Reader Jen left a detailed comment today on my post entitled "Man on a mission," explaining the position of the Mormon Church on a number of issues — including the Israel-Palestine conflict. She also mentioned something I was completely unaware of. In her comment, she stated that Jordan actually recognizes the Mormon Church:

I do commend the state of Jordan for being the only Muslim country to officially recognize the Mormon church and to allow people in Jordan to worship in the open.

This was news to me. I had always thought that the Mormon Church had not been allowed to set up shop in the Kingdom. After doing some Googling, I found this:

In 1989, Jordan became the first Arab country to grant formal recognition to the [Mormon] Church, allowing it to establish the Center for Cultural and Educational Affairs in Amman.

To make my position clear, I do not agree with many of the teachings of the Mormon Church but I am all for facilitating the freedom of religion in Jordan and elsewhere.

Read Jen’s full comment here.