World Evangelical Leader Lays Wreath at Graves of Jordan Church Funeral Victims

HMOUD, Jordan —

The Rev. Botrus Mansour, secretary general of the World Evangelical Alliance, led a delegation of evangelical and Baptist leaders to the village of Hmoud in Jordan's Karak Governorate, where gunmen killed nine people at a church funeral on Oct. 23, the alliance said in a statement reported Nov. 2 by Christian Daily International.

The delegation laid a wreath at the victims' graves, prayed for the families, the wounded and Jordan's security, and visited the family of Alaa Masarwa to offer condolences. Mansour, who is from Nazareth, said he had already sent a message of solidarity on behalf of the alliance, which he said represents 650 million evangelicals worldwide.

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Traveling with him were the Rev. Nabih Abbasi, president of the Baptist Convention in Jordan and Middle East ambassador for the Baptist World Alliance; the Rev. Jack Sara, president of Bethlehem Bible College and of the Evangelical Alliance in the Middle East and North Africa; the Rev. David Rihani, head of the Assemblies of God in Jordan; and the Rev. Rami Hussein Halsa, pastor of Resurrection Baptist Church in Sweileh, near Amman.

Mansour called Jordan “an oasis of tolerance and full citizenship” and praised the response of King Abdullah II and the royal family as decisive, according to the report. Abbasi noted that the Greek word for martyr means witness and said terrorism would not prevail. Mansour closed by proclaiming the resurrection of Christ.

The attack took place at St. George's Greek Orthodox Church in Hmoud, where gunmen fired on mourners at a funeral. Reuters put the wounded at 34 or more, up from earlier reports of 28, Christian Daily said. Christians make up about 2% to 3% of Jordan's population, and attacks on them there are rare, the outlet reported.

Jordanian forces arrested two brothers and their brother-in-law on Oct. 26 after an exchange of fire in al-Judayyda, and Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya said the investigation remained open. Jordan's air force struck targets in southern Syria the same day. Jordan says the strikes hit militants; Syria has said civilians were killed.

The delegation said it would encourage evangelicals worldwide to visit Jordan ahead of the 2,000th anniversary of Jesus' baptism in 2030. Jordan is preparing a commemoration at Bethany Beyond the Jordan, a UNESCO-listed site on the east bank of the Jordan River.

What we don't know yet: The report did not give the exact date of the delegation's visit, saying only that it came about a week after the airstrikes. Watchman News could not find the alliance's statement on its own website and has not independently confirmed the details. The suspects have not been tried, and we are not naming them.