Islam is a religion of peace, we must strive to show that: Queen Rania

By Randa Habib - AMMAN

The world's youngest queen, Rania of Jordan, said Arabs and Muslims must strive to show that Islam is a religion of peace to correct their "negative image" after the terror attacks in the United States, in an interview Monday.

"It is incumbent upon us, as Arabs and Muslims, women and men, not only to state but, more importantly, to demonstrate that Islam is a religion of peace, tolerance, love, compassion and mercy," Queen Rania said.

The world's youngest monarch, aged 31, spoke during an interview in her private home of Beit Al Baraka in the western suburbs of Amman, dressed casually in a blue cashmere sweater and black pants.

"There are many ways that we can start to correct the negative image that unfortunately exists," since Muslim Arab suspected terrorists carried out the airborne suicide attacks, she said.

"The most important is reaching out and beginning a dialogue with others, establishing networks of articulate people who can talk about Islam in its true form and perhaps most importantly, leading by example."

A Jordanian of Palestinian origin, Rania who holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from the American University of Cairo said Islam believes in Judaism and Christianity, the religions that preceded it.

"It believes in the same God and promotes the very same values of doing good and living in peace," she said.

She described the September 11 attacks as "tragic" and said they had "changed a lot in the world as we used to know it."

"They affected everyone around the world. They certainly affected us in Jordan. We lost two Jordanians in the attacks on the twin towers in New York," she said.

"One of the by-products of the tragedy has been that more and more people are asking about Islam. The world has become more curious about our religion, and I sense genuine interest in Islam by members of the public, the media, scholars, opinion makers and policy makers," she said.

"This presents an opportunity for us as Arabs and Muslims to communicate Islam in its true and accurate form," the queen said.

Asked to draw parallels between the atrocities committed against the United States and the Palestinian people, she said: "Violence does not discriminate between culture, nationality, religion and creed."

"I condemn violence against innocent civilians wherever it occurs and by whomever it is perpetrated. There is no in-between for me on this question, especially as a mother of three," she said.

But she stressed that the Palestinians, like all the people in the Middle East and the world "have the right to live in peace, free from occupation, and to thrive in an atmosphere of stability".

"Jordan has long believed in dialogue and in the necessity to settle political conflicts through diplomacy," she said echoing her husband, King Abdullah II of Jordan.

Rania accompanied King Abdullah to the United States at the end of September on the first visit by an Arab leader following the terror attacks and toured New York and Washington, where she met parents of the victims.

"It was extremely moving to see families of the victims, trying to deal with their loss, the trauma of knowing or imagining what their loved ones had gone through, and attempting to pick up the pieces," she said.

Back home she has tried to shield her children, Prince Hussein, 7, Princess Iman, 5, and one-year-old Princess Salma from the daily barrage of television pictures of the atrocities.

"I try not to keep the television on when my children are around if the news is very graphic in nature," she said.

"The images of the destruction of the twin towers were shown over and over again. I thought that for my children to see these images once was more than enough. The same applies for images of any war," she added.