It is difficult to view the terrorist attack on the church in the village of Hamoud in Karak in isolation from the circumstances Jordan is experiencing and the challenges surrounding it from every direction. The horrific crime, which demonstrated a blatant disregard for innocent lives, raises questions that go beyond the identities of the perpetrators and their immediate motives. It also raises questions about the timing, the political and regional environment in which it occurred, and the parties that might benefit from destabilising Jordan’s domestic front and distracting it with conflicts that serve only those seeking to undermine its security and stability.
اضافة اعلان
Jordan stands in a region whose political map is changing. Along its borders, crises and political and security projects are converging, while the country faces economic and social pressures that cannot be separated from this turbulent environment. Under such circumstances, domestic cohesion becomes one of the country’s most important sources of strength. Targeting that cohesion, whether through terrorism or by inciting division, is an attempt to undermine Jordan’s ability to confront external challenges.
All this raises serious questions about the timing of the crime and whether we are dealing with an isolated terrorist act or one linked to forces beyond the perpetrators themselves, seeking to impose a particular political and security agenda on Jordan.
We know that the outcome of investigations must not be prejudged. However, vigilance against the use of terrorism to serve broader agendas remains essential, given the nature of this period. Some regional projects have long viewed Jordan as a space onto which the burdens of other countries’ crises can be shifted, in ways that serve political visions unrelated to Jordanians’ interests. Some of these projects have been associated with ambitions of expansion, displacement and reshaping the region’s geopolitical map. Any attempt to weaken the Jordanian state or exhaust its society through internal disputes therefore raises legitimate concerns, even in the absence of evidence linking this particular crime to those projects.
In these circumstances, Jordanians must remain highly alert to such schemes. Terrorism achieves its aims through the fear, suspicion and division it leaves behind, particularly when it succeeds in driving citizens to trade accusations or view one another through the lens of religious and social affiliations. This would represent a major loss and create serious challenges, even if the perpetrators were killed or imprisoned.
The way to thwart such schemes is to recognise that national unity is not merely a slogan. It is a daily practice and a deeply rooted conviction based on equal citizenship, respect for differences, trust in institutions and the rule of law.
Today, we urgently need to confront extremist ideology at its roots, eliminate the conditions that allow hatred to grow, and refuse to tolerate rhetoric that gives violence religious or political justification. Culture, education and enlightened religious discourse must be among the tools we use to confront the ideas that breed extremism.
Yet the picture presented by Jordanians in the aftermath of the crime was the strongest response to those who had hoped to stir discord. Solidarity with the victims and their families emerged spontaneously, without the need for instructions or slogans. In the eyes of Jordanians, the attack on the church was a wound inflicted on society as a whole.
This image deserves careful reflection. At the very moment terrorism sought to sow fear and division, Jordanians reaffirmed the meaning of coexistence and demonstrated that the blood of innocent people cannot be classified according to their religion.
However, solidarity, important as it is, will not be enough if it remains a temporary emotional response. It must be transformed into lasting national awareness that protects society from incitement and unites people around their state and their highest national interests.
No country can be free of challenges. But if the terrorists intended their crime to create a breach in the national fabric, it is now the responsibility of Jordanians to turn this ordeal into an additional reason to strengthen their country’s defences against division.
