An influential Muslim group urged the government to boot U.S. forces out of Jordan, saying their presence in the kingdom was a "great sin" to Islam.
The Islamic Action Front, Jordan's most powerful opposition group, issued its religious edict, or fatwa, Wednesday, saying cooperating with "hostile" American forces "is banned in the religion of God."
"Whoever participates in this cooperation will be punished by the anger and the discontent of God ... He will be barred from Heaven," according to Islamic scholars who issued the verdict, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press.
Prime Minister Ali Abul-Ragheb has said his government allowed only several hundred U.S. troops into Jordan to set up anti-missile batteries to guard against possible rocket exchanges between Iraq and Israel.
Iraq fired 39 Scud missiles at Israel during the 1991 Gulf War.
The edict said the Jordanian government had committed "a great sin and an apostasy against the principles and interests of the (Islamic) nation" by allowing U.S. forces into the country.
Fatwas are not binding but can greatly influence the behavior of practicing Muslims.
Jordanian opposition groups, particularly those with Islamic and left-wing leanings, strongly oppose the presence of U.S. forces in the kingdom.
Muslim fundamentalists have repeatedly accused America of seeking a foothold in Jordan a key U.S. ally in the Middle East and trading partner with Iraq to aid their "colonial scheme" in Iraq and other Mideast states.