Jordan: UAE supports Christian refugees in Jordan

The United Arab Emirates is financially supporting Iraqi Christians who fled to Jordan, for the second year in a row, Catholic press agency Agenzia Fides made known on 20 May 2016. This has enabled eleven Christian families from Mosul to live in rented houses instead of refugee camps, where the situation for minorities is often particularly hard. The hosting country"s king, Jordanian King Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein, has often stressed the fact that Arab Christians are an important part of the Middle East. The financial support by the Islamic UAE is explained as a "small but significant example of collaboration and friendship between Christians and Muslims". Henriette Kats, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, is cautious: "We should not forget that UAE has an international interest in giving the impression that it supports religious minorities. In the Gulf country itself, Christian immigrants enjoy religious freedom to a certain extent - especially compared to Wahhabist neighbor Saudi Arabia - though proselytism and conversion from Islam to Christianity (or any other religion) is a crime. Nonetheless, this aid is a very friendly gesture and despite all political motives, the Christians involved are very grateful for it. In a time when tensions between different religious groups are high in many parts of the Middle East and Christians are suffering from increased levels of persecution, this is a very welcome development."