This participation has roots in the life of Al-Karak, where the rights of neighborhood were intertwined with the duties of the clan, and bonds and alliances were formed between Muslims and Christians; as an expression of brotherhood and social closeness.
The value of these bonds appears in tribal mediation (Jahat and Atwat) and reconciliation among people, when Muslim and Christian dignitaries represent one another, and each carries the other's word and trust. From this feeling, we understand the neighbor's interest in their neighbor's religious affairs, as in the story that mentions Sheikh Mohammad Al-Majali's request to the Patriarch of Jerusalem to send a priest for the Christians in Al-Karak in 1856; a stance that sees the neighbor's peace of mind and freedom of worship as a matter worthy of care.
The town of Adir preserves a story known as "Khouri Al-Ma'aitah." In one of its versions, the Christian Baqain requested land from their allies, the Al-Ma'aitah, to build a church, so the Sheikh of Al-Ma'aitah agreed, saying: "The priest (Khouri) shall be one of us." The phrase is told as a loving anecdote that reveals the intensity of the intimacy between neighbors. In another version, Pasha Salama Al-Ma'aitah appears, as the Christians of Adir asked him to speak on their behalf before the Patriarch at the opening of a church in 1930, and to request an Arab priest who understands their language instead of foreign priests.
If these stories express intimacy, then ordeals reveal the extent of the responsibility they create. In the Al-Karak Revolt of 1910, Oudeh Al-Qusus took charge of negotiating with the authorities in Damascus in an effort to avoid confrontation. A story recounted from his memoirs mentions that, when it was requested to distinguish Christian homes with crosses to protect them from the military campaign, Christian families invited their Muslim neighbors to place the same mark in search of safety. This story preserves an image that expresses the neighbors' concern for each other's safety, when the fear for a neighbor's house became part of the fear for their own homes and families.
With the passing of generations, the respect for sanctities remained a mutual responsibility; in September 2012, a statement was issued in the name of the heads of churches and Christian clans in Al-Karak denouncing the film offensive to Islam and its Prophet, and rejecting the incitement of strife and sectarian tensions. The people of the city realized that offending each other's beliefs harms the relationship that unites them all.
This legacy is preserved as a responsibility that is renewed in the home, the school, and the pulpit; by teaching our children to respect the neighbor's creed, and by confronting speech that incites against it or diminishes its rights. For the love we have inherited needs care, which begins with the word and appears in treatment and stance.
Today, we return with this memory to Al-Hamoud and its people, and to the duty of consolation, care, and support. We need to preserve for our children the true stories of Al-Karak and the names of those who held its stances, so they may know how brotherhood is maintained through equal rights, safe worship, and a hand extended in times of hardship.
To the bats of darkness, the haters of life, the spreaders of hatred, division, and terrorism, nothing will benefit you as long as there is love and brotherhood in hearts. We will not let the advocates of hatred and terrorism turn our sadness into division; we will stand with our people, protect our brotherhood, and demand justice for the martyrs and the injured. May God have mercy on the martyrs, protect our people, and keep for Al-Karak its brotherhood that unites us and our ability to carry some of each other's pain.
