A sectarian riot in Madaba, Jordan, in which Islamist groups attacked the Christian community, reflecting religious and political tensions in mid-20th-century Jordan.
Key Facts
- Location
- Madaba, Jordan (predominantly Christian town)
- Alleged instigators
- Muslim Brotherhood and Hizb ut-Tahrir
- Trigger
- Dispute between Christian and Muslim taxi drivers
- Target attacked
- Salt monastery attacked by Hizb ut-Tahrir members
- Alleged political instigator
- MP Muhammad Salim Abu al-Ghanam
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Tensions between Christian and Muslim taxi drivers in Madaba sparked a local dispute. Members of the pan-Islamist organization Hizb ut-Tahrir exploited the situation, and both Hizb ut-Tahrir and the Muslim Brotherhood were alleged to have instigated wider unrest. A Jordanian parliamentarian was also implicated in provoking the violence.
The riot began with a dispute between taxi drivers and escalated into a full sectarian attack on the Christian community of Madaba. Rioters, linked to Islamist organizations, attacked the Salt monastery and targeted Christians throughout the town, resulting in multiple deaths among the Christian population.
The riot left Christian residents of Madaba dead and highlighted deep sectarian fault lines within Jordan. The event took place during a turbulent year in which broader anti-Hashemite riots also erupted in December over the Baghdad Pact, ultimately bringing down the Majali government and preventing Jordan's entry into the pact.
Political Outcome
Christians killed in sectarian violence; alleged Islamist instigation; broader 1955 anti-Hashemite riots led to fall of Majali government and cancellation of Jordan's entry into the Baghdad Pact.
Majali government in power, pursuing Jordan's accession to the Baghdad Pact
Majali government fell; Jordan's entry into the Baghdad Pact cancelled