The holiest of Christian holidays has come and gone with the usual multitude of well-wishes from my Muslim friends and colleagues.  The major Christian holidays always provide me renewed hope in the future of Jordan as I witness time and time again the openness and hospitality of my Jordanian friends and neighbors.  Nice people that I normally would not find occasion to talk to come from all over to congratulate me and wish us happiness and health during times of Christian celebration.  Text messages arrive by the dozens and verbal congratulations are non-stop.

Being that Sunday was a normal work day for non-Christians I felt obligated to come to work as usual.  Truth be told, I rarely skip a day of work so it seems unusual to miss work as a matter of course, but I digress.  As dictated by His Majesty King Abdullah, all Christians throughout the Kingdom are allowed an official holiday in order to observe this holy day.  The company that I work for allowed two days for the observance of Easter which did not allow me join my family on their Aqaba holiday, but still provided plenty of time for reflection and contemplation on the rights of non-Muslims in this Muslim country.

Most of you know that Islam does not recognize the resurrection of Jesus Christ and in fact teaches that Jesus was never crucified at all.  Despite this fundamental difference in the teachings of Christianity and Islam, Christians in Jordan are not only allowed but encouraged officially to observe and practice their devotion without fear of harrassment or persecution.  It is not unusual to find Easter decorations in the windows of local apartments, throughout classrooms in private schools and in Easter displays in all the department stores and toy stores throughout Amman.

In a country that is 97% Muslim, it certainly goes against conventional western wisdom that non-Muslims are free to worship as they please without fear of reprisal.  Contrast our religious freedoms with neighboring Egypt.  Coptic Christians are regularly persecuted for observing their religious teachings.  Several have been killed in the past few years while attending church services.  And in yet another indication that the Egypt that will emerge from revolution and upheaval is much more likely to be an Islamic state than a secular democracy (no matter how much the mainstream media fantasizes about the latter) Muslims in Qena broke out into riots because a Christian governor has been appointed for them.  Tensions were so high that local Christian residents had to barricade themselves indoors and could not attend church services to celebrate Palm Sunday.  Despite the Reuters spin that the protesters were angry about government corruption, on Monday it was noted that a majority of the protesters were from the ultra-conservative Salafi sect of Islam.

Back to Jordan where the government reserves a certain number of parliamentary seats for the Christian minority, and in fact the ratio of reserved seats is actually higher than the number of Christians in the population!  Here in Jordan it is not unusual to find churches and mosques within close proximity of one another...something that would indeed be troubling in downtown Cairo.  It is not unusual to find Muslims attending Christian ceremonies such as baptisms, etc.

It is this spirit of cooperation between Muslims and Christians in Jordan that gives us hope for a lasting peace throughout the region.  As Pope Benedict said on his visit to Jordan in 2009, "Muslims and Christians, precisely because of the burden of our common history, so often marked by misunderstanding, must today strive to be known and recognized as worshippers of God, faithful to prayer, eager to uphold and live by the Almighty decrees."  The Pope went on to say that often it is the ideological manipulation of religion, sometimes for political ends, that is a real catalyst for tension and division between faiths.

Most of the moderate, contemporary Muslims that I am acquainted with know it is the responsibility of Muslims from all walks of life to examine the leadership shown by His Majesty King Abdullah in promoting a better understanding of the virtues proclaimed by Islam.  The virtues of religious tolerance and acceptance of non-Muslim beliefs is what separates Jordan from the rest of the Middle East, and this can be attributed to the leadership shown by King Abdullah and his father King Hussein before him.

With all that being said, there is still much progress to be made in Jordan.  We should not make it seem that there is no tension between Muslims and Christians with the borders of the Kingdom.  Of course there are small problems from time to time.  But beyond the occasional tensions, there is a mutual respect between the two religions and a commitment to peace and stability that starts with our government.  This was demonstrated to me today as Muslim friends and acquaintances greeted me for Easter, using the traditional Arab greeting for any major holiday:  كل عام و انتم بالخير