Caledoniyya

At last, positive news after weeks in the doldrums:

Madaba, Jordan – A mosque named after the central figure of Christianity is the latest milestone of interfaith coexistence in Jordan. Both Muslim and Christian leaders expressed delight when the Jesus Christ Mosque opened a few months ago in the tranquil town of Madaba, 30 kilometres south of the capital, Amman.

“This is a message to the world that Muslims consider Jesus Christ their own messenger because he informed humanity beforehand that the Prophet Mohamed was coming,” the mosque’s prayer leader, Belal Hanini, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

“It also proves that Islam is a religion of tolerance and has nothing to do with extremism,” he said.

Hanini and other worshippers explained how followers of Islam and Christianity lived for a long time in peace and fostered fraternal ties in this area of the Hashemite Kingdom, an ardent supporter of interfaith dialogue.

Christians make up 10 per cent of Madaba’s residents and account for 5 per cent of Jordan’s 5.5-million population, they said.

“We have lived in peace for centuries with our Christian brothers and now we feel that this mosque symbolizes our fraternity,” Abd Horout, a Muslim lawyer from Madaba said as he finished afternoon prayers.

Perhaps one of the most common presumptions made of the Middle East is that the Christian communities are routinely persecuted by their Muslim counterparts.

Contrary to this notion, Jordan has succeeded in hosting a more cohesive religious environment than one might find in the rural counties of Britain.

Only eight weeks ago, a building intended for renovation into a mosque in Lincolnshire was torched by belligerent locals, an act that is as despicable as it is unbelievable.

As the church spires and mosque minarets jostle in the skyline of Amman, it is impossible not to admire the religious tolerance fostered and long that certain parts of Britain could learn from their example.

For the full story on the new mosque in Madaba, click here.