Jordanian Communist Party mourns Central Committee member killed in church attack

Among the dead was Marwan Al-Khaitan, a member of the party’s Central Committee. The party also mourned its friends Khaled Halsa and Dr Assem Barqan, a professor of international relations at the Hashemite University, who were among those killed.

In a statement issued on 23 October by its Political Bureau, the party described the attack as a terrorist crime rooted in sectarian hatred and contempt for human life. It extended its condolences to the victims’ families and expressed solidarity with the wounded and their relatives.

The party argued that the attack was not only an assault on the victims and their families, but also an attack on Jordan’s national unity and social fabric. It warned against attempts to turn religious and cultural diversity into a source of division, insisting that all Jordanians are entitled to dignity, security and freedom of belief, irrespective of religion, sect or political affiliation.

The party called for the circumstances and motives of the crime to be established and for those responsible—as well as anyone proven to have planned, financed or incited the attack—to be brought before the courts. It stressed, however, that the response must extend beyond security measures and punishment to address the political, social, cultural and educational conditions in which extremist ideologies develop.

As an alternative, the party advocated a civil and democratic state founded on equal citizenship, the rule of law, freedom of conscience and the protection of public liberties. It called on Jordanian national, democratic and progressive forces, alongside trade unions and cultural organisations, to unite against sectarianism and hatred.

The statement also placed the struggle against extremism within the context of Jordan’s national sovereignty. The party alleged that external forces, including Zionist forces, seek to pressure Jordan in connection with projects aimed at displacing Palestinians from their homeland. This was the party’s political assessment; the authorities had not publicly established the attackers’ affiliations or motives at the time of reporting.

Jordanian authorities described the shooting as a terrorist attack and said the investigation was continuing. The identities and organisational affiliations of those responsible had not been established in the initial reporting.

For the Jordanian Communist Party, the deaths of its Central Committee member and other members of the community underline the urgent need to defend social cohesion, equal citizenship and the right of people of all faiths to live and worship without fear.

(Photo: Al Ittihad)