Jordan islamists blast halloween party as 'Satanic'

Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood on Saturday condemned Halloween celebrations held in an Amman cafe as "Satanic" and homosexual, while a newspaper reported acts of vandalism at the party. "We watched with disgust and shame last night (Friday) homosexual and Satanic rituals in an Amman cafe," the Brotherhood said in a statement on its website. "This presents a challenge to the values of the Jordanian people and their Arab and Muslim identity, as well as a violation of religious laws," it added. The group demanded that those who organised the party be tried for the "grotesque act," decrying that such events are allowed to go ahead when the people are "stricken by poverty and amid political crises" in Jordan. Al-Ghad newspaper, meanwhile, reported that violence broke out when "angry youths tried to prevent the Halloween celebrations from taking place" in the cafe in Amman. It said they tried to storm the cafe, throwing stones and setting fire to property, causing a traffic jam until early Saturday. Poverty levels are running at 25 percent in the desert kingdom, whose capital Amman is the most expensive city in the Arab world, according to several independent studies.