I was just watching the news-the King and Queen of Jordan are visiting Washington. I must say that King Abdulla knows how to pick them! She is absolutely beautiful! How come she doesn’t have to wearr one of those tent-like garments that the afghan women seem to favor? I though she would have to waer a veil-how come?
[sub]The smilie is a link[/sub]
As Mel Brooks would say…
“It’s good to be the king.”
Well, Queen Noor is no slouch, either…I guess those Jordanian guys just have good taste.
But of course, Queen Noor is the former Lisa Halaby, a blonde from California. She’s not the mother of the current king, and she was pretty obviously a trophy wife. If she hadn’t been pretty she wouldn’t have been the Queen.
I believe Queen Noor was rather instrumental in improving the status of women in Jordan. I imagine she is one of the reasons the current queen doesn’t have to be covered up in public. I think Jordan is one of the more… liberal, for lack of a better term, of the Middle Eastern countries.
(Sorry, gotta defend the Pton grad ;))
Oh, and to answer the OP’s question: Jordan is much more “modern” than a lot of other Middle Eastern states. The rulers of Jordan are not “fundamentalists.” Jordan is also a pretty moderate in terms of foreign policy.
King Hussein (King Abdullah’s late father) was instrumental in the Middle East peace process. Jordan and the U.S. tended to have friendly relations during Hussein’s reign. Heck, Hussein liked us so much he even married one of us! Queen Noor (Abdullah’s stepmom) is an American-born architect, Princeton graduate, etc. etc. She is also damned good-looking. Here is her website. King Abdullah has studied and lived in the Western world for much of his life.
Jordan is one of the most liberal Middle Eastern states.
I just previewed…Queen Noor a trophy wife? What do you mean by trophy wife? She may have been young and beautiful, but she was also brilliant, accomplished, and strong. She and Hussein were married a long time (until his untimely death), and obviously loved each other very much. If that’s what a trophy wife is, then “trophy wife” is a compliment.
King (the Prince) Abdullah was in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, BTW.
King Hussein may have thought he was marrying a trophy wife (I doubt it), but she near-single-handedly brought Jordan from a despotic theocracy to a modern, secularized nation. Not by being shrewish or politically manipulative, but merely by convincing her husband it was the right thing to do. The proof of this pudding is the fact that the Crown Prince got to marry a palestinian. They’re an underclass in Jordan and it never would have permitted under the old rules.
–Cliffy
then Prince. then Prince. Man, I wish I could proofread.
–Cliffy
Considering how the future of Star Trek is fairly peaceful and well-integrated and without the petty international squabbles that characterize our time unless one of the writers wants to hit us over the head with a point AND considering how seriously many Trekkers take that vision of the future and want to make it happen, is anybody else heartened that a Trekkie is involved in the Middle East peace process? Especially one with a seriously fine wife and stepmom who we get to see whenever he’s on TV because they’re cuter?
You’re right, she is very pretty.
Hussein-I heard Noor was his fourth wife-he didn’t have a harem, did he?
Parts of the middle east were quite westernized early this century. (whoops, last century). Beirut, Lebanon, used to be known as “The Paris of the Middle-East.”
I just want to clarify that the entire middle east hasn’t jumped aboard the oppression-of-women bandwagon. If it weren’t for all that civil war, etc., states such as Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon would be quite modernized. Women are not required to be veiled there. Even in Iraq, in most places if women are veiled it’s because they want to to comply with local tradition.
Is that so? Wow, right up there with Stephen Hawking and Dr. Mae Jemison. Which episode was it, and whom did he play?
It was more a “linear harem,” in the Hollywood tradition, IIRC. Abdullah’s mom was who? Number Three? Was she the American woman who looked like Pricilla Presley? Damn, there are worse ways to look!
Although the official episode synopsis unfortunately doesn’t seem to mention it, this site says the King’s cameo was on the Star Trek: Voyager episode “Investigations”. Here is a picture of King Abdullah, and here is a picture of King Abdullah in full Starfleet uniform.
Live long and prosper, Your Majesty.
And grinning, but not the full, Trekkie “grinning like an idiot” that I saw in other stills. Damn, he came close to full Stephen Hawking “isn’t this cool?” grinnage.
Yes, I have some hopes and (no doubt misplaced) optimism for the guy and his role in the future of the MidEast and the world. “Live long and prosper,” indeed.
I still say the King looks like Beaver Cleaver.
Thank Allah he isn’t wearing a red shirt.
QILF! QILF! QILF!
Humuna Humuna Humuna !