Only God Has a Claim on Jerusalem

The following is excerpted from an interview with KING HUSSEIN of Jordan by Nathan Gardels, editor of New Perspectives Quarterly.

Question: Now that the external foil of the “Zionist enemy” is being removed by the PLO-Israeli peace process, won’t the Arab states be forced to look inward? There is no longer any excuse for autocratic rulers not to open up their societies.

Answer: I hope this will happen. There is no doubt that the rug will be pulled from under the feet of many a leader in the region who used the confrontation with Israel to aspire to or justify his own power. Time and again, that has been the root cause of instability in the region. . . .

Our Palestinian brethren insist at this point that they want a confederation with Jordan. I insist we do nothing except work from the grass roots upward. And that requires an opening up of Arab society so that any coming together is something that is natural, normal and meaningful.

This same logic would apply to a broader integration of the region. We have seen so many efforts at unity, but they have all failed because they weren’t built from the grass roots upward. Now, with the PLO settling their affairs with Israel, we may for the first time have this opportunity.

True unity can only happen when there is pluralism and freedom of expression so that we can deal with each other on a people-to-people basis. Then the relationships mean something and are not based on the whims or moods of unaccountable leaders.

To crown this hope of peace based on new democratic possibilities in the Arab world, I as a Muslim, a Hashemite, an Arab, and as a person who seeks to satisfy my conscience, have called for talks to achieve an accord on the holy places in Jerusalem which removes all sovereign claims except for those of Almighty God.

All followers of the three great monotheistic religions--Muslims, Jews and Christians--should enjoy worshiping side by side, as God meant it to be. If that happens, then the ripples will go not only to our immediate region, but affect the world as well.

Q.: What do you have in mind?

A.: The holy places of Jerusalem should be moved out of the orbit of the attempts of any to impose sovereignty over them. That alone belongs to Almighty God.

The rights of all should be equally recognized. A dialogue should produce the kind of meeting of the followers of the three monotheistic religions, aimed at forging a peace, which has not been our fortune for far too long.

The Holy City should be separated from any temporal sovereignty, which I hope will represent the coming together of the Palestinians and Israelis on this question.