Letter to Jordanian students on the occasion of the new scholastic year, 2005-2006
In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Compassionate,
Dear Students,
Peace, God’s mercy and His blessings upon you,
It gives me pleasure at this time, while you are attending your classes, on this blessed day, to extend to every student, boy and girl, my greetings, my love and feeling of pride in you and what you represent. You are our national wealth on which we depend to build Jordan, the model, the homeland of freedom, equality and respect for human rights.
On this occasion, I would like to assure you, dear sons and daughters, that knowledge is honourable; it sharpens your will, enhances your talent and innovation and illuminates your path towards your aspiration to achieve the prosperity of your homeland, God willing.
Dear Students,
We assure you that, as you are the centre of our interest and concern, we are committed to modernising and developing education, to giving it priority and creating the conditions that will allow you to excel and innovate, and to providing you with all the means of modern knowledge that would enrich your experiences, stimulate and release your capacities and innovativeness. Because we are aware that knowledge is incomplete without supporting our teachers, men and women, who constitute the pillar of the educational process, we have directed the government – through the Ministry of Education – to support and train teachers, to provide them with modern technology and with means to live the decent life they are entitled to and that is worthy of their status and dedication.
My Sons and Daughters, the Students,
The world, especially the Arab Muslim world, is witnessing offensive, horrendous violence from extremists and terrorists; they claim to act in the name of Islam. But they distort Islam and spread devastation around the world. Thus we emphasise that the school is the vehicle for spreading awareness of the essence of our great religion, Islam, and the truth about it; Islam that gave mankind the enlightened principles of justice, moderation, respect and acceptance of the other and that rejected closed-mindedness and fanaticism. Muslim schools throughout history were minarets of knowledge that gave the world an elite corps of scientists and intellectuals who were pioneers in the renaissance of human society. And within the framework of our concept of Islam, the religion of right, justice and equality, we released last year the Amman Message to emphasise the true message of Islam that is built on the principles of tolerance, moderation, coexistence, openness, dialogue, renouncing violence and terrorism and standing up to the extremists' false allegations and precepts.
Once again, I greet you wherever you are – in the villages, Badia, camps or cities – and I am sure that our march to build modern Jordan will be successful, building on our unwavering faith in your awareness and your true belonging to your homeland. I wish all of you and all of your teachers success in all that you aspire to in the field of useful knowledge.
Peace, God’s mercy and His blessings upon you,
Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein
Amman, 20 August 2005
