The Justice Of Jordan
Justin Amler
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I always enjoy when Arab leaders advise Israel on truth and justice. It’s kind of like Hilary Clinton advising people on being honest. Or Donald Trump advising people on being humble. Or Saudi Arabia advising people on human right – oh wait – that actually happens!
So today, we have another great light of Arab democracy called Jordan, an invented country that didn’t exist until the British created it in 1921, chipping in with their great wisdom and knowledge.
And in the words of the great leader of Jordan, king (of wishful thinking) Abdullah, he told international leaders in Munich that it was imperative to reach a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict if the world intended to defeat extremist fundamentalism.
Hmm, so according to him, the root of extreme fundamentalism and Islamic terrorism is Israel – go figure! One cannot talk of justice in the world without solving the Palestinian question, he said. Funny he mentions that, because Jordan, whose majority population is Palestinian, is not exactly in a position to dictate to Israel about justice. Jordan, while having received many refugees from Syria, has denied entry to Palestinians fleeing Syria since January 2013. That’s right – the justice the king talks about is not actually the justice he pursues. And the reasons they refuse to extend ‘Arab hospitality’ to their brethren, is that Palestinians must be able to return to their places of origin in Israel or Palestine, they say. Even though of course, most Palestinians in Syria weren’t even born in Israel.
But the king goes on to say that if the conflict is unresolved, it will lead to a religious conflict of global dimension.
As always, the Arab world, rather than deal with their own failing, of which they are plenty, want to shift the blame to Israel – because nothing distracts the local population more than blaming Israel. It’s probably the only thing that unites them, because it certainly isn’t brotherly love!
The extreme Islamic fundamentalism that Jordan’s king talks about has nothing to do with Israel, despite the efforts of not just Jordan, but many international organizations in the west to link it as such. The fundamentalism that is sweeping through the world often stems from dictatorial leaders who have always valued power above human rights, human dignity and compassion. Their populations are taught to hate, because it is in the interests of these dictatorial leaders to shift all blame from themselves and onto an external unified entity – Israel. If they had populations who were educated in open societies, the people would soon discover the corruption of their own leaders and the misery heaped upon them.
It’s convenient for people like the king of Jordan to paint the Israel-Palestinian conflict as some kind of religious one in order to galvanise the Muslim world, but it really isn’t that simple, because in Israel, there are Muslims in very high positions, including a judge who sentenced an Israeli President to prison, Muslims who serve and command Jewish troops in the army, and a recently appointed Muslim police commissioner.
The conflict is not simply a clash of religions, but a clash of cultures. There is the culture of Israel, which is a progressive one that looks to embrace the 21st century with hope and enthusiasm, and the cultures of much the Arab world who are using all their considerable resources to remain planted in the 10th century.
So when the king of Jordan talks about justice, he’s not talking about justice 21st Century style, he’s talking about justice 10th Century style. And for a society that wants to go forward in the world, the last person they should be taking advice from is one going backwards.
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Justin Amler
