Removal of religious statue in Fuheis sparks controversy

Jordan

Published: 2023-01-08 17:28

Last Updated: 2024-03-28 10:06


Removal of religious statue in Fuheis sparks controversy
Removal of religious statue in Fuheis sparks controversy

The Fuheis municipality removed a religious statue of Jesus Christ from one of the city's intersections Sunday, a day after a religious controversy flared on social media platforms.

While some supported the presence of the statue in a public place, other Fuheis residents deemed it as 'unacceptable.'

A Fuheis senior resident confirmed that several individuals suggested taking down the statue from the public location, out of respect for its religious symbolism, urging the relocation of the statue to a more appropriate location with religious significance.

The senior resident also noted that those who put the statue dealt with it as a sculpture.

However, dozens of young individuals expressed their dissatisfaction with the removal of the statue, which was donated by the Fuheis Youth Club, and placed in front of the club's headquarters. They refused the presence of journalists at the site where the incident took place. They said that the statue represents “aesthetic value and does not affect traffic.”

One of the protesters stressed that the statue is just "a work of art that has a religious significance."

Fuheis is a town located in the central Jordanian governorate of Balqa. Around 20,000 people, most of them Christians, live in Fuheis.