Jordan has largely escaped the violence that has ravaged(蹂躏，严重破坏) the Middle East in recent years. But on October 23rd, that seemed under threat. After Friday prayers three men opened fire on(向……开火) a funeral procession(队伍，行列) emerging from a church in Hammoud, a village in the southern province of Karak. They pursued mourners(哀悼者，送葬者) inside, smashed windows and sprayed bullets at pews(教堂长椅). They killed nine people and wounded dozens. The gunmen then drove home.
近年来，暴力席卷中东，约旦基本得以幸免。但10月23日，这一局面似乎受到了威胁。周五祷告结束后，三名男子向一支从教堂走出的送葬队伍开火，事发地点位于南部卡拉克省哈穆德村。他们追着哀悼者冲进教堂，砸碎窗户，朝长椅疯狂扫射，造成九人死亡、数十人受伤。随后，枪手驱车回家。
King Abdullah donned(穿上，戴上) fatigues(军服，作训服), visited the wounded and vowed revenge(誓言复仇). His warplanes struck what officials said was an Islamic State hideout in southern Syria, allegedly linked to the gunmen. It was a botched(搞砸的，拙劣的) attempt to deflect attention from(转移对……的注意力) Jordan’s failures, say Western diplomats. Meanwhile at home, Muslims were banned from congregating(聚集，集合) after prayers.
阿卜杜拉国王穿上军装，探望伤者，誓言复仇。他的战机空袭了官员所称的叙利亚南部一处伊斯兰国藏身点，据称与枪手有关联。西方外交官认为，这不过是一次拙劣的转移视线之举，意在掩盖约旦的失败。与此同时，在国内，穆斯林被禁止在祷告后聚集。
The attack on the church, coupled with(加上，连同) the killing nearly two weeks later of a Muslim policeman guarding the Sri Lankan embassy, has raised fears of a resurgence(复苏，卷土重来) of violent fundamentalism(原教旨主义). Its apparent retreat across much of the region had been a rare encouraging development of late(近来，最近).
教堂袭击事件，加上近两周后一名守卫斯里兰卡大使馆的穆斯林警察遇害，引发了人们对暴力原教旨主义卷土重来的担忧。此前，暴力原教旨主义在地区大部分地方明显退潮，曾是近来少有的令人鼓舞的进展。