King Abdullah And Queen Rania - discussing their projects
 

Greetings friends,

I would very much like to discuss King Abdullah from a variety of angles. Is he doing a good job ruling Jordan? How solid is his monarchy? Is he too pro-western? Are there any other Arab leaders like him? What are his best qualities as king? Is he capable of leading the Middle East into a better future?

1)alrightish
2)not very, mainly backed by a handful of rich and powerful families and the army
3)not too pro-western but he focuses too much on the superficial ways in which we could emulate the west rather than actually solving jordan's problems which would lead to sustainable development. Then we could be as western as we wanted.
4)not as far as i know
5)he looks bouncy?! No,really, the fact that the country is more open than before, and there is less mystery and protocol surrounding the royal court. He does not attempt to be the paternalistic leader that his father was, nor does he assume to have the same charisma (from a not-very-jordanian-of-me viewpoint his father had a tendancy to make the wrong decisions and was a nasty little philanderous man, who we all loved greatly (from the jordanian-patriot side of me)) I think he does essentialy want to make Jordan a better Hashemite Kingdom for the Jordanians, but he just can't quite seem to figure out how to without the threat of losing power to the islamists.
6)Maybe not the ME but Jordan, definitely yes if he stops messing about wasting money putting new computers and internet in schools and instead directs the money towards areas that need it like the health sector, public works etc...

You think putting internets and computers in schools is a waste of money? I disagree--the internet and computers are necessary for future development. If Jordanian kids don't grow up with these, they will be at a distinct disadvantage vs the rest of the world. The Arab world has one of the lowest rates of internet access--and it definitely affects commerce and development.

Exactly, though internet and the latest computers in schools is, i'm sure, a great idea but it's not actually going to change Jordan's underlying problems, in the south of the country the kids using these are suffering from malnourishment and extreme poverty... T

He first has to concentrate on using the infrastrucuture that is in place and developing on it. Jordan has health clinics in every little village but these are chronically understaffed. We have the highest literacy rate in the Middle East (incl. Israel) and should use that to our advantage. There should be more attempts to decentralise development instead of Amman reaping all the benefits. There are already lots of micro-finance schemes which should be propagated.

I think the biggest problem that he faces is still the refugee problem, the camps are administered by UNRWA so he faces the choice of developing all but the camps, or does he apply his modernisation campaign to the camps as well (like pouring lots of money ito a big black hole).

And hell, i didn't learn how to use a computer or the internet at school and i seem to be managing okay. Or am i sub-developed?

Thank you friends for all of the insightful feedback regarding His Majesty. You all seem to be very knowledgeable and I would love to continue the discussion but not necessarily here. I have created a nw yahoo group to provide a forum for discussing HM King Abdullah II of Jordan because I believe he is the most important ruler in the world today. Given the political and religious climate around the globe, and how this is reflected in current events, there is no leader more critical to creating a better future that we can all enjoy.

This group was just created on the King's 42nd birthday (which happens to also be my 33rd birthday) and will quickly become THE source for you to find photos, transcripts of His speeches, details of royal activities, as well as various pieces of history and cogent analysis concerning Abdullah, Jordan, Islam, and the Middle East in general.

My intent is to use this group to broaden our understanding of one another and the world, in the spirit of His Majesty. All relevant discussion is welcome, respectful criticism as well as praise. The more diverse opinions, the better.

Building a better future is something we all have a responsibiliy to take part in, so please, come and join us!

https://groups.yahoo.com/group/Abdullah_Rules/

maybe he will pas the throne on to his, future, son or king abdullah wil eventually make prince hussein king.
mean prince Hassan was crownprince for decades and at the end, he was left out and abdullah became the king, so we never know what will happen! :blink:

...i want to add that i remember reading an interview with rania when she was a princess...she was asked what her idea of a princess was, or something along those lines...and she replied that the days had gone when royalty was about glamour or riches...instead, she said, royalty should now be about giving back to the community...

also, if your remember, in the beginning of her reign as queen, rania was actually quite modest, borrowing haya's tiara for her coronation, among other things...

however, she's taken a whole 180 and transformed into a completely different person...and that's not her fault entirely...it has to do with society and how we view people and how the west, in particular, looks at people....

I met his majesty king abdullah when he was just prince what a great guy. warm funny very down to earth he tried to teach me how to ride a bike and he threw me in the air and caught me. I also met faisal and Ali. Ali was really really nice I saw him when I was a teenager and he was also really nice then too. King Hussein asked me to call him uncle hussein and he always had a hug for me and a kind word to say to me. I'll be honest though I didnt like Noor I thought she was pushy and tried to hard to make everyone like her.

How wonderful to get input from someone who has actually met these people!

It is great to know that my impressions of King Abdullah are correct and that he is the warm, down to earth man I thought he was.

How wonderful to get input from someone who has actually met these people!

It is great to know that my impressions of King Abdullah are correct and that he is the warm, down to earth man I thought he was. [/b][/quote]

Hi Wymanda :))

It's great to hear your views on JRF! :flower: I just want you to know that I respect your position. However, in my own view, just because a person is warm to one individual (paritcularly someone he knows), does not automatically mean that he or she is warm to everyone. More importantly, warmth displayed to one person in a social setting does not necessarily make one a good leader. After all, there are people who knew Saddam Hussein who could say the same thing about him. But we know his leadership and his polices were...um...questionable.

In any case, speaking for myself, I could care less if Abdullah 's charisma or warmth. But that's just my own position. I'm more concerned with more substantive things like his regimes policies. If he was a European monarch with little political power, my position would be different.

Take Care.

Jordan's King Abdullah II speaks with the media in the Rose Garden ,with US President George W. Bush (not seen) at the White House 06 May 2004 in Washington, DC. Bush and Abdullah held private talks in the Oval office prior to speaking before the media in the Rose Garden.

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:rolleyes: ,nice pics :blink:

Sometimes it includes Libya. But you are generally right. Here are some more photos from IBL from the meeting with Bush:

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AMMAN, JORDAN: Jordanian King Abdullah II of Jordan and Queen Rania are seen 08 May 2004 in their car upon the king's arrival in Amman following an official visit to Washington where he met with US President George W. Bush. After drawing Arab wrath by endorsing an Israeli plan for a unilateral pullout from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank, Bush told the Jordanian monarch he was committed to creating a Palestinian state. Jordan, a home to 1.7 million Palestinian refugees, is concerned that by embracing the controversial plan of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon last month Bush had implicitly rejected longstanding Arab demand that Palestinian refugees be allowed to return to land they lost when Israel was created in 1948.

King Abdullah and Queen Rania

King Abdullah and Queen Rania II

King Abdullah

Jordan's King Abdullah II (L) pays a visit 13 May 2004 to Saudi Arabia's ailing Defence Minister Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz (in bed) at King Fahd military hospital in the Red Sea port of Jeddah. Prince Sultan, a brother of Saudi King Fahd and third in line to the Saudi throne, underwent an operation 10 May to remove an intestinal polyp and is currently hospitalised. King Abdullah visited the defence minister at the hospital and returned home, the official Jordanian news agency Petra reported

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Are KA amd Q Rania, or any members of the JRF attending the Danish Royal wedding (CP Frederik and Mary Donaldson) tomorrow, May 14th. I see that CP Felipe of Spain and Letizia Ortiz have already made an appearance in Copenhagen. Are any members of the JRF attending CP Felipe's and Letizia's wedding?

bluetortuge i have asked this question mor then 5 times and nobody told me he saw anyone?????????? :flower: :flower: :heart:

I can't imagine letting photographers in my hospital room!

I didn't see any of the Jordanian Royals on the guest list for Cp Frederik and Mary Donaldson's wedding today in Copenhagen. I guess they declined the invitation, or were not invited at all. I gather we won't see any of the Danish Royals at CP Hamzah's wedding. Not that I hold it against them. I admire the Danish Royals. They certainly conduct themselves better than the British Royals.

I highly doubt that the Danish royals would not invite the Jordanian royals to the Crown Princely wedding. I hink that in all likelihood the Jordanian royals were invited but for some reason (previous commitments) could not attend the wedding.

And just because there was no Jordanian presence at the Danish wedding doesn't mean that any of the Danish royals would snub the Jordanians royals by not attending their Crown Princely wedding if schedules allow. That would seem very childish and petty. And I think that both families are much above that childish behaviour.