BAQAA CAMP, Jordan: A new wave of admiration for Hezbollah and an influx of thousands of Iraqi Shia refugees has caused fears Jordan could face growing Shiite influence.

Jordanian officials have expressed worry that support for Hezbollah — high since Israeli-imposed war on Lebanon — could encourage Jordanians, who are overwhelmingly Sunni, to convert to the Shiite branch of Islam.

Last month, the government deported some Iraqi Shiites for practicing Husseini mourning rituals (pounding head and back with swords causing blood to come out to signify grief over the martyrdom of Ahl’ol Beit) at a shrine outside Amman. Jordan permits Shiites to worship but not to whip themselves and shed blood, as occurs in some ceremonies.

Jordanian authorities have also rejected requests from Iraqi residents to establish a Shiite mosque, according to two security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the issue's sensitivities.

The officials said Jordanian security suspected the mosque would become a center for spreading Shiite theology.

Since the Israeli war, newspaper reports have circulated in the Middle East that a growing number of Sunnis have become Shiites as an expression of support for Hezbollah.

Speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, a Sunni researcher in Amman said he believes there have been dozens of Sunni converts to the Shiite sect, but he had no precise figure.

Public support for Hezbollah in Jordan is high, particularly among the estimated 1.8 million Palestinians who live here. They express admiration for Hezbollah because of the group's military successes against Israel at a time when Arab governments show little interest in armed confrontation.