Jordan Times
Friday, June 29, 2007
Queen challenges Western perceptions of Islam, Arab women
Her Majesty Queen Rania on Thursday challenged Western perceptions of Arab women, Islam and conflicts in the region, and
warned “failure to appreciate the other side’s point of view is a greater barrier to communication than speaking different
languages.”
In her keynote address at the Tallberg Forum in Sweden, Queen Rania called for “a new global warming” towards cultures and
communities. ”We need to take a vocal stand against stereotyping and prejudice — and melt the mental barriers that
distinguish ‘us’ from ‘them’,” she asserted.
Expressing fear that many in the West equate Islam with acts of violence, Queen Rania said Islam is actually “a moral
compass that emphasises mercy, equality, charity, tolerance and peace… Islam is under siege distorted by violent extremists
from within and demonised from without.”
Her Majesty also underscored that most of the conflict in the Middle East is rooted in “the injustice, occupation,
desperation, and decades of sadness and suffering — most notably in Palestine where, after 50 years, the peace process is
stumbling, while the humanitarian crisis is accelerating.”
Challenging the Western view of Arab women as passive and oppressed, Queen Rania highlighted them as “taking an
ever-greater role in society… and, at the same time, because Arab culture venerates the family, a woman’s predominant role
in the household is seen as a source of strength.”
Speaking on a very personal note, the Queen said: “For me, as a Muslim and a mother of four, the schism that worries me
most is the growing gulf of perception and trust between the Muslim world and the West. The only people who benefit from
our disunity are the extremists — the very forces who threaten the hopes we share for a better tomorrow.”
“All of us need to work harder to see one another’s point of view — to appreciate how our varied perspectives colour our
sense of reality,” she told an audience of over 1,000 attendees, including Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Deema
Bint Turki Ben Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Tallberg Foundation Chairman Bo Ekman and other high profile European personalities.
“The longer we wait to build genuine multicultural understanding, the more human nature will be degraded by ignorance,
suspicion, and fear,” she warned.
Referring to the famous earthrise photo captured from Apollo 8 in 1968, the Queen noted how we are all part of a “single
global commons we were privileged to share… I wish we could say that iconic photo was enough to inspire world peace.
Regrettably, almost four decades later, the dream of peace has yet to be reached,” she said, urging the audience to look at
the different perspectives of the world today and realise that what it has in common, far exceeds the differences.
Discussions at this year’s forum, held under the theme: “How on earth can we live together? Learn to live to learn,” will
revolve around the dangers of climate change.
“We have no greater responsibility… we have no greater moral duty” than to safeguard the earth’s future, she reminded the
audience.
“You are planting the seeds of cross-cultural common ground — from which the Tallberg spirit can take root around the world.
My challenge to you, in your time together, and once you take flight on the wind, is to help the values you celebrate here
to flourish wherever you go,” said the Queen.