This is not the first time Al-Karak has been subjected to a terrorist attack; it witnessed bloody events in 2016 during which civilians and members of the security services were martyred. Today, nearly ten years later, it returns to face a tragedy that evokes memories of those events and the sacrifices of its people in confronting terrorism. It is as if it is the destiny of this city to pay with the blood of its sons as the price for its steadfastness, and for its fortress to remain a witness to a history of sacrifice and redemption.
What increases the heinousness of this inhumane crime is that it took place in the vicinity of a church, where believers and monotheists had gathered, carrying their sorrows on their shoulders, having come to bid farewell to a daughter of their tribe and console her family. Instead of offering condolences, they offered their pure blood as a sacrifice on the altar of the nation. Moments of sadness turned into a tragedy, tears of farewell mingled with the blood of the innocent, and the walls of the church shook with the cries of women and the panic of men, in a scene that makes the body shudder and the heart bleed.
The bullets of treachery did not distinguish between Christian and Muslim; they struck the sons of Al-Karak who had gathered in the church courtyard, as if their blood had come to embody their unity and brotherhood even in the darkest circumstances and the harshest moments, and to confirm that what united them in life—love, fraternity, and belonging to the nation—cannot be severed by the bullets of hatred, even in death.
What happened in Al-Karak was not an attack on Christians alone; the victims are Jordanians above all else, and the wound that afflicted them extended to the heart of the entire nation. Christians are not guests on its land, nor are they newcomers to its history; rather, they are its sons and partners in building it and protecting its soil, and they have never needed a certificate to prove their belonging to it. This tragedy has confirmed that national unity is not just slogans raised on occasions, but a reality that appears in times of adversity, when the affliction of one family becomes a sorrow that dwells in all the homes of the nation.
As is his custom in standing by his people in times of adversity, His Majesty the King hastened to visit the injured and check on their health, affirming that Jordan will confront the terrorist act that targeted Al-Karak with the harshest penalties, in a firm royal message that the blood of Jordanians is not cheap, and that anyone who attempts to tamper with the security of the nation will face a strong state and a cohesive people.
This royal stance gains special significance when we recall that the crime occurred about a month after His Majesty the King’s speech before the United Nations General Assembly, when he stood before world leaders, proud of Jordan’s role in protecting the Christian presence and its historical legacy, and defending the true image of Islam in the face of extremism. What His Majesty spoke about was not merely a diplomatic position, but an expression of a reality lived by Al-Karak and other governorates of the Kingdom, where Muslims and Christians are united by deep-rooted brotherhood and a common destiny.
Faced with this tragedy, our responsibility does not stop at condemning the crime and demanding that its perpetrators be held accountable, but extends to supporting the families of the martyrs and the injured, and confronting attempts to spread rumors and incite hatred. Terrorism does not represent any religion or sect, and we must not allow the aggressors to achieve through division what they failed to achieve with bullets. Loyalty to the blood of the victims requires maintaining the unity of society and rallying around state institutions to protect Jordan’s security and stability.
Today, Al-Karak bleeds with pain for its sons, carrying in its conscience the ache of the tragedy and the bitterness of loss. But it will gather its wounds, wipe away the tears of its people, and rise from its sadness as it rose from previous ordeals, preserving its national and pan-Arab legacy. The bells of its churches will ring again as they once did, and the minarets of its mosques will remain standing tall beside them, a witness to a brotherhood that the hand of terrorism could not undermine.
Al-Karak may weep for its martyrs, but it will not bow or allow sadness to defeat it. It will remain my city, the home of my people and my roots, the fortress of the nation, cherished by its people, great in its history and sacrifices, and resilient against anyone who tries to tear apart the unity of Jordanians or extract love from their hearts.
Professor of Constitutional Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Jordan
