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Iran Seeks a Shi'ite Foothold in Sunni Jordan
(JNS) Ariel Ben Solomon - Dr. Harold Rhode, a longtime former adviser on Islamic affairs in the U.S. Department of Defense, told JNS that 'Ali - the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad and a central figure in Shi'ite Islam - is thought to have a brother named Ja'afar buried in Karak, 84 miles southwest of the Jordanian capital of Amman. "The Iranians have built a beautiful shrine where Ja'afar is thought to have been buried - the architecture and atmosphere are Iranian." Iran and Jordan have agreed that Iran will turn that shrine into a major Shi'ite tourist site, attracting pilgrims, mainly from Iran. "These tourists will, of course, be more than tourists. Iran will carefully choose these pilgrims to propagate the Shi'ite version of Islam throughout Sunni Jordan," predicted Rhode. Hillel Frisch, a Middle East expert at the BESA Center at Bar-Ilan University, said Jordan's opening towards Iran "could be attributed primarily to the kingdom's economic plight and internal political problems." But also driving the shift "is the weakness the United States is showing towards Iran in its efforts to reduce its presence in the Middle East." "Welcoming Iranian Shi'ite pilgrims might bring in much-needed cash, but it will also exacerbate tensions between the king and many Jordanians, who are overwhelmingly Sunni and worried over Hizbullah's influence in Jordan, Syria and Iraq."