North of Amman in Irbid, Niaz Ruhani and his wife, Wissam al-Masjoun, pray at home, like all other Baha’is in Jordan. They have no temples or religious courts or education classes because Jordan does not officially recognize the Baha’i faith as a religion.

The Baha'is arrived in Jordan in the late 19th century from Iran, where the religion originated. A few families, mostly agricultural workers, settled in the Adassiya region, in the Jordan Valley. Their descendants currently number an estimated 1,000 in the kingdom, according to Ruhani, a senior member of the community. 

The Baha'i faith is a monotheistic religion whose adherents recognize the Prophet Baha'u'llah and his message of unity of the human race. Like Muslims, the Baha’is say daily prayers, which they perform facing the city of Acre, in today's Israel, where their prophet was buried in 1892.

 “The Baha'i faith … calls for love, brotherhood and peace. It is based on the fundamental belief that worship is expressed through work and by serving society,” Ruhani explained. “Daily prayers are performed individually because the relationship between the believer and his creator is an individual and emotional relationship. The Baha’is only perform group prayers in the event of death. We also fast, but this is for 19 days during our calendar year of 19 months.”