Abdullah the Second no to regime toppling
Opinion
WHEN the volcanic lava of the ‘Arab Spring’ started to flow, some chaotic groups bet that the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan will be within the circle of fire.
Hence, the media related to such groups focused on everything happening in Jordan in order to magnify it to show to the world that this kingdom will be in the first episode of the series of downfall of Arab monarchs.
However, things went against the desire of the chaotic groups.
At the beginning of chaos, some groups demonstrated on the streets of Amman while uttering similar chants used by their colleagues in other countries which terrorism destroyed under the slogan, “The people want downfall of the regime.”
King Abdullah II decided to confront the argument with another argument, where he explained to his people and to everyone what that slogan meant.
In his speech in the wake of demonstrations in Amman, King Abdullah II said, “The phrase ‘the people want downfall of the regime’ does not mean downfall of the king or the ruling Hashemite family only; it means downfall of the constitution, laws, institutions and the State.
“Whoever wants to see downfall of the regime wants downfall of the State, which means that Jordan will be like Syria, Libya, Iraq and Yemen where bombs and missiles fall on the heads of innocent civilians in the daily miserable scenes those countries live in.”
This image came to mind a few days ago when I saw some of Jordan’s accomplishments in the last seven years.
King Abdullah II was talking about the difficulties which his country went through within that period of time in his speech at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD) 27th Annual Meeting and Business Forum. Despite the difficulties, Jordan did not cave in when it came to achievements.
He affirmed that “Jordan continues to move forward in a bid to achieve better living standards even while coping with external challenges; ranging from global financial and energy crises to regional turmoil and the Syrian refugee crisis with its enormous burden on our people and treasury.”
Every Jordanian has realized, as well as a significant
number of Arabs, that this kingdom, since its establishment in 1921, has gone through many tribulations; starting from the accusations hurled at King Abdullah I and the Hashemite family as traitors.
The kingdom also went through the crisis of Palestinian suicide operatives in the 1960s and early 1970s. This is in addition to how the ‘Black September’ incident threatened the existence of this country which has limited resources, so Israel strived to make it an alternative country for the Palestinians.
However, the Hashemite dynasty, starting from King Abdullah I to King Hussein bin Talal and now this well-cultured young king, managed to stir Jordan away from these catastrophes.
Indeed, as a result of its strategic location, Jordan has always been in the eye of the storm; but it has always transformed such tribulations into opportunities to enhance its capabilities. This concurs with the reality of what King Abdullah II said, “Our history has led us to turn challenges into opportunities, and turn opportunities into more opportunities.”
Those who have confidence in the ability of this Arab country to overcome difficulties have realized that majority of the Jordanians believe that if it were not for the Hashemite dynasty, there would not be a kingdom with this distinguished international presence.
In fact, it would have been annexed to the occupied Palestine. Its people would have been displaced in refugee camps around the world, or at least, it would have been similar to Gaza — the ground of hired gangs which lust for power at any cost.
The case of Jordan also applies to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which was united by the family of Al-Saud when tribes were in constant conflict.
This applies as well to Kuwait, which would not have been this diverse and stable if it were not for the family of Al-Sabah. The same applies to the family of AlKhalifa in Bahrain that managed to unite the community of diverse components to become a steadier and stronger entity unaffected by tremors and storms.
The same applies to the Sultanate of Oman and the family of Al-Bousaeed.
Therefore, we remind those duped by the phrase, “the people want downfall of the regime,” and continue with their sick dreams in any Arab country that whatever was built on a rock cannot be blown away by a passing wind, and that its people do not surrender to mobs to drown in the sea of blood.
They should know that its people will never give themselves as a sacrificial lamb for extremist groups which live on blood, terror and violence such as the Muslim Brotherhood Group and its offshoots, or the offshoots of the Mullah terrorist regime.