Who Is King Abdullah Hussein II? And Why Should You Care?

It seems like hardly a week goes by when the Middle East isn’t making headlines about rampant violence or religious extremists. To all of us wanting to understand the truth about what’s going on, we must understand what’s happening in the Middle East. To do that, we all need to know about an important monarch, King Abdullah Hussein II.

King Abdullah II reigns over Jordan, a small yet vitally important country. He is right in the heart of the war zone itself. While his counterparts in Iran and Syria seem bent on stoking the fires, King Abdullah II has taken a radically different approach. Despite being a staunchly Muslim ruler, the King wishes to create peace in his region between Christians and Muslims.

This may not seem like a terribly radical idea, but that’s because in the United States we take our multi-cultural society for granted. It’s normal to us. In the Middle East, this concept is not understood. Different beliefs are not just differing ideas, it can mean life or death. Entire wars, whole territories have been fought over differing ideas. The roots and history are too vast to cover here. The point is, religion is everything. It’s at the heart of every single conflict fought today.

King Abdullah II wears a heavy crown. King Abdullah comes from a long line of royalty, called the Hashemites. The Hashemites derive their name from Hashim ibn Abd Manaf, the great-grandfather of the prophet Muhammed. The Hashemites claim they are direct descendant of Muhammed, and thus have ruled the Arabian Peninsula for centuries. Now their kingdom is considerably smaller due to a series of various civil wars and whatnot. It’s all fascinating, but we don’t have time in this article. Today, King Abdullah rules Jordan, located right at the southern border of Israel. Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria are all his neighbors. All with radical leaders.

If anyone should be a radical leader it should be King Abdullah II. Being able to claim Muhammeds bloodline is no small thing. Furthermore, almost all of the Hashemite leaders were staunchly Islamic. Instead, King Abdullah II has taken a different approach. He believes that moderation and tolerance are the key creating peace in the Middle East. Unlike many leaders, King Abdullah II lives by his words, he himself is setting an example he wants other leaders to follow.

King Abdullah II believes strongly that despite the historical bad blood, that it is time to make peace between Muslims and Christians. Historically, the Hashemite rulers had zero tolerance for any Christian beliefs. But in 2004, King Abdullah II organized a group of Islamic scholars to draft the Amman Message, an official document with the approval of Muhammeds descendant. The Amman Message openly condemned all acts of terrorism committed by Muslims, even citing verses from the Koran. In 2007, he went a step further bringing both Christian and Islamic scholars to draft, “A Common Word Between Us”, a document that acknowledged the differences between the two faiths while also setting up common ground.

Unlike many leaders, King Abdullah II is very open about the problems of radical Islam, acknowledging it as such and also stating that he believes it is a Muslim problem that Muslims themselves should fix. As stated, the King has been leading by example. He has allied himself with the United States, shared valuable intelligence, authorized multiple strikes against radical leaders, all while trying to forge diplomatic ties between the Christians and Muslim communities. As I’ve read/watched interviews, including where he dressed the National Prayer Breakfasts in 2006 and 2017, I’m struck by the simple humility, and intelligence of this Arabian leader. This is a man dedicated to the cause of peace. Again, for a leader with his bloodline, in the region he rules, this is a deeply radical concept.

As American citizens we should know who this man is, and take an interest in the work he’s doing. Out of all the so-called ‘reporting’ about the constant conflicts in the Middle-East, leaders like King Abdullah II are almost never mentioned. Out of all the talk about the constant threat of Islamic terrorism, no one is talking about leaders like King Abdullah II, a conservative Muslim dedicated to crushing terrorism. The work he is doing in Jordan is work of seismic proportions. This should have an affect on our foreign policy and diplomacy. Here’s the truth about the Middle-East, yes it is embroiled in a web of religious wars that we can’t even begin to understand. But in is vital that Americans like ourselves realize there are Muslims who abhor what is happening and who are doing all they can do to create a safe world for us all.