Al Bawaba
Monday, October 29, 2001
Queen: Islam is a Religion of Peace, We Must Strive to Show That
The world's youngest queen, Rania of Jordan, said
Arabs and Muslims must strive to show that Islam is a religion of peace to
correct their "negative image" after the terror attacks in the United
States, in an interview Monday with AFP.
"It is incumbent upon us, as Arabs and Muslims, women and men, not only to
state but, more importantly, to demonstrate that Islam is a religion of peace,
tolerance, love, compassion and mercy," Queen Rania said.
The world's youngest monarch, aged 31, spoke to AFP during an exclusive
interview in her private home of Beit Al Baraka in the western suburbs of Amman,
dressed casually in a blue cashmere sweater and black pants.
"There are many ways that we can start to correct the negative image that
unfortunately exists," since Muslim Arab suspected terrorists carried out
the airborne suicide attacks, she said.
"The most important is reaching out and beginning a dialogue with others,
establishing networks of articulate people who can talk about Islam in its true
form and perhaps most importantly, leading by example."
A Jordanian of Palestinian origin, Rania who holds a bachelor's degree in
business administration from the American University of Cairo said Islam
believes in Judaism and Christianity, the religions that preceded it.
"It believes in the same God and promotes the very same values of doing
good and living in peace," she said.
She described the September 11 attacks as "tragic" and said they had
"changed a lot in the world as we used to know it."
"They affected everyone around the world. They certainly affected us in
Jordan. We lost two Jordanians in the attacks on the twin towers in New
York," she said.
"One of the by-products of the tragedy has been that more and more people
are asking about Islam. The world has become more curious about our religion,
and I sense genuine interest in Islam by members of the public, the media,
scholars, opinion makers and policy makers," she said.
"This presents an opportunity for us as Arabs and Muslims to communicate
Islam in its true and accurate form," the queen said.
Asked to draw parallels between the atrocities committed against the United
States and the Palestinian people, she said: "Violence does not
discriminate between culture, nationality, religion and creed."
"I condemn violence against innocent civilians wherever it occurs and by
whomever it is perpetrated. There is no in-between for me on this question,
especially as a mother of three," she said.
But she stressed that the Palestinians, like all the people in the Middle East
and the world "have the right to live in peace, free from occupation, and
to thrive in an atmosphere of stability".
"Jordan has long believed in dialogue and in the necessity to settle
political conflicts through diplomacy," she said echoing her husband, King
Abdullah II of Jordan.
Rania accompanied King Abdullah to the United States at the end of September on
the first visit by an Arab leader following the terror attacks and toured New
York and Washington, where she met parents of the victims.
"It was extremely moving to see families of the victims, trying to deal
with their loss, the trauma of knowing or imagining what their loved ones had
gone through, and attempting to pick up the pieces," she said.
Back home she has tried to shield her children, Prince Hussein, 7, Princess Iman,
5, and one-year-old Princess Salma from the daily barrage of television pictures
of the atrocities.
"I try not to keep the television on when my children are around if the
news is very graphic in nature," she said.
"The images of the destruction of the twin towers were shown over and over
again. I thought that for my children to see these images once was more than
enough. The same applies for images of any war," she added.
Rania has devoted much of her activities to promote child welfare across the
world and worked relentlessly since May to collect millions of pledges for the
"Say Yes for Children" campaign spearheaded by South Africa statesman
and former president Nelson Mandela and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan --
AMMAN, (AFP)