cities of refuge in the Decapolis are in modern-day Jordan. For millennia, there has been a major north-south highway east of the Jordan River, in addition to a major highway from Jerusalem to Damascus, which runs through northern Jordan. Most likely, Paul traveled this road. There has been a Christian presence in Transjordan since the beginning of Christianity.
Archaeologists have excavated the ruins of a large number of churches east of the Jordan River. Excavations reveal that new churches were built until the time of the crusades, 400 years after the rise of Islam. Most of these ancient churches were destroyed by earthquakes. Several crusader castles remain in Jordan. After the crusaders were driven from the Holy Land, the church went through a period of decline, although there was always a Christian presence east of the Jordan River.
Transjordan was part of the Roman Empire when Emperor Constantine declared Christianity to be its official religion. Later the Roman Empire was formally divided into east and west, with Constantinople (formerly Byzantium and today Istanbul) becoming the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, better known as the Byzantine Empire.
Prior to the second half of the 19th century, all the Christian Arabs in Jordan were members of the Greek Orthodox Church. By the end of the 19th century, churches linked in different ways to Western centers of ecclesiastical influence had a presence in Jordan. Two of these newer churches were Catholic, subject to the authority of the pope in Rome: Roman Catholic, more often known as Latin Catholic, and Melkite Catholic.
In 1841, an Anglican bishopric was created in Jerusalem with the consecration of a converted rabbi, Michael Alexander, as bishop. This made Jerusalem the center of Anglican missionary activity in the area. The Anglican Church is an integral part of the autonomous churches presided over by the archbishop of Canterbury.
Other Western Protestant churches that began missionary activities in Jordan included the Baptist, Nazarene, Christian Missionary Alliance, Pentecostal (Assemblies of God) and Seventh-day Adventist, which were founded by Western missionaries in the 20th century.
The Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Greek Catholic churches have the largest number of members in Jordan. Of the Protestant churches, the Lutherans and Anglicans are officially recognized by the government. The five evangelical denominations are under the auspices of the Anglican Church: the Baptists, Assemblies of God, Christian Missionary Alliance, Nazarene and Evangelical Free.
In 1925, a Western missionary, Roy Whitman, working in Jerusalem was invited by two families in Jordan, to come to the town of Salt (As-Salt). Thinking this was the result of spiritual thirst, he moved to Jordan. Upon arrival, he discovered that some people were simply unhappy with their priest and wanted to challenge him with a new leader. Nevertheless Whitman rented a house and began serving the people. Soon he had an Egyptian believer as a helper and together they spent hours in prayer.
In February 1929, they began to see their prayers answered. A prayer meeting in his home began at 8:30 one morning and continued until past midnight, the house was always full with people confessing their sins. Thus began the revival in Salt.
In 1930, Whitman moved to Amman and began a church in the nearby community of Mahatta. Here he began an indigenous evangelical church. He taught the importance of the church being self-governing, self-supporting and self-propagating. Thus the church was called Jordan Free Evangelical Church.
In 1948, many Palestinian refugees fled to Jordan. This was accompanied by an influx of evangelical missionaries. The Pentecostals [Assemblies of God] settled in Salt. In 1948, the Alliance began work in south Jordan at Karak and in 1951, started churches in Amman and Madaba. In 1949, the Nazarenes began work in Zarqa and later in Amman, where they also built a school. In 1951, Southern Baptists began working in north Jordan with a hospital in Ajloun and later built a school and church.
Through the years, many social services have been provided by evangelical churches. These social services have greatly advanced their witness. The Baptists managed a hospital in Ajloun, which they later sold to the government. The Baptists continue to run two schools (one in Ajloun and another in Amman) and a bookstore in Amman. Christian organizations manage a tuberculosis hospital in Mafraq, plus other health clinics around the country.
As a result of the Gulf War, thousands of Iraqis fled to Jordan and hundreds have come to know the Lord. Six Iraqi evangelical churches have been started in Jordan.
Jordanian Baptists today have 22 churches and two schools with 1,700 students, kindergarten to high school, boys and girls, Christians and Muslims. Graduation is attended by the royal family. The fence around the Amman Baptist School was donated by King Hussein while some of his children attended the school; this is a reminder of the royal family’s care and protection. We also operate a bookstore in downtown Amman and a conference center in Ajloun on the Gilead mountains facing a crusader castle. This center serves all the evangelical churches for retreats, training and youth and Sunday School activities. Also Arab Woman Today Ministries (AWT) exists to reach and empower Arab women, AWT has a radio program, online magazine, training seminars and conferences in Jordan and the Arab region.
Jordanian Baptists have a deaf ministry that reaches and serves the deaf community and provides training for church members to teach them sign language. Since schools are great tools to serve communities and shape future generations, we signed an agreement with the government to start a new school in the city of Zarqa. This is the second largest city in Jordan with a population close to 1 million people. It is fairly poor, has about 600 mosques and houses radical Islam. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who used to lead al-Qaida in Iraq, was born and raised in Zarqa so his name comes from the city’s name. We got the land at a discounted price under the condition that the school should be in operation in two years. So far, we, the Jordanian Baptists, paid $350,000 for the land purchase. The first phase will cost $1 million. Please join us in prayer that we can raise the money to be able to finish the project on time and be a blessing to Zarqa.
On March 20, 2009, we celebrated the dedication of the baptismal center on the Jordan River. The dedication was attended by more than 2,000 Christians, and former Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom was the keynote speaker. Blair currently serves as the Quartet Representative (U.S., U.N., Russia and the European Union) for the Middle East and sponsors a faith foundation dedicated to interreligious cooperation. Also on the program were Prince Ghazi Bin Mohammed of Jordan, Baptist World Alliance (BWA) President David Coffey, BWA General Secretary Neville Callam and European Baptist Federation President Toma Magda and General Secretary Tony Peck.
Jordan is a great place. Jordanian people are warm and hospitable. Please come and visit us. You can see Petra (one of the new seven wonders of the world), float on the Dead Sea or follow the Lord in baptism in the Jordan River. Walk where the prophet Elijah ascended to heaven, where John the Baptist started his ministry and where Jesus Christ was baptized and started His earthly ministry and fellowship with Jordanian Baptists.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Nabeeh Abbassi is the former president of the Jordan Baptist Convention.
Share with others: