Robin K. Hashem, a 21-year-old author and a team leader at
the Language Club Nahno platform, has just published a book, titled “He is
peace: King Abdullah II’s Insights Towards Global Prosperity”. His research and
professional interests lie in the fields of discourse analysis,
psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics and international relations.
اضافة اعلان
I was invited, as part of a group of authors and university
professors, to comment on the book, which was launched at Al-Hussein Cultural
Center under the patronage of the minister of culture on March 19.
I had the preconceived notion that that would be an attempt
by the author to draw the attention of the King. To my surprise, it was not.
Actually it is a subtle and a well-researched work.
In 164 pages, the author uses approved scientific techniques
and appeals to linguistics masters to demonstrate the eloquence and the
effectiveness of the King’s speeches in international fora.
In Part One, he analyzes two ideas. One is that peace is not
nearly the absence of war. As pre-Aristotelian philosophers emphasized, a thing
has only one opposite, and the thing and its opposite cannot exist at the same
time.
The other is the “holistic” approach to abstract notions.
The author refers to a statement by one of his professors, which reads “beauty is unity”.
The author combines the two concepts to reach a major
conclusion: if a text is both clear and holistic, it induces proper feelings.
“Peace”, a term the
King uses, is related to prosperity. Peace is not only the absence of war, but
respect of human dignity, assertion of human rights, respect of differences,
richness in diversity and acceptance of others. Any deviation from those basic
components would eliminate the prospects of peace and bring matters close to
war.
That is why King Abdullah’s vision of peace and prosperity
does not allow room for extremism, prejudice, killing in the name of religion,
and denigration of others who are not “us”.
In his analysis, the author uses his linguistic knowledge
and speciality to show the respectable and high-class language used by HM King
Abdullah in his speeches. The author says the King not only sends subtle
messages through the use of metaphors and other linguistic forms, but also
arouses strong and heart-felt resonance in his audience.
The King, the author says in the book, has not only mastered
the craft of speech, but went further, to
implement the proper actions and policies, like the message of Amman,
the Inter-faith dialogue, war against extremism, the call for universal action
to solve major international problems, etc.
The world, in return, had acknowledged the King’s
contributions and all peace-loving institutions (sadly with the exception of
the Noble Prize committee) honored HM the King, bestowing on him more than 15
awards and citations.
The writer is an economist and has held several ministerial
posts, including former deputy prime minister and former chief of the Royal
Court.
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