By Daoud Kuttab – Milhilard.org

• Amid a contentious debate over whether Christian communities should grant men and women equal inheritance rights, which has stalled for some time, a less ambitious proposal is being discussed. If adopted, it could ease the path toward greater equity for those seeking reform in inheritance matters.

Milhilard.org has learned that there are efforts to find a solution acceptable to the vast majority of Christians through a gradual approach. This approach would focus on codifying a clear framework for wills and adoption, while leaving other issues for a later stage.

The initiators believe that enacting a binding text that gives Christian families the option to determine how inheritance is distributed would allow those who want it to proceed, while enabling those who prefer to continue distributing their inheritance according to Islamic Sharia to do so. However, the proposal faces a problem due to ambiguity about whether the modification would include the right for a Christian family with daughters only to block the distribution of inheritance to male cousins.

Milhilard.org has learned that several church judges who examined the proposed text stressed the need for a clear provision allowing families with only daughters to block the distribution of inheritance to paternal uncles’ male descendants. Others argue that since there is an opportunity to change the system, it would be prudent for the change to at least include the blocking principle, which they deem the most urgent requirement now.

Parliament member Jihad Al-Abwi, in conversation with Milhilard.org, also insisted that the blocking provision must be part of any amendment to the inheritance law, rejecting any reform that does not include it. It is noted that the current MPs are uniformly in favor of equality, which includes the blocking clause.

MP Huda Naffa told Milhilard.org that she opposes any amendment that does not include the concept of inheritance by exclusion. “Exclusion by exclusion is more important than a will for preserving the Christian family,” she said. She emphasized that she supports reaching a consensus but rejects the idea of ​​reactionary activists obstructing the amendment related to the Christian component. “It is unreasonable to allow heirs outside the family to inherit if the family lacks a brother as an heir. The family was founded and established with its existing structure, and distributing the inheritance in a way that allows for shared rights could lead to conflicts based on self-interest.”

Susan Abu Jaber, a Jordanian Christian activist, told Milhilard.org she opposes half-measures, arguing that the issue of the will has become a kind of morphine drip to soothe tensions, while the blocking provision is more urgent.

She said: “I know of families who moved their money abroad to avoid the impact of the unfair inheritance law against women.”

Abu Jaber noted that many Christian families have daughters only, which poses a risk of wealth leaving the nuclear family. She cited chilling stories of mothers, after their husbands’ deaths, being expelled from the home by a cousin who has no real ties to the afflicted family.

She added that instead of placing the burden on the majority to draft a will and pay annual renewal fees, the burden should fall on those who wish to maintain the current law, which is currently favored by a minority.

There is also concern that the will would not cover all assets, but only one-third, while two-thirds would be distributed according to Islamic law. Milhilard.org has been unable to obtain the proposed text and urged activists—especially Jordanian women—to push against any change that does not include the ability to block.

The initiators believe that gradual reform offers a way out of the current impasse, which enforces mandatory Islamic inheritance rules for the Christian component, and could pave the way for future amendments to include the ability to block and even later secure full equality between men and women, along with the block clause and the freedom for each family to draft a specific will within defined limits.

Many argue that the opportunity to amend the Christian inheritance law should be seized fully, and that, at a minimum, alongside the will, options for families to block the distribution of inheritance to any relative outside the direct family should be included.

There is also ongoing discussion about a potential additional amendment to allow adoption by Christian families, provided the adoptee is Christian and, if necessary, outside Jordan if a suitable candidate is not available locally. There are concerns that adoption might be sidelined in the initial phase of changes