On April 11, 2021, Amman, Jordan, the King of Jordan (middle) and Prince of Jordan (second from left) make their first appearance together
On April 11 this year, King Abdullah II of Jordan and Prince Hamza bin Hussein made their appearance together for the first time to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the delimitation of Jordan. The King of Jordan clearly wanted to use a high-profile public appearance to show that the "coup d'état" in early April had ended, hoping to appease the Jordanian people under the political turmoil.
In fact, compared to the royal family elsewhere, Jordan has always been relatively calm. However, this time, the Jordanian newspaper "The Speech" declared on the front page: "The red line cannot be crossed or even approached. It is related to the kingdom's highest interest-its security and stability."
Outsiders have speculated that the Jordanian royal crisis has been out of control, but they did not expect Abdullah II quickly stabilized the hearts of the people with a memorial ceremony. The Hashemite family ruled Jordan for 100 years. Why did such a disturbance still occur? People cannot help asking,
how long can the monarchy survive in Jordan?
The aborted "coup"
What made the world turn its attention to the Hashemite family again was a short film exposed by the BBC.
In the short film exposed on April 3, the former Crown Prince of Jordan, Hamza bin Hussein, claimed that he was under house arrest by the military on charges of "undermining national security and stability." The chief of staff of the army, the chief of police and the head of the security department all warned him not to communicate with the outside world except for his family. Hamza said: "I don't want the situation to heat up, but I will not succumb to their ban that prevents me from contacting the outside world or cannot use Twitter." Although he denied the military's allegations through a short film, but a day later, Jordan Officials still claimed that there was an "attempted coup," and Prince Hamza was under investigation for "participating in it."
On December 20, 2018, the Jordanian royal family took a New Year photo. The picture shows King Abdullah II of Jordan, Queen Rania, Crown Prince Hussein (second from right), Princess Iman (first from left), Princess Salma (first from right) and Prince Hashim (left)
/Abdullah II is always on guard against threats from the late king's beloved son. /
Prince Hamza is the half-brother of King Abdullah II of Jordan and the eldest son of the late King Hussein I and his fourth wife, Queen Nuor. Among the 11 children born in the four marriages of Hussein I, Hamza is the most beloved prince. King Hussein also publicly expressed his admiration for him during his lifetime, and even considered allowing Hamza to succeed to the throne. However, considering that Hamza was still young and inexperienced, Hussein I decided to make his eldest son Abdullah II the crown prince shortly before his death in 1999.
Abdullah II, who succeeded to the throne, appointed Hamza as the crown prince in accordance with his father's will. However, in 2004, five years after he was enthroned, Abdullah II snatched the title of Crown Prince of Hamza and awarded the title to his eldest son Hussein bin Abdullah in 2009. Although the king declared to the public that the abolition of the reserve was to free Hamza from the throne so that he could engage in a more competent profession, anyone with a discerning eye could see that Abdullah II was always on guard against his own self. Therefore, the king's beloved son is threatened.
Abdullah II’s concerns are not unreasonable. The young Hamza is very popular among the Jordanian people. He maintains an image of "pious and humble" among the people. He can often see the shadow of King Hussein who has ruled Jordan for 50 years. In recent years, Hamza has repeatedly criticized the government publicly, and his popularity is extremely high.
In 2018, Hamza publicly opposed income tax reform and criticized the government for mismanagement. In March of this year, an oxygen supply interruption occurred in a hospital in Jordan, and 9 patients with new coronary pneumonia died as a result. Public opinion believes that this serious medical accident exposed the government's mismanagement and the negligence of officials. Prince Hamza also went to the home of the deceased to offer condolences.
It is hard to imagine that such a prince would "maliciously plot to harm the country." However, Jordanian officials believe that they have conclusive evidence of the "attempted coup." Jordan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi declared that Prince Hamza had maintained contact with some people who “have contact with foreign political parties” in an attempt to destabilize the country. Jordanian officials intercepted communications between Prince Hamza's wife and personnel of foreign intelligence agencies on April 4. The other side stated that they would provide Hamza under investigation with a plane to flee abroad.
Israeli settlements near the West Bank on November 23, 2020
The royal family in the cracks
Hamza has met with tribal leaders from all over Jordan for a long time, which has caused the Jordanian government to pay attention to the relationship between Prince Hamza and "disgruntled" figures in the more powerful tribes. Hamza was placed under house arrest after meeting some tribal leaders, and he is said to have some support from the tribal leaders.
The fierce response from Jordanian officials to some extent reflects the influence of the local tribes on the royal family. These tribes form the core of Jordan’s military and political elite. Although more than half of Jordanians are from Palestine in the West Bank, since the Hashemite family came to "TransJordan" from Mecca 100 years ago, they have been relying on tribal leaders on the east bank of the Jordan River to protect the throne. This is a purely transactional relationship. The tribal leaders supported the royal family, while the Hashemite family gave them privileges and restricted the rights of the Palestinians. It is not difficult to understand that the movements of the tribal leaders affected the nerves of King Abdullah II.
In 2011, the powerful eastern tribes slammed the Palestinian Queen Rania. In order to appease the tribal forces, Abdullah II had to appoint Bahit from the eastern tribes as prime minister, and then reform the electoral system, which calmed the turmoil.
In an exclusive interview with The Atlantic magazine in 2012, Abdullah II referred to these tribal leaders as "old antiques." Because after the outbreak of the Arab turmoil, the leader of the "National Trend Party", a major party in the southern east bank of the Jordan River, only provided an empty economic and social declaration. Among the many tribal leaders visited by Abdullah II, some people even proposed to recruit night watchers with wooden sticks to create employment opportunities for young people. For Abdullah II, who was interested in high-tech innovation, women's education rights, and cut government spending, the ideas of these tribal leaders were undoubtedly out of date. However, without the support of local forces, the Hashemite family will find it difficult to keep the throne.
The Arab turmoil has overthrown the governments of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen, and Syria is also at risk. Although the King of Jordan kept the royal power by dissolving the government of Prime Minister Rifay, no one knows how long the royal family's status can be maintained.
Between the past and the future
Jordan is a small country in the Middle East. It does not produce oil and lacks water sources. Nearly half of the population are Palestine refugees. The influence of the Hashim family largely comes from its aura as a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad.
In the local language, "Hashem" means "the one who breaks the bread". Because during the drought in Mecca, members of this family took out their own food to help the victims. The people were grateful for their kind deeds and called them "Hashems." Since the Prophet Muhammad was born from the Hashemite family, the Muslim world referred to the Hashemite family as the "holy family" and assumed that it was the guardian of the "Kaaba" Kaaba (the center of the world's Muslim worship and pilgrimage).
The conflict between ancient blood and modern ideas could not be more obvious in King Abdullah II. Abdullah went to the UK to study at the age of 4 and studied military and international politics at Sandhurst Military Academy, Oxford University, Georgetown University, British Infantry School and British Command and Staff College. The experience of studying in the United Kingdom and the United States made Abdullah support a free and secular democratic system and devote himself to political and economic reforms. He believes that if Jordan does not move towards modernization quickly, the Hashemite dynasty will be unsustainable.
In the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, pilgrims gather in front of the Kerr day room of the Mecca Mosque to worship
/ Jordan and the United States signed a memorandum in 2015, increasing the annual subsidy of 660 million U.S. dollars to 1 billion U.S. dollars per year. /
Abdullah II not only promoted the democratization process internally and assisted the government in implementing economic reforms, but also has been active in the international political arena. Jordan is located in the center of the Arab world, bordering Syria to the north, Anbar Province of Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the southeast, and conflicting Israel and Palestine to the west. Abdullah II’s long-sleeved and good dance has enabled Jordan to act as a reliable ally of the United States in the Middle East on the one hand, and on the other hand to attach importance to relations with other Gulf countries and act as a "buffer" for regional conflicts.
Jordan has actively participated in the US operations against the "Islamic State" in the Middle East. In addition to dispatching its air force to attack the "Islamic State", it also allowed US warplanes to use the airstrips and military bases on its eastern border. Of course, Abdullah II’s support of the US’s “anti-terrorism operations” is not entirely a recognition of American values. He also obtained assistance for Jordan by participating in the “anti-terrorism operations”. The memorandum signed by Jordan and the United States in 2015 increased the annual subsidy of US$660 million to US$1 billion per year.
Although Abdullah II’s goal was to allow the Jordan and Hashemite dynasties to survive, he also understood that it was the royal family that needed Jordan, not that Jordan needed the royal family. He once lamented: "After 50 years, will there be a monarchy?"
Although Abdullah II is committed to privatization, modernization and political liberalization, once he feels the threat to the monarchy, he is still not merciful. One example is Prince Hamza, his younger brother under house arrest. But this "smashed attempted coup" is symbolic anyway. Abdullah II himself was well aware of the many maladies of the Hashemite family, and the corruption that Prince Hamza criticized was not groundless.
During the Arab turmoil, demonstrations also broke out in major cities in Jordan. Many demonstrators called the king "Alibaba" and the royal family was the 40 thieves. In particular, they can't understand the Queen Rania who does not observe traditional Islamic women's etiquette. The conflict between the urgent need for modernization and traditional values has intensified in Jordan. The last holy dynasty of the Arabian Peninsula is undoubtedly at a juncture in history.
