According to a report by Al Arab Al Yawm newspaper, Jordanian Prime Minister Ma'rouf Bakhit had a stunning revelation in last evening's Cabinet meeting. The outraged PM accused some ministers of "providing journalists with information about the activities of the government and its other ministers through the political salons in which ministers and journalists interact. He added that he has "recordings"... [read more]

To the dismay of some readers of this blog Jordan is not a failed state. According to the Foreign Policy Index of failed States, published for the third year in the well respected American magazine "Foreign Policy" Jordan does not rank among the 60 failed states of the world which includes seven Arab countries, topped by Sudan.   The Index was developed by the Fund for Peace an independent research... [read more]

This blog has received a plethora of negative comments from readers who disagree with my political opinions. Naturally any diversity in opinions is an enriching factor since it provides several perspectives on a certain issue. Some comments however, especially from anonymous readers have always shifted towards personal accusations and attacks. One of the most intriguing attacks are linked to the... [read more]

As expected, the state of Jordan has been fed up with the continuous flow of defaming letters and articles by Dr Ahmad Owedie Abbadi and the so-called "Jordanian National Movement" which is a right-wing racist political stream with a well functioning website in the USA and an unknown number of followers in Jordan. Abbadi was arrested after Minister of Interior Eid Al-Fayez issued a complaint against... [read more]

Former distinguished MP and political activist Toujan Faisal will be running in the Parliamentary elections in the 5th district in Amman (Wadi Seer and surroundings) for the Circassisn quota seat. After her absence from the 2003 elections due to a court decision after a conflict with the former Prime Minsiter Ali Abu Ragheb the tough lady is back in business. Since 1989 Toujan was a main figure in... [read more]

No word has ever been more "exploited" in Jordan and the Arab World more than "reform" in the last few years. As if it has been magistically discovered in a deep cave in the Arabian political desert, reform has been the most welcomed guest in all political projects developed by the USA and EU for the Arab World after September 11th and has been the silver bullet for the political and socio-economic... [read more]

A very interesting debate has been emerging on OmAr's blog regarding the decision of the "Jordan Blogs" aggregate to take the "Jordanian Issues" blog by Khader Kanaan off the list, presumably for ultra-open political statements that are directed against the Jordanian regime. The JB aggrehator committee is mainly aware of potential legal liability. Khader is an anonymous blogger whose Arabic blog... [read more]

I will refere here to our dear blogger and expert in Middle East issues Mr Abu Aardvark who has posted about two important public opinion polls on reform and media freedoms in Jordan.   I have written a long post in my Arabic blog about the survey conducted by the Center for Strategic Studies (CSS) in the University of Jordan to explore the understanding and perspectives of the Jordanian public... [read more]

Human Rights Watch has came strongly to lead a "free speech" crusade in favor of the poor, impoverished, underpreviliaged and discriminated -against Jordanian citizen Adnan Abu Odeh. In a press release that acted as a propaganda for Abu Odeh rather than a decent analysis of the restrictions on press freedoms and freedom of expression in Jordan Human Rights Watch took the role of a defence laywer... [read more]

Yesterday marked the first anniversary of the horrific terrorist acts that rocked Amman and its traditional tranquility, leaving behind 60 martyrs and changing a wide array of our feelings, laws, convictions and daily practices.   The three crimes committed by suicide bombers from Al Qaeda have changed a lot of the previous state of consciosness about terrorism and how to recognize it and face... [read more]

During the five decades ranging from the 50s to the 90 the masses of Jordanian students and their institutional representatives and political parties tried relentlessly to establish the long-awaited dream of having a unified Students' Union in Jordan but ended up in the 90s with the scattered student councils that were further stripped of power with the appointment rather than election of 50% of its... [read more]

The Jordanian Parliament has endorsed a new legislation to prevent the "privatization of religious edicts" by controlling the edicts to official councils in Jordan which are directly linked to the governemnt. The proposed legislation would restrict fatwas only to a state-appointed council. Currently, the powerful Muslim Brotherhood movement and other smaller hard-line Islamic groups issue edicts... [read more]

هذه رسالة مني موجهة إلى رئيس الوزراء د. معروف البخيت، وهي مفتوحة للإقتباس والاستخدام والنقل من قبل أي شخص وأية مؤسسة. سيتم إرسال الرسالة إلى رئاسة الوزراء .     دولة رئيس الوزراء الدكتور معروف البخيت   السلام عليكم ورحمه الله وبركاته   يشعر الشعب الأردني ببالغ الحزن والغضب والحرقة وهو يشاهد الجرائم الإسرائيلية المستمرة ضد الشعبين الفلسطيني واللبناني منذ أكثر من شهر، وكان آخرها من حيث التنفيذ،... [read more]

The Center for the Strategic Studies in the University of Jordan has released its annual poll on "state of democracy". The annual poll is a good indicator for the advancement, or retreat of democracy in the country as expressed by samples from "public opinion leaders" and "national sample" representing citizens. In this year's poll the main message was that people in Jordan still think democracy... [read more]

Just like the detrerioration of the Jordanian stock market, the indicators of the Bakhit government have fallen down based on the landmark syrvey of governemnt performance organized and published by the Center for Strategic Studies in the University of Jordan. According to an opinion poll the percentage of national sample, made up of 984 respondents from the general public, who believe the government... [read more]

  After the black comedy of the Parliament's vote on the public budget last week, I have to admit that I am ashamed, as a Jordanian citizen and voter, of the low professional quality of the Parliamentarian process and of course, the shallowness of the majority of its members. The debate for the public budget started with encouraging signs in the initial phases, but then dropped to a horrendous... [read more]

In a very interesting statement published on the website of the Islamic Action Front (IAF) in Jordan, the spokesman of the IAF parliamentary block said that the "Islamic movement" in Jordan is ready to take over the government in case "true democracy" was practiced in Jordan. The IAF statement is a direct result of Hamas' sweeping win in the Palestinian elections, and reflects the IAF's desire... [read more]