Experts: "One Jordanian Family".. A Royal Message to Consolidate National Identity and Protect Social Cohesion

Professor of Political Sociology, Dr. Bader Madi, said that the Speech from the Throne delivered by His Majesty King Abdullah II carried profound national messages in their timing and content, especially in light of the shock the Jordanian society was exposed to as a result of the crime in the village of Hamoud in Karak, and the accompanying actions he described as being outside the values of Jordanians and their deep-rooted morals and traditions.

Madi added that His Majesty chose to begin his speech directed at the nation—not just to Parliament—by emphasizing the concept of one Jordanian family, in a clear message to every member of society that whoever commits such terrorist acts and transcends the values of the homeland and the morals of its children does not represent this family nor belong to its national and moral system.

He pointed out that the deeper significance in the Royal message is that Jordanians, regardless of their intellectual, social, religious, and political backgrounds, form one family united by belonging and loyalty to Jordan, and that any aggression against one of the members of this family calls for a unified national stance that is commensurate with the gravity of the event and the scale of its repercussions.

He affirmed that the Jordanian identity, as reflected by the Royal message, is not merely a geographical affiliation or a sub-identity, but rather a comprehensive system that expresses the cohesion of society and the love of its children for one another, and positive competition in serving the homeland and the citizen, such that the national identity takes precedence over various sub-identities, and efforts are united for the sake of Jordan, its stability, and its future.

Madi stressed that protecting this cohesion is a shared national responsibility, in which the authentic values of Jordanian society are integrated with the awareness of security institutions and the role of the Jordanian Armed Forces, alongside the role played by the Hashemite leadership in preserving national unity and consolidating tolerance and coexistence, confirming that Jordan’s strength lies in the cohesion of its people and their ability to face challenges in the spirit of one family.

For her part, Professor of Psychological and Educational Counseling at the Faculty of Educational and Psychological Sciences at Amman Arab University, Dr. Suhaila Mahmoud Banat, said that His Majesty King Abdullah II’s description of the Jordanian family as one family, and the Speech from the Throne’s emphasis that whoever exits this family and betrays it has no place among its children, represents a profound and extremely important statement, and reflects the truth of the pivotal role that the family plays in building the individual and society.

Banat added that the family constitutes the primary source of values, knowledge, cultures, customs, and traditions, pointing out that the Jordanian family is characterized by an authentic system of values and norms based on solidarity, love, affection, cooperation, belonging, and respect for others and their freedoms, which are values that contribute to consolidating loyalty among members of society and strengthening their connection to their homeland and its institutions.

She pointed out that the family represents an integrated system of human relationships and interactions, and its functions are not limited to biological, psychological, social, and educational aspects, but extend to the cognitive function through which it transfers ideas and concepts to generations, explaining that these ideas can be positive, promoting belonging, responsible behavior, and constructive work, or negative, leading to defeatism and negative dealings with others.

She emphasized that His Majesty’s talk about the family carries significant meaning as an integrated system based on common rules, values, and foundations, and that exiting this system through practices that threaten its cohesion and offend its components contradicts the essence of true belonging to it, stressing that the Jordanian family is characterized by maintaining its customs, traditions, and authentic values that promote courage, solidarity, mutual support, and love among its members.

She stressed that the Jordanian family, with the deep-rooted values it holds, constitutes a foundation for protecting the social fabric and promoting society’s cohesion, and that preserving these values is a shared responsibility that begins with the family and extends to various societal institutions, ensuring the upbringing of generations who believe in their homeland, are loyal to it, and are capable of contributing to its path and future.

Director of the Al-Thuraiya Studies Center, Dr. Mohammed Al-Juraibie, said that the Speech from the Throne delivered by His Majesty King Abdullah II was different in its internal and external messages due to the clarity, firmness, and directness it was characterized by, and the arguments it carried that honestly express the culture of Jordanian society and its national identity.

He added that His Majesty’s emphasis on the concept of one Jordanian family reflects a keenness to consolidate a comprehensive and cohesive national identity based on deep-rooted culture, norms, and traditions that transcend religious and ethnic differences and place belonging and national identity above all sub-affiliations, noting that describing those who committed acts outside the society’s values as not representing the Jordanian family carries a clear message that these extremist behaviors have nothing to do with the morals and culture of Jordanians.

Al-Juraibie affirmed that the Jordanian national identity constitutes a safety valve for society and the title of its cohesion, pointing out that recent years have witnessed an increasing prominence of the values of belonging and the comprehensive identity as a result of societal awareness and the role of institutions, researchers, the media, and civil society organizations in promoting them, stressing that Jordanians, in times of adversity and challenges, align themselves with their unity, culture, customs, and traditions, and rally around their national identity as the first line of defense for Jordan and its stability.