Freedom of Religious Belief and the Practice of Religious Rites According to the Jordanian Legislation: Difficult Balance Between International and Regional Requirements as Well as the National Legislative Controls

This article aims to clarify the controls for protecting the freedom of religious belief and the practice of religious rites in international agreements, regional conventions and Jordanian legislation. To add on, the research addresses the extent to which freedom of religious belief and the practice of religious rites is protected as a real guarantee to create a kind of coexistence among all religions, especially since the right to freedom of belief is a constitutional right which makes violating it a violation of the Constitution. This requires even the authorities in the state to abide by this guarantee; in fact, they must establish legal and realistic mechanisms to achieve the same and confront every violation thereof. That being said, this research tackles the issue of the Jordanian legislature guaranteeing freedom of religious belief in the Jordanian Constitution, and imposing penal protection on any infringement of those freedoms and religious rights. However, said constitutional and penal protection is not sufficient to guarantee those freedoms, and they do not conform to what is stated in the conventions and international and regional agreements signed by the country of Jordan. Lastly, the research concluded with a number of results and recommendations, the most important of which is the need for effective constitutional and criminal protection in Jordanian legislation for the freedom to practice religious rites and beliefs in accordance with the traditions observed, unless they are contrary to the public law or immoral.