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How ironic is it that Tucker Carlson gets to visit Jordan, my country, to continue his anti-Israel campaign and to showcase how an Islamic country is taking care of a Christian site, while I, the Jordanian, can't, simply because I am a convert and pro-Israel?
Tucker Carlson wants you to believe that you have been brainwashed and that Christians live happily under Islam. But here is what Tucker is not going to tell you:
Last year, in the last Christian town in Jordan, Fuheis, Christians installed a statue of Jesus in the town square. Within two hours, they were forced to remove it because it was deemed provocative to Muslims.
Two years ago, the Bible Society in Jordan put up ads celebrating Independence Day. Within hours, they were taken down because the bible verses were considered provocative to Muslims.
Find me a church in Jordan where there is not a mosque built next to it to suffocate the life out of it.
Find me a Christian who can wear a cross comfortably without worrying about being mistreated for being an infidel.
Find me a Christian who can stand in the street and hand out copies of the Bible to Muslims.
Christians can worship freely, as long as it is confined within the walls of their churches.
In Israel, Christians have been spat on, but Christians are free.
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Even though Christians in Jordan are protected, represented in government and parliament, enjoy more rights compared to Christians in other Islamic countries, yet the framing presented in Tucker’s interview is not accurate.
In 1930, Christians made up roughly 20% of Jordan’s population. Today, they make up about 2%.
Tucker is attempting to convince the American public that Israel is responsible for the decline of Christians in the region. That claim is false.
The reason Christians declined in Jordan from 20% to 2% is the same reason they declined from 100% to 20% in the first place.
For minorities to live in an Islamic country, submission to certain conditions is required.
First, freedom of worship is guaranteed, but only inside the walls of churches.
Public expression of Christian faith is not permitted. Do not think you can practice your faith openly.
Second, minorities must do all the work of assimilation. Even naming your children becomes a calculation.
Names that signal difference make life harder, which is why many Christians name their children Islamic names such as Omar or Ali.
Third, you must always side with the government. Protection is conditional on loyalty. Betray that loyalty, and the state will step aside.
This is exactly what happened to the Christian dissenter Nahed Hattar, who was murdered in the street over a Facebook post, while the government refused to provide him protection.
Fourth, submission to the will of the Islamic majority is mandatory.
No public crosses. No public Christian symbols. No saints. Nothing outside church walls.
Last year, when Christians attempted to install a statue of Jesus in the public square of Fuhais, the last Christian town in Jordan, they were forced to remove it.
Evangelism is forbidden. Christians may legally convert to Islam and change their official documents. Muslims can never convert to Christianity. Leaving Islam results in the loss of civil rights.
Tucker Carlson interviewed a Jordanian Christian from one of the wealthiest families not only in Jordan, but possibly in the region, someone whose loyalty to the state is unquestioned and whose life is far removed from the everyday restrictions placed on Christian freedom.
Christians in Jordan chose security and sacrificed freedom. That is the price of survival in an Islamic country. And security is only guaranteed through the iron grip of the police state.
On the other hand, Christians in Israel have real freedom and real rights.
When Tucker interviews an Arab Christian living in Israel, we expect him to speak freely, because Israel does not tie a person’s safety to political loyalty.
I hope Americans will recognize how Tucker is distorting the truth. He is contributing to the further suffocation of Christians and other minorities in the Islamic world, where they urgently need support, while directing scrutiny toward Israel, where minorities do not face the same existential threats.
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Nahed Hattar, a Christian journalist from Israel, in 2016, he reposted a caricature mocking an ultra-Jewish perception of God. The Israeli government ordered his immediate arrest, and the prime minister of Israel personally issued a statement portraying him as a felon on the run and a wanted man.
Nahed immediately turned himself in.
For days, he was subjected to humiliation and psychological abuse by Israeli security forces. He was then sent to court to stand trial for blasphemy.
Nahed pleaded with the government to provide him with security, because the public was boiling and that threats against him and his family were escalating.
The Israeli government refused. An Israeli officer told him, “Go, go, no one will hurt you,” knowing this was not true, as Jewish scholars had issued dozens of fatwas against him and thousands were ready to kill him.
The following day, as Nahed was walking into the courthouse, he was shot by a Jewish person. His wife and sons later sought refuge in Ireland, while his brothers in Israel lost their businesses and were continuously harassed over the “crime” of their brother.
The killer was arrested and put on trial. When he appeared before the judge, the Jewish judge told him, “May God bless your hands for what you did. I must obey the law and sentence you, but you are a hero.”
Well, the truth is that Nahed was not Israeli. He was a Jordanian Christian. The government was not Israel’s. It was Jordan’s. And he was assassinated by a Muslim in Jordan.
Just notice how ridiculous, and how far beneath Israel, it would be to imagine such treatment of Christians.
That is just an example of how humiliated Christians have to live in any Islamic country to survive. Tucker Carlson is lying to you.
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