Christian girl kidnapped

A Christian girl in Jordan was kidnapped by Muslim extremists on October 15 and forced to convert to Islam.

The girl is from the town of Fuheis, which is the only settlement in Jordan that is still predominantly Christian. About 60 per cent of its 20,000 residents are Greek Orthodox, and the rest are Muslim or Catholic. A VOM contact said Jordan's Prime Minister visited Fuheis to help defuse the situation since the town is calling for the return of the girl. He is asking residents to stop protesting and forget about the girl, but residents responded by asking the leader to leave their town.

Kidnapping young Christian women and forcing them to convert to Islam is common in Egypt, but it hasn't been prevalent in Jordan.

Please pray that this girl will be set free and that the Jordanian government will stand up to defend the rights of all its people. Please pray that the prompt resolution of this situation will serve as a deterrent to all others who may wish to harm Christians. Pray that God will continue to grow His Church in Jordan.

For more information on the persecution of Christians in Jordan, go to the Jordan Country Report.

Jordan Information

  • Country Information

    Population
    11,086,716 (2023 est.)

    Ethnicity (%)
    Jordanian (69.3), Syrian (13.3), Palestinian (6.7), Egyptian (6.7), Iraqi (1.4), Other (2.6)

    Religion (%)
    Muslim (97.1), Christian (2.1), Buddhist (0.4), Hindu (0.1), Jewish (<.1), Other (0.3)

    Leader
    King Abdallah II (1999)

    Government type
    Parliamentary constitutional monarchy

    Legal system
    Mixed system developed from codes instituted by the Ottoman Empire (based on French law), British common law, and Islamic law

    Source: CIA World Factbook

  • Pray for Jordan

    Pray that Christians who face opposition from those around them will remain faithful to Christ.

    Pray that the Jordanian government will recognize the religious rights of all citizens.

    Ask God to bring forth more church leaders and other servants of the Lord in Jordan to continue His work in the nation (Matthew 9:36-38).

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Jordan News

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    Leaflets distributed recently in East Jerusalem are warning Christians to leave the city before the end of Ramadan on July 18th or risk being killed. The leaflets are attributed to a group its own members refer to as the "Islamic State in Palestine."

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