My devoutly evangelical Christian niece is going to Jordan to “work with” Syrian refugees, although she freely admits that “work with” means “prosyletize.” She also tells me that proselytizing Muslims in the kingdom is forbidden, but she don’t care, because Jesus.
If/when she gets caught, is she looking at imprisonment, death, and/or torture? Or expulsion from the country?
I think the answer is “it depends on the circumstances.” I have been to Jordan, and it’s not anything like Iran or Saudi Arabia with regard to punishing people who break the rules, especially foreigners; however, her organization should be familiar with the issue. It may already have representation lined up just in case, and if they don’t, that may be a bad sign. There are thousands of Christians living there so that’s probably a good sign.
If you want to scare her into changing her mind, send her articles about Christians arrested in Islamic countries for proselytizing and what happens to them. She could just as easily work here or in a friendly country if she wanted to.
I suspect the prospect of becoming a martyr for their faith is a strong inventive for zealots going on these types of missions.
Getting caught by the authorities isn’t her only concern. Some of the people she will preach to may very well be very devout Muslims who might turn out to be quite hostile when they see that they have an infidel in their midst.
She might also want to remember and consider the fact that Jesus martyred himself along with several of his apostles. If she’s willing to go that far, then there isn’t much you can do about it other than worry and pray.
According to a Pew Research Center poll (in 2010), 86% of Jordanians favored the death penalty for Muslims who leave the faith.
While that isn’t the law in Jordan, such attitudes back up reports that converts to Christianity face societal and government discrimination in the country.
Some missionaries willing to martyr themselves may be less willing to see their converts turned into martyrs. Depending on their level of fanaticism, both outcomes could be welcomed.
You sound like her father (my brother), her mother (my sister in law), her brothers (my nephews) and literally everyone who has ever spoken to her. Except her pastor.
Leaving the Muslim faith is grounds for death, according to their traditional “laws”. I agree, while Jordan may not have it as the actual law in their country, there could be those more zealous types who at very least will become physically violent over someone trying to tempt people to change.
Plus, she’d be exposing those who do accept conversion to an even more precarious position. The actual offense is leaving the faith, more than an “infidel” tempting someone to. A difficult American the Jordanians may be inclined to simply deport to avoid an incident, whereas unwanted refugees turning on each other may be less of a concern to the authorities.
I also have concerns over any organization which might be seen coercing changes with bribery - “we have all this aid just waiting for poor people who come over to our faith”; even if it’s not an absolute requirement, the implication is there. I hope that is not part of the package she’s going to be pushing.
There are a lot more substantial things the refugees need before they worry about which version of Allah to worship.
The Muslims may convert her. Jesus is part of their faith.
Not only would it be easier, but it would also probably be more successful. Trying to convert someone who has been raised in a non-Christian country, and who will suffer ostracism or worse for converting is not likely to succeed. While nudging someone who is lonely or discouraged to seek fellowship and comfort in a community that practices the dominant religion of the society could work.
I think there is a real naive conceit among Christian missionaries that the only reason people aren’t Christians is because they just haven’t heard about it, and that if you just tell them the story of Jesus they will instantly accept it as truth and become converted, as opposed to just thinking that you are deluded.
Good point Seriously, I think a good question two part question to ask a missionary would be 1) how are you planning to convert these Muslims, 2) if a Muslim came up to you and did what you just suggested would it make you want to convert to Islam?
It looks like up to three years in jail
And she doesn’t care about bearing false witness as she’s perfectly happy to lie to get a visa to go do something illegal. And, of course, she’s not listening to people who tell her she can just as easily work in the US, as she’s not planning on going somewhere to do the stated job. Her plan is to preach the Gospel, full speed ahead and damn those who point out the hypocrisy.
Christians are not infidels; they are considered “People of the Book”. Also, Syrians are not unfamiliar with Christianity. Wikipedia tells me one tenth of the population of Syria is Christian. The entire wiki page is a very good read concerning Christianity among Syrians.
This wiki page tells you about Christianity in Jordan. An interesting bit is this:
Some issues, however, such as religious conversion, are controversial. Although conversion to Islam is relatively free of legal complications, those wishing to leave Islam are not recognised as such and are still considered legally Muslims and face immense societal pressure.
So, those who listen to her and convert are legally considered to have not done so. Again, Jordan and Jordanians are not unfamiliar with Christianity as there have been Christians there for quite some time and some are currently fairly high in the government.
Her plan seems more to bolster martyr syndrome than to actually do Christ’s bidding, IMHO.
So, is her plan to offer aid with a heavy dose of prosyletism? That sounds really scummy. Maybe just disown her?
Yes, yes, they’ll go to Hell because they don’t recognize the divinity of Jesus, unless she helps them. And of course those poor unsophisticated people will jump into Jesus’ arms if only she shows them the path. 
Absolutely.
As someone who has, over the years, been a target of missionaries the evangelical Christian ones by far are the biggest believers of this. How they think anyone can grow up and live in the US without hearing about Jesus is beyond me, but apparently they do. They’re absolutely convinced that if you just READ this! you’ll be instantly a convert. Very annoying. Although they did save me from having to purchase a Bible or two for my mythological reference shelf.
I suspect Jordanian prisons are not very plea sent places to be, either.
Jordan doesn’t have laws prohibiting proselytizing or missionary work, let alone that the country is a close US ally, and so the woman in the OP is unlikely to get imprisoned if she’s caught by the authorities. At worst, she may be declared persona non grata and get deported.
The country is still socially conservative though, and the OP’s relative shouldn’t go out witnessing in poor and crowded areas, because it’s there that tempers can get warm and things can be more chaotic. It’s also good to email someone who knows this stuff, so best to contact this group: http://www.jets.edu/ with questions on personal safety and legal standing.
I assume we’re talking about refugee camps, where “poor and crowded” is an understatement, and the local police force less likely to visit or be effective.
We went to Israel and found Jesus - the American Jesus. He was a guy in a white robe and sandals and a light brown long hair and beard, we saw him wandering Jerusalem several times. We could tell it was the American Jesus because he was overweight. 
Fervent believers of various political/ideological persuasions are often the same way. If you’re just exposed to the right book or YouTube video, you’ll be convinced. I’ve run into this in comments on my online book reviews - the fact that I think something is a pile of dung means I can’t possibly have read it.
Refugee camps at the end of the day are controlled environments with quite a few members of the population working as informants for Jordanian security. This is not the same thing as walking into an old market or a bad neighborhood and getting all too Jesussy about it.
That sounds more like looking for spies and troublemakers, not simple law enforcement. Not exactly the same as police wandering the “streets” to enforce civil behaviour.
Many non-Christian nations regard Christian missionaries as troublemakers.
Getting all witnessy in a public place would probably count as being a troublemaker. The Jordanian authorities would know about it pretty quickly, and would likely act pretty quickly to prevent things from kicking off. My guess would be detention, followed by fairly rapid deportation.