Jordan's security gap: Former intelligence officer urges rethink on extremism after church attack

A former Jordanian intelligence officer has urged the government to reconsider its approach to combating extremism following a church attack that left nine people dead in October. The attack in Hmoud village, located 80km south of Amman, shocked the country's small Christian community and questioned Jordan's reputation as a stronghold against militant groups.

Saud Al Sharafat, a retired brigadier general, stated that the government had developed a National Strategy for Countering Violent Extremism, but the plan remained dormant since its completion in 2014, when ISIS gained traction in the region. Al Sharafat, who now leads the Shorufat Centre for Globalisation and Terrorism Studies in Amman, argued that the strategy's recommendations—including improvements in education, human rights, and socio-economic conditions—could help counter extremism and promote a tolerant religious culture.

Despite the strategy's development, Al Sharafat emphasized that it has not been implemented and called for a national debate on translating its goals into measurable action. The strategy aims to protect Jordan's pluralistic society and promote acceptance of others, a concept that ISIS and other militant groups have consistently sought to undermine.