Bigotry against Christians in Jordon

Washington Times:

Evangelical Christians are under fire in Jordan, and more than two dozen missionaries and seminary students have been deported or refused visas in the past year.

Some of the 27 families or individuals are American citizens, a source of some embarrassment to Jordan's King Abdullah II, who will be in Washington tomorrow to visit the White House and conduct interfaith discussions with Muslim and Jewish leaders.

Abdullah also appeared before a closed-door session of American evangelical leaders during the February 2006 National Prayer Breakfast. Jordan heavily markets to evangelicals its many biblical sites as part of its $2.3 billion tourism industry.

"I think the king needs to see the repercussions for allowing this thing to simmer underneath the surface," said Keith Roderick, Washington representative for Christian Solidarity International, which tracks religious persecution. "The king has to realize there is a cost to this reaction. Christians are an important part of the economic well-being of Jordan."

After the expulsions were reported Jan. 29 by the evangelical news service Compass Direct, Al Jazeera TV devoted a lengthy Feb. 17 program to the issue. Constantine Qarmash, an official with the Greek Orthodox Church in Amman, Jordan, told the network that the evangelicals' goal was to "serve Israeli interests in this region."

Awda Qawwas, a World Council of Churches representative in Amman, accused foreign evangelicals of being "financed by their churches in America."

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I am not sure what Qawwas's point is. It is not like the Saudis don't support mosques around the world. But this appears to be somewhat of a Christian on Christian bigotry where establishment insiders resent outsiders having a say.