Queen Rania’s Peaceful Discourse at Harvard University

Perseverance has been the key word for King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan in their attempts to dispel the myths and misconceptions of Middle Eastern culture. Rania disclosed her perspective on attaining peaceful global relations to a group of students at John F. Kennedy’s School of Government on Thursday, May 3rd.

The queen emphasized that the gulf between cultures had to be recognized before peaceful solutions could be propitiously negotiated and resolved on a global scale. “{The}gap in perceptions of the Middle East – where mutual failure to appreciate the other side’s point of view is a greater barrier to communication than speaking different languages. The gulf between narratives is wide – and only getting wider and as a result, I fear a creeping affliction on both sides of what the philosopher William James called ‘the blindness in human beings’ that prevents us from understanding the feelings of those ‘different from ourselves,’” said Rania.

Rania proceeded to enlighten the students by offering an impartial point of view, and said, “I would like to try to speak as a neutral observer – as someone who has looked out of both sets of windows, and witnessed the contrast in view. My aim is not to pass judgment. I do not want to tell you what to think – but rather, to highlight the diverging narratives the different ways that East and West interpret reality.”

Rania has searched for commonalities among cultures through her implemented programs. She declared, “no matter where we come from, what we look like, how we dress, or to whom we pray, when it comes to what makes us laugh or cry, when it comes to what we dream of for ourselves and for our children, when it comes to how hard we work each day, we are usually more alike than we are different…Our world house has a common room as well. It is a room where color, race, and creed do not get in the way – not because those things do not exist, but because they aren't important. What's important in the common room are the values that we share – the basic beliefs that each of us is worthy of respect. The common room is where people of goodwill come to work for the common good. To put an end to violence. To fight for peace. To build a world fit for children. To use our abundant resources and talents to eradicate global poverty and turn national borders into global gateways that connect us, not keep us apart.”

Futhermore, Queen Rania of Jordan expressed her desire for a harmonious world and said, “{the} explicit recognition of our common humanity is an indispensable condition for peace and progress around the globe.”

Photo: Petra