Hardback: It is almost unprecedented for a sitting monarch to write a memoir that gives a full and frank reckoning with the most explosive issues he faces. King Abdullah II does this now out of sense of great urgency, a conviction that a window of opportunity exists for peace in the Middle East, coupled with a fear that this window is closing rapidly.
For sixteen years he has ruled Jordan, a country at the centre of strategic discussion regarding Israel and Palestine, Iraq, Iran, terrorism and the future of relations between the West and the Muslim world. It was not by chance that President Obama invited King Abdullah to be the first Arab leader to meet him at the White House, right before his historic Cairo speech, 'A New Beginning'.
A personal narrative rich with human drama, this is the inspirational story of a man who is suddenly called upon to serve his kingdom, and makes his wife its Queen. Together they transformed all conceptions of what it meant to be King and Queen, as he disguised himself and went undercover to escape the bubble of the court, and she staked out a new role for herself as the Muslim world's most passionate advocate of women's rights, a position that has made glamorous Queen Rania one of the most popular women in the Middle East.
In this surprisingly candid, unguarded and heartfelt memoir, King Abdullah gives us ringside seats at the central global crises of our time. The single best intermediary between the West and the Arab world, he lets us see our vexed relations from the vantage point of the Middle East - including the impact of the Iraq war and the dangers of an ascendant Iran.
He explains why he is convinced we have one last chance for peace in the region, why the prize is enormous, and the cost of failure unimaginable.
Lifted out of the line of succession at the age of two by his father, King Hussein of Jordan, who was under constant threat of assassination, Abdullah grew up outside the bubble that usually encloses heirs to the throne. His formative years were spent in the United States and in England, where he survived the gruelling rigours of officer training in Sandhurst. For many years, he commanded the Jordanian Special Forces, a position that put him in close contact with his American counterparts and gave him first-hand experience of taking on terrorists.
When, on his deathbed in 1999, King Hussein abruptly changed the line of succession and chose Abdullah over his uncle, the longtime crown prince, it was a surprise to everyone. The head of the Hashemite family, King Abdullah II is a 43rd-generation direct descendant of the Prophet Mohammed. His family ruled the holy city of Mecca for over eight hundred years. Abdullah's great-great grandfather, Al-Hussein bin Ali, the Sharif of Mecca and King of the Arabs, led the Arab revolt for independence from Ottoman rule in 1916.
"Peace for its own sake would be prize enough. But in my mind, I see benefits that far outweigh that precious commodity. There can be little doubt that terrorist organizations exploit the injustice resulting from the continuation of occupation. Resolving this conflict would deprive these organizations of their appeal. Many will argue that the hatred sown and nurtured by extremist factions on both sides in the Holy Land cannot be overcome. But history has shown that peace can prevail even among the fiercest of enemies. Not long ago, observers might have thought that tensions across the Berlin Wall or between the factions in Northern Ireland would never be eased - and yet those struggles are now mostly memories. Why not aim to do the same in the Middle East?"
"Bringing peace is not the only struggle we face. Among our greatest challenges are political reform and the improvement of our economies. We need to learn to make things the rest of the world wants to buy, and to raise the standards for all our people. Providing proper education and good jobs for young people is one of the most effective defenses against the siren call of the extremists. We cannot afford to have so many unemployed young men. And we must let women play a greater role in our economies. The impulse to hold women back for so-called religious or cultural reasons, to keep them out of the workforce, comes from a deep insecurity. It is unacceptable for half of society to be denied their rights and for half the workforce to stay at home."
"Think of a world where the managerial expertise of the Israelis, the professionalism of the Jordanians, Lebanese entrepreneurship, and the education of the Palestinians could be combined effectively. I see the association of these potential partners as producing a regional economic powerhouse - a Middle Eastern Benelux. All this can be achieved. But the situation on the ground is rapidly getting away from us, rendering this outcome more and more unlikely. If current trends are not reversed soon, there will be no land left to swap for peace - no reason for Palestinians to cast their lot with moderate leaders rather than with the extremists. Our future will be doomed to war and conflict."
"One of the most dangerous ideas to have emerged in recent years is the suggestion that the West and the Muslim world are two separate blocs, heading inevitably on a collision course with each other. This concept is ill-informed, inflammatory, and wrong. For over a thousand years Muslims, Jews and Christians have lived together peacefully, enriching one another's cultures. For sure, there have been conflicts, such as the Crusades or the European colonization of many Middle Eastern countries after World War I. But these are political, rooted in the motivations of a certain time and context, rather than manifestations of an eternal cultural hostility."
"There is a tendency in life and in politics to default to the status quo. But in this case the seeming stability is misleading. I hear the mounting frustration and anger and I fear it will soon eclipse all dreams of peace and reconciliation. I do not think most Americans and Europeans recognize the urgency of the situation. It is because of this sense of urgency that I have decided to write this book. In the sixteen years since I succeeded my father, I have seen and learned a great deal. I am determined to share my story openly and honestly, in the hope that it can help make a difference."
"I have never felt that interacting with Western culture comes at the expense of my identity as an Arab or a Muslim. As somebody born in the East but educated in the West, I feel a deep affinity for both cultures. My hope is that this book can, in a small way, act as a bridge between them. All too often extremists on both sides frame the discussion and dominate the debate. All too often the voices of moderate Arabs are drowned out by those who shout the loudest. I will not shout, but I do want my message to be heard. I want to tell the world that while there are great problems in our region, there is also cause for hope."
Our Last Best Chance was published in 2011 by Viking Penguin in New York City.
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