Are we facing an act committed by extremists on their own initiative, or is there a hidden agent standing behind them, seeking to employ violence to destabilize Jordan and harm its role and positions? It is a legitimate question that deserves investigation, even if the answer remains contingent upon evidence rather than assumptions.
For years, Jordan has been subjected to increasing challenges and pressures aimed at influencing its regional role and political positions, foremost among them its firm stance on the Palestinian cause, its categorical rejection of the displacement of Palestinians, and its adherence to their right to establish their independent state.
In light of attempts to reshape the region at the expense of legitimate rights, the importance of protecting Jordan from everything that might target its internal front or weaken its ability to continue its political and diplomatic role becomes clear.
The crime of targeting the church gains double gravity; because it does not affect Christians alone, but targets our values that form an essential part of the Jordanian national identity. Any attack of this kind may leave effects that go beyond its direct victims, if it is exploited to incite division among Jordanians or cast doubt on their model based on citizenship.
Hence, the search into the backgrounds of the crime should not be limited to its field dimensions, but must include any indicators of planning, incitement, or funding by external or beneficiary parties.
This dimension gains additional importance as Jordan prepares to celebrate in 2030 the two-thousandth anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ; an occasion that enhances the Kingdom's religious and historical status and highlights its Christian sites, foremost among them the "Baptism Site" associated with the baptism of Jesus Christ.
Could there be a party seeking to target this Jordanian model or disrupt the Kingdom's status ahead of this occasion? And could the targeting of the church be an attempt to harm the image of a country that presents itself as a true model for Islamic-Christian coexistence?
Between His Majesty the King’s speech before the United Nations General Assembly, in which he emphasized the protection of Christians and their heritage, and his firm stance following the terrorist attack in Karak, Jordan’s battle in confronting terrorism and protecting its national unity is manifested. Targeting the church is not an attack on Christians alone, but on all Jordanians. Do we all realize the gravity of the matter? And do Jordanians realize that their country is indeed being targeted?
These are questions that deserve research, yet timing alone is not enough to prove the existence of a plot, just as talking about a hidden agent who employed extremist groups requires conclusive evidence that reveals the nature of communications, funding, or planning, if they exist. This is what the minds of justice in our various agencies will reveal in the coming days.
In the same context, the episode recorded by American journalist "Tucker Carlson" from the Baptism Site sparked a discussion about Islamic-Christian coexistence in Jordan, the conditions of Palestinian Christians under Israeli occupation, and what he described as their humiliation. This overlapped with a broader Western debate regarding religion, politics, and Israel's place in the perceptions of some Christian currents.
This context deserves attention when reading the media and political scene surrounding Jordan, but it remains an analytical inference, not material evidence of a relationship between those discussions and the crime.
The essence of the matter lies in distinguishing between those who carry out the crime and those who may benefit from it or stand behind it; the extremist may act out of self-driven ideological motives, and another party may exploit these motives to achieve political ends. Neither possibility can be determined for the Karak crime except through investigation and evidence.
In any case, confronting the danger requires two complementary paths: first, uncovering the circumstances of the crime and holding those responsible for it accountable; and second, continuing to confront the takfiri ideology that justifies targeting others because of their religion or beliefs. Protecting Jordanian Christians and their places of worship is protecting all of Jordan, and safeguarding the national coexistence that no extremist group or beneficiary party should be allowed to undermine.
Jordan has remained steadfast in its positions toward the Palestinian cause, in protecting its holy sites, and in maintaining its security and internal cohesion. Therefore, uncovering the truth in the Karak crime goes beyond identifying the direct perpetrators to knowing whether there were other parties that planned, incited, or sought to capitalize on the attack.
Our battle with terrorism began a long time ago, but we are now facing a greater battle; not only in terms of the malice of its methods and the absurdity of its goals, but also in terms of the difficulty of discovering its threads, the extension of its incubators, and the availability of the necessary regional and international climates for its survival and continuation. This means that the tools we used to confront it are in need of reconsideration, just as the media and political discourse we used has also become in need of further development and modernization.
