Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah

Interview with Her Majesty, Queen Rania
by Katie Couric of the Today Show
NBC TV

September 28, 2001

KATIE COURIC:  Coming up in this half hour, Jordan is one of the United States’ closest allies in the Middle East.  Today, Jordan’s King Abdullah is meeting with President Bush in Washington.  On Thursday, I had the opportunity to talk with Jordan’s Queen Rania about reaction in her country to the terrorist attacks on America.  We’ll hear what she had to say in just a few minutes. 

                        * * *                                        * * *                                        * * * 

            COURIC:  Later this morning, President and Mrs. Bush will welcome King Abdullah and his wife, Queen Rania of Jordan to the White House.  Jordan, of course, is a key ally for the United States in the Middle East.  On Thursday, I talked to the Queen about her hopes and fears for Arabs and Muslims worldwide, and I asked her about her reaction when she first learned of the terrible attacks.

            HER MAJESTY, QUEEN RANIA:  Okay, like everyone else, I was just shocked; couldn’t believe what I was hearing and that these things could happen in the United States out of all countries.  And I think, you know, for a good week to ten days, I mean, up until now actually, I haven’t completely absorbed what has just happened.  The scale, the scope, the sheer ugliness of these attacks, it’s just something that one cannot really quite comprehend.  And I think as time goes by, it’s going to start sinking in, and one has to just try to move on with one’s life and see, you know, make sense of this whole thing.           

            COURIC:  How do you make sense of it?  I mean, how can you possibly understand the level of hatred that would drive people to do this against completely, you know, innocent people?

            QUEEN RANIA:  It’s very difficult, and I don’t think we should try to make sense of it and try to understand it because it’s as if one accepts it, and we shouldn’t accept this kind of act, you know, we have to condemn it and say it’s unacceptable. 

            COURIC:  You’re the mother of three small children.  Have you had to explain this to your kids?

             QUEEN RANIA:  I’ve had to, and I’ve had a very hard time explaining it.  You know, you just have to tell them that this is wrong.  This is not the way it should be, that, unfortunately, in our world, there are some bad people, but to every bad person there are many good people and that goodness will prevail in the end.

             COURIC:  You are from Jordan and you cannot speak for all Arab nations.  But, in general, can you just give us a sense of what the feeling is there?

             QUEEN RANIA:  The overwhelming majority of countries in the Arab world completely condemn these acts and they see them as atrocities against humanity. And it’s against our religion.  And I think the United States has made it very, very clear that this is a very focused campaign against the terrorists and that they will try as much as possible to minimize the loss of innocent lives.  And I think that there is some anger in some parts of the world maybe towards the United States because some see that the foreign policy is sometimes partial and favoring maybe one side against the other, and this is a very important time for the United States to reach out to these countries.  And on the one hand, you want a very aggressive campaign against the terrorists.  But on the other hand, you want an aggressive campaign to reach out to the countries in the world and really address some of the legitimate concerns that they might have.

             COURIC:  Are you specifically talking about, say, the Mideast peace process with the Palestinians?  You are Palestinian yourself, and I know that your husband, King Abdullah, told the BBC that the attacks would have been unlikely had the Palestinian-Israeli conflict been resolved.  Do you agree with him?

             QUEEN RANIA:  Well, in general, I think that terrorism thrives on conflict.  Whenever you have areas of conflict, you have desperation, and desperation could lead to fanaticism and extremism, which then leads to some terrorist activities.  And in the Middle East, in particular, although there were some peace agreements signed, the people have never really experienced peace, and, as a result, you have a lot of anger, a lot of desperation.  And when we try to deal with the terrorist groups, we have to not just look at the symptoms of the problems, but really try to get to the root of it, and that is the conflict and the frustration of people around the world. 

            COURIC:  What concrete measures do you think, Queen Rania, could be taken in the Middle East to help sort of calm the situation and not make it such a fertile ground for terrorist activity?

             QUEEN RANIA:  I think by reaching out.  I think what happened two weeks ago is a milestone in human history.  I think it is a new chapter of dialogue between the United States and the rest of the world, and I think the U.S. presence is very, very important in our part of the world.  We have to put pressure on both parties to sit down on a negotiating table and to talk about a lasting peace for our region.  So I think a very concerted and coordinated effort is very, very necessary, and this is an opportunity for us to really see advancements in our part of the world.

             COURIC:  President Bush has said he would welcome support from any nations, whether it be cutting off assets to these terrorist organizations, intelligence gathering assistance, military assistance.  What will Jordan be willing to do for the United States in this effort?

             QUEEN RANIA:  Well, Katie, as you know, Jordan has been fighting terrorism for many years, and I think His Majesty has expressed his support to the United States and his determination to help in whatever way we can to fight this evil menace.  And I think this is a campaign that the whole world has to join in.  This is more of a campaign that has to be focused and that has to be fought on many fronts, be it military, economic, intelligence, diplomatic, and Jordan is willing to assist in any which way it can in order to win this war.

             COURIC:  What about some of these people in the Middle East who say; ah-ha, finally, the United States understands what we’ve been living through for so many years?

             QUEEN RANIA:  Well, that kind of statement I find unacceptable because, you know, no one should see anything positive in a situation like this.  But I think this is an opportunity to reach out to some of these countries and try to understand some of their legitimate concerns and really create a dialogue between the United States to see what is this anger, where is it coming from; what is this frustration that these countries are feeling; have we turned a blind eye to some of the problems that they’re facing.  In our world of transparent borders, did we not care enough about some of their issues?  And I think this is an opportunity to really delve into these issues and see what can be done to alleviate some of the pressure from those countries.

             COURIC:  That, of course, should happen in a perfect world.  Are you confident that will happen, that somehow nations will come together and the United States can take a lead role in those kinds of diplomatic efforts?

             QUEEN RANIA:  Well, I think -- I think, for the first time, I mean, this is an unprecedented time in history when you see nations from all over the world coming together.  And I’ve never seen this before, and I don’t know if we ever will again, but I think we should take this chance.

            COURIC:  Are you optimistic about the future?  Because right now, there are an awful lot of people in this country who have a real sense of dread and who are very, very worried about the future.

             QUEEN RANIA:  You know, I think, if there is one thing that the American people need right now, the single most important thing is to have faith.  You know, have faith in God and believe that God is stronger than any force in this universe.  He is the universe and God is all about goodness, and, eventually, goodness will prevail against evil.  And also to have faith that for the people who lost loved ones -- to have faith that they will see them again after our time -- in this short time in this life is over, that they will be reunited with their loved ones and goodness will eventually prevail.

             COURIC:  If you could sit with President Bush, what would you say?  Could you offer any kind of advice as someone who understands this part of the world?

             QUEEN RANIA: First of all, I would really feel with him.  He’s in a very, very difficult situation and I just cannot imagine what it must be like for him to see this happening to his country under his watch.  It must be so difficult and to know that most countries in the world are backing him, that they are not alone.  I think this is very important for the American people to know as well, that they are not alone in this.  Everybody is feeling with them and everybody wants to help. 

            COURIC:  Was it important for you to come to New York and actually see where this horrific thing happened? 

            QUEEN RANIA:  It really was, Katie.  I mean, I really wanted to be here to see first hand what was happening and to really feel with the people.  I mean New York, as I know it, is not the same any more.  You know, people are not as upbeat.  The pace of life is so much slower now.  And I just hope that this cloud will eventually pass and people can pick up their lives again.  It’s going to be very difficult though. 

            COURIC:  You also wanted to see some of the firefighters.  Why was it important for you to spend some time with the firefighters? 

            QUEEN RANIA:  Well, because they are the real heroes in the past two weeks.  They’ve been working so hard and they have shown incredible strength and have been the real heroes in this whole tragedy. 

            COURIC:  But you still feel that we’ll get through it somehow.

             QUEEN RANIA:  We’ll have to get through it somehow.  I think the Americans are very resilient people.  They’re people of strong faith and they will get through it.

             COURIC:  When asked about Palestinians celebrating in the streets following the attacks, Queen Rania said what American viewers saw was a handful of people, mostly children, who didn’t understand the magnitude and scope of what just happened.  She reiterated that the overwhelming majority of people in Palestine and other parts of the Arab world were very saddened and upset by what happened. 

            [END OF INTERVIEW.]