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Jordan Islamic Revival
The 1980s witnessed a stronger and more visible adherence to
Islamic customs and beliefs among significant segments of the
population. The increased interest in incorporating Islam more
fully into daily life was expressed in a variety of ways. Women
wearing conservative Islamic dress and the head scarf were seen
with greater frequency in the streets of urban as well as rural
areas; men with beards also were more often seen. Attendance at
Friday prayers rose, as did the number of people observing Ramadan.
Ramadan also was observed in a much stricter fashion; all public
eating establishments were closed and no alcohol was sold or
served. Police responded quickly to infractions of the rules of
Ramadan. Those caught smoking, eating, or drinking in public were
reprimanded and often arrested for a brief period.
Women in the 1980s, particularly university students, were
actively involved in expressions of Islamic revival. Women wearing
Islamic garb were a common sight at the country's universities. For
example, the mosque at Yarmuk University had a large women's
section. The section was usually full, and women there formed
groups to study Islam. By and large, women and girls who adopted
Islamic dress apparently did so of their own volition, although it
was not unusual for men to insist that their sisters, wives, and
daughters cover their hair in public.
The adoption of the Islamic form of dress did not signify a
return to segregation of the sexes or female seclusion. Indeed,
women who adopted Islamic clothing often were working women and
students who interacted daily with men. They cited a lag in
cultural attitudes as part of the reason for donning such dress. In
other words, when dressed in Islamic garb they felt that they
received more respect from and were taken more seriously by their
fellow students and colleagues. Women also could move more readily
in public if they were modestly attired. Increased religious
observance also accounted for women's new style of dress. In the
1980s, Islamic dress did not indicate social status, particularly
wealth, as it had in the past; Islamic dress was being worn by
women of all classes, especially the lower and middle classes.
Several factors gave rise to increased adherence to Islamic
practices. During the 1970s and 1980s, the Middle East region saw
a rise of Islamic fundamentalism in response to economic recession
and to the failure of nationalist politics to solve regional
problems. In this context, Islam was an idiom for expressing social
discontent. In Jordan, opposition politics had long been forbidden,
and since the 1950s the Muslim Brotherhood had been the only legal
political party. These factors were exacerbated by King Hussein's
public support for the shah of Iran in his confrontation with
Ayatollah Sayyid Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini and the forces of
opposition, by continued relations with Egypt in the wake of the
1979 Treaty of Peace Between Egypt and Israel, and by the king's
support for Iraq in the Iran-Iraq War.
Although Islamic opposition politics never became as widespread
in Jordan as in Iran and Egypt, they were pervasive enough for the
regime to act swiftly to bring them under its aegis. By the close
of the 1970s and throughout the 1980s, government-controlled
television regularly showed the king and his brother Hasan
attending Friday prayers. The media granted more time to religious
programs and broadcasts. Aware that the Islamic movement might
become a vehicle for expressing opposition to the regime and its
policies, and in a move to repair relations with Syria, in the mid1980s the government began to promote a moderate form of Islam,
denouncing fanatical and intolerant forms.
Data as of December 1989
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