There are few nations in the Middle East, perhaps aside from Morocco (a bit of prejudice here), that is as blessed with such decent people and respected leadership as Jordan. It is a vulnerable, but stable desert kingdom constantly defying the forces arrayed against it. Jordan’s boundless generosity has provided a safe haven for the human tide of refugees that have been thrust upon it from war-ravaged Syria and Iraq. A nation poor in natural resources, Jordan nevertheless is an oasis of dependability in a Levantine desert seeming devoid of anything but.

King Hussein of Jordan — one of the truly great leaders of the modern Arab world and father of the current monarch, King Abdullah, described his nation this way:

“Jordan has a strange, haunting beauty and a sense of timelessness. Dotted with the ruins of empires once great, it is the last resort of yesterday in the world of tomorrow. I love every inch of it.”

I have spent much time in Jordan, and I can attest to King Hussein’s portrayal of his nation.

Formerly known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Jordan’s ruling clan is known as the Hashim, who trace their ancestry from Hashim ibn ‘Abd Manaf the great-grandfather of the Prophet Mohammed. During World War I, largely at the instigation of T. E. Lawrence (aka Lawrence of Arabia), Abd Manaf’s decendant, Sharif Hussein bin Ali, rebelled against the rule of the Ottomans during the famous 1916 Arab Revolt.

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