Jordan deports evangelical Christians

AMMAN, Jordan, March 2 (UPI) -- Evangelical Christians are being criticized in Jordan where dozens of seminary students and missionaries have been deported, a report said.

The deportations could affect Jordan's $2.3 billion tourism industry, which markets the country's biblical sites heavily to evangelicals around the world, The Washington Times reported Sunday.

"The king has to realize there is a cost to this reaction. Christians are an important part of the economic well-being of Jordan." said Keith Roderick, a Washington representative for Christian Solidarity International.

Some Jordanians reportedly feel American evangelicals are trying to bring down their beliefs and customs by pushing American values.

"They come as individuals, and they exploit the citizens of this nation, recruiting them for their interests," World Council of Churches representative Awda Qawwas said.

Religious leaders in Amman said they have "been complaining for many years about the role of missionary groups in Jordan."

The proselytizing of Muslims to Christianity is against the law in Jordan.