Meeting to discuss ‘Jinn’ postponed amid furore

AMMAN — The Lower House’s Education and Culture Committee late on Saturday night decided to postpone a planned meeting with government officials to discuss a Netflix series that caused controversy in the Kingdom.

The supernatural teen drama “Jinn” depicted Jordanian teens reportedly uttering “vulgar words” and exchanging kisses, among other actions, that the “public” and some legislators deemed “offensive and lewd”.

The uproar prompted the Amman prosecutor’s office to launch an investigation into the series by contacting the Cybercrime Unit to get more details about the drama.

“We decided to postpone the meeting because the issue is now in the hands of the judiciary and we do not want to overstep their jurisdiction,” head of the committee MP Ibrahim Bdour said on Sunday.

The Maan MP told The Jordan Times that the postponement “is temporary until we get the result of the investigation and then we will decide our next step”.

A senior official source at the Amman Prosecution Office told The Jordan Times on Sunday that investigations were still ongoing.

The series, which was produced by an international company and filmed in different parts of Jordan, including the ancient city of Petra, tells the story of a group of teenagers whose friendships and emerging romantic relationships are put to the test when they invoke the supernatural powers of jinn. It has been available to Netflix viewers since Wednesday.

The MP had told The Jordan Times recently that the aim of the meeting was to ensure that such an incident will not be repeated again.

“We also want to discuss the matter with the concerned government officials and ministers to ensure that this scenario will not be repeated in the near future,” the MP said.

Bdour also stressed that “we want to deliver a message to the foreign production companies that they are welcome to film in Jordan but ensuring that filming does not violate our traditions and culture”.

Since its broadcast on Netflix last week, the series drew thousands of comments on various social media outlets with the majority slamming the work by charging that “it is against the values, customs and morals of Jordanians”.