Between a Rock and a Hard Place: A Qualitative Study on Communal Belonging and Interfaith Relations among Jordanian Christians

Abstract: The Jordanian Christian community is, in many aspects, a unique case within the MENA region. Mostly neglected by scholars and the mainstream public alike, it is perceived as unproblematic due to the institutional guarantees granted by the Hashemite regime, and the absence of apparent existential threats. Nonetheless, the copious influx of refugees from neighboring “sectarianized” contexts, the always-looming security threats, and the influence of Islamism among Jordanian society begs the question: how have such challenges been received by Jordanian Christians? And more generally, how do they perceive their role and presence within the country? To answer these questions, I adopted a qualitative research design informed by the symbolic interactionist framework and a thematic analytical approach to data. I collected 15 interviews, with various modalities, with Jordanian Christians from Amman and Fuheis, during a month-long fieldwork in Jordan. Consequently, the analysis highlighted the perceived challenges for religious coexistence in the country and the survival of the Jordanian Christian community, but also the capacity of its members to resist and reclaim their belonging to the land.