The authorities in Jordan are treating the attack on a church in Karak, which resulted in 9 deaths and more than 34 injuries, as a targeting of the country’s national security.
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On Saturday morning, less than 24 hours after the attack, King Abdullah II chaired an emergency meeting of the Jordanian National Security Council, attended by all pillars of the security system and senior state officials.
On Saturday morning, less than 24 hours after the attack, King Abdullah II chaired an emergency meeting of the Jordanian National Security Council.
The meeting was also attended, for the first time, by Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah and Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad, the chief advisor to the Royal Court and specialist in tribal-religious affairs, indicating that the Jordanian leadership has taken it upon itself to deal with the file, and the Royal Court is overseeing the details and dealing with them firmly, which was evident in the return of the term “Kharijites” to the forefront, amid a tone of defiance that rejects any accommodation with criminals who target coexistence and civil peace.
During the meeting, the King directed the relevant authorities to respond firmly and to strike with an iron fist against those he described as “Kharijites,” and anyone who dares to tamper with the unity of Jordanians, stressing the need to pursue and hold accountable, by the full force of the law, all those who supported or justified this act.
He stressed the importance of preparing a comprehensive security assessment of the mechanism for dealing with terrorist acts, and coming up with practical procedures that enhance security readiness to proactively confront any similar attempts, emphasizing the need to enforce the rule of law and the prestige of the state.
It appears that the royal order to “provide a comprehensive security assessment” is not aimed at answering the question of what happened, but rather how and why it happened, and at providing answers quickly from the relevant authorities, since “this crime is happening for the first time in the history of Jordan,” according to Interior Minister Mazen Al-Faraya.
Politician and parliamentarian Mamdouh Al-Abadi agrees with this, stating in remarks to Al-Quds Al-Arabi that what happened is inconsistent with the history, heritage, customs and morals of Jordanians, adding: Whether it is extremism, terrorism, drugs, external direction, lone wolves, or intellectual deviation, it is necessary to investigate and provide answers.
Al-Abadi: Uncovering, arresting, and investigating the criminals is a foregone conclusion because, in the end, they are merely pawns and deviant individuals used to send a message.
According to Al-Abadi, uncovering, arresting, and investigating the criminals is a foregone conclusion because, in the end, they are merely pawns and deviant individuals used to send a message that affects not only all Jordanians but also the principle of Islamic-Christian coexistence in Jordan, and consequently, civil peace.
Parliamentarian Khalil Attieh notes that the attack occurred at the same time as the call to prayer for Friday prayers was being recited, and he tells Al-Quds Al-Arabi that the message of the crime is malicious and satanic and cannot be tolerated.
He adds: “Apart from the painful consequences of the crime, which hurt all components of the Jordanian people, it sends a very serious and critical message, not only in terms of the nature of the attack on Christian citizens praying during the funeral of a woman, but also in terms of the nature of the direction and implications, and in terms of the choice of location, as the social segment in the Christian component of the city of Karak is the most historically coexisting with the Muslim majority.
Al-Abadi and other politicians seem convinced that this heinous crime is a message against the Jordanian heartland, and cannot be merely an incident resulting from intellectually deviant individuals who decided to attack a church, which suggests possible “external directive elements.”
In any case, the targeting, according to observers, aims to undermine the culture of religious coexistence upon which a set of strategies has been built for three decades, starting with the activation of religious tourism and not ending with the image and reputation of the Kingdom abroad and its investment and strategic uses.
Therefore, it can be said that the post-church attack phase is not the same as before, amid talk of a link between it and the events and conflicts in the region, and between the efforts of external or internal parties to undermine social peace.
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