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– JORDAN
JORDAN, a constitutional kingdom, in the center of the Middle East, stretches on 90,000 km and has a population of about 5.8 million. About 95% are Muslim Sunnites and the rest Christian and Druz. JORDAN actually was created by the British Empire, in 1922, after World War I, with accordance to British interests at that time. The territory of JORDAN was always on the margin of great empires and never the center like Damascus, Baghdad or Cairo. Not like in other places in the Middle East the creation of JORDAN was not at the expense of other ambitions, interests or national dreams.
At first JORDAN was an Emirate, ruled by the Emir (later king) Abdullah under British protection. Emir Abdullah was the son of the Hashemite Sharif Husayn Ibn Ali from Mecca and also bore the title “The guardian of the two holly places” (means Mecca and Medina). The title Sharif means that he was a direct descendent to Muhamad the prophet of Islam. The highly respected origin of the Hashemite family made the Bedouin tribes in the Eastern Bank of the JORDAN – “Transjordan” – to welcome the Emir Abdullah as their natural ruler.
From 1946 JORDAN is officially an independent state but only in 1956 when the British General Sir John Bagot Glubb known in the Arab world as Glubb Pasha, was removed from his command on the JORDANian Legion – the JORDANian Army – JORDAN became really independent.
The main conflicts of JORDAN with her neighbors were about the status of the Palestinian West Bank and about the JORDANian attitude towards Pan Arabic unity and the Arab Socialism, that characterized the Arab neighbor countries: Iraq, Syria and Egypt in the 50s’ to the 70s.
JORDAN participated in the wars against Israel in 1948, 1967 and partially in 1973.
The main tension with the Muslims in JORDAN is about the Pro Western traditional approach of the Kingdom and the peace treaty with Israel from 1994.
There is tension in JORDAN between the Bedouin tribes, that constitute 35% of the population, considers themselves as the true JORDANians and the rest – 65% Palestinians that immigrated to JORDAN. The loyalty of the Palestinians to the Hashemite kingdom was always doubtful and there is always fear in JORDAN that the Palestinians will develop a Palestinian national attitude and undermine the Hashemite kingdom. There is also some unrest in JORDAN with the Muslims about the Pro Western traditional approach of the Kingdom and the peace treaty with Israel from 1994.
Summary ;
JORDAN is the most stable country in the Middle East and under the same political system and same dynasty over more than 80 years. During these years the national identity of JORDAN, that was some how artificial in the beginning, consolidated to a clear sense of JORDANian Nationality, that is shared also by many citizens from Palestinian origin. The main threat to JORDAN is not the Militant Islam, although it is active in JORDAN, but the possibility that the Palestinian struggle with Israel will slide to JORDAN and threaten the stability and coexistence between the Bedouins and the Palestinians.
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