The Importance of the King

By: Marie Beasley

November 5, 2014

The king of Jordan, Abdullah II, holds a considerable amount of power throughout the country. The current king has greatly improved the economy of the country since taking the throne. He has helped to increase foreign investments in the country and has created the free trade zone that now exists in the port city of Aqaba. He is also currently working to improve housing and education for the general population. He has worked to increase the liberalization of Jordan’s media, and has put considerable effort into the peace process with Israel. He is also working to create a culture of peace between Christians and Muslims, and to develop nuclear power for the country because Jordan does not have its own oil for power.

The Jordanian government is set up to have three branches: the executive, which consists of the king and his cabinet; the legislative, which consists of the Chamber of Deputies and the Assembly of Senators which together make the national assembly; and the judicial, which consists of the courts. Members of the cabinet and legislative branch are elected and make the laws, but the king has the power to veto any law he wishes. It is possible, however, for the national assembly to override a veto with a two-thirds vote. There are checks and balances in place in order to prevent one branch from getting too much influence in the country, but the executive branch holds the majority of the power. Additionally, the prime minister is chosen by the king, and there is no limit on the number of terms a prime minister can serve.

In Jordan, people do not say anything negative about the king, no matter how they feel about the current living conditions. We were even instructed that as visitors in Jordan, we should not speak badly about the king, even in jest. A picture of the king can be seen on every government building, and often in people’s homes. If someone is unhappy with the actions of the government, they are free to criticize any government official other than the king. The people view the king as the one who has kept conflict out of the country; however, he is never at fault if something goes wrong inside the country. Additionally, if a person or a group publicly and severely criticizes the king, it is possible for them to be charged with a crime. However, this happens very rarely.

Those in other countries of the Middle East view him very differently and openly criticize him. Throughout the time I spent in Jerusalem, I heard people criticizing his actions. Their criticisms, however, were frequently not based on any specific action or policy. Many Palestinians in particular still blame Jordan for the loss of their land in the 1967 war with the Israelis. They currently hold the king of Jordan at fault and thus criticize him.

The tour guide my group had when we visited Bethlehem was very excited that we were learning Arabic, but insisted that the king of Jordan was a bad man and was not to be trusted. He did not state any reasons for his criticism even though he continued to insist that we remain wary of the king throughout our time in Jordan. This reflects the ingrained idea that Jordan is among those who are to blame for the loss of the West Bank. Instead of blaming the whole country, however, this man, along with many others, decided to blame the king.

The two approaches to discussing the king of Jordan and where to place blame when something goes wrong in the country are quite different. It is interesting how so many people put the focus on a single man for very different reasons. The Jordanians feel that the king is the one who is protecting them from the sea of turmoil that surrounds them. They praise him for keeping Jordan safe and stable when so many countries around Jordan are not. The Palestinians on the other hand view him as the single person to blame for the overall Arab inability to protect the West Bank and the Palestinians in general from the aspirations of the Israelis. It is intriguing to see how one man can mean such different things to different people of different cultures.

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