The Jordanian Nuclear Bomb

Over the past few weeks, a topic that has been progressively drawing my attention is that of the United States demanding that Jordan relinquish its rights to produce its own nuclear fuel and sign an agreement similar to that of the United Arab Emirates, which will commit Amman to purchasing its reactor fuel from the international market to guard against its potential internal diversion for military purposes.

What is more is that King Abdullah has accused Israel of interfering with Jordan's nuclear plans, as well as instructing his foreign minister to formally reprimand Israel's ambassador to Jordan over the charges that Israel has been seeking to block the sale of the South Korean or French reactors to Jordan.  As stated by The Wall Street Journal:

"There are countries, Israel in particular, that are more worried about us being economically independent than the issue of nuclear energy, and have been voicing their concerns," King Abdullah said. "There are many such reactors in the world and a lot more coming, so [the Israelis must] go mind their own business."

What is ironic is that Jordan has the right to produce it’s own fuel under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, neither the US nor Israel can deny those rights, with specific emphasis on Israel who refuses to sign the treaty and expose it’s nuclear capabilities. I honestly believe there should be a note in global treaties stating that: "These guidelines are applicable EXCEPT in Middle Eastern nations where the circumstances may differ accordingly", considering that each Arab/Middle Eastern country get’s their own permissions regarding what they can do/can’t do with nuclear power.

Jordan has all the means to go ahead with the nuclear program regardless of what the US and Israel think. South Korea and France will be more than willing to consent to Jordan’s needs without the US, though with the green light from the US everything will become much simpler, as some technology in French and South Korean reactors is American and requires US consent for export. As a matter of fact, the first 5MW reactor has already been agreed on and inked with South Korea, and is set to be complete in 2015 in Jordan University of Science and Technology, the college which I attend.

Furthermore, it is well known that Jordan is desperate for energy independence, 95% if not more of power produced in the Kingdom is imported. A nuclear Jordan will very much increase economic stability and will pave the path for achieving it’s water needs too, as the power is planned to be used for water desalination in Aqaba.

That is not all however, I was glad to see former Israeli Justice Minister, Yossi Beilin, write an article for the New York Times in which he defended the Jordanian nuclear project and criticized the Israeli government's objection to this, as well as reproaching the US government for indulging Israel's request to put pressure on Jordan's nuclear project. He is quoted saying:

In the situation that we justifiably or unjustifiably find ourselves now — boycotted and isolated — we do not need to lose the only Arab state with which we have peace-like relations.

Why should his [King Abdullah] country be denied the right to use its own uranium to produce energy? Why suspect his country of doing exactly what it has said it won’t do? Why deny Jordan nuclear technology out of fear of some “worst-case scenario” whereby his regime collapses and is replaced by one that attempts to develop a bomb? This could occur in many other places.

There is a certain risk in allowing Jordan to enrich uranium so close to Israel’s border, but the risk in denying the king’s request is far greater.

Finally, I am displeased to say that the coverage of this subject in Jordanian media has been minimal and largely neglected; I would have hoped for better reportage considering it's importance.

UPDATE July 3rd '10: 
Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications and Government Spokesperson Nabil Sharif told The Jordan Times that “talks are ongoing to sign a nuclear cooperation agreement between the two countries and reports of problems hindering this endeavour are baseless”.

UPDATE July 5th '10:
"There are details that are being discussed but I don't know why, when discussions take a bit longer, people always conclude that there is a problem. There isn't a problem," Jordan's foreign minister Nasser Judeh said at London's International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank.

"We are friends of the United States, ... the United States recognises Jordan's pressing need for a peaceful nuclear programme for our energy purposes. We are a country that imports all of its energy resources. I think the United States is very supportive of that," he said.

UPDATE July 12th '10:
The United States is threatening to stop providing financial assistance to Jordan if the country continues developing its nuclear program without coordination with Israel.**

**It turns out the claims, which appeared on the Israeli news site Ynet, are false.  Quoted from Palestine Note:

Washington - Senior Jordanian and US officials have denied an Israeli news report that the US threatened to cut financial aid if it refuses to coordinate with Israel in developing its nuclear program. The officials told Palestine Note that the report, which appeared on the Israeli news site Ynet, was not true.

UPDATE July 14th '10:
France supports Jordan’s right to enrich uranium as outlined in the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the top French diplomat in Amman, ambassador Corinne Breuz said during a press meeting to mark Bastille Day.

"There is no reason for Jordan not to build its own nuclear reactor," she said in response to a question, adding that Paris respects Jordan’s commitment to various international conventions and International Atomic Energy Agency regulations.

The Wikipedia Revolution: How a Bunch of Nobodies Created The World's Greatest Encyclopedia

I must admit it has been quite a while since my last blog post, can't say there's a specific reason, but laziness and medical studies come as the main factors, my apologies.

So the focus of this post will be about how I've recently been into editing Wikipedia, or The Free Encyclopedia; I'm sure you've used it at some point, it is, after all, usually one of the primary results in a Google Search. Ever imagined where these articles came from, who wrote them, who contributed, and who edited? Well I doubt you have, it honestly isn't something I would do, but being a recent editor has got me thinking, how much credit do these contributors really get for their work, is there anyone who says well done, good job, or even thank you?

The surprising thing is that the majority of people in our society don't know editing is actually possible, which makes it quite obvious why Middle Eastern articles are somewhat low-grade compared to those of the Western world, and by low-grade I really mean that there is much room for improvement. Gratitude? Can't say they get any, that is unless it is from their fellow Wikipedians, usually represented as a barn star posted on the user's talk page; a page on which discussions about user edits are made.
My contributions until now have mainly targeted articles about the Middle East, two articles I am especially interested in are "Jordan University of Science and Technology", the college which I currently attend, and "Suleiman Mousa", my late grandfather, who was the first and only Arab author to write about T.E. Lawrence, or "Lawrence of Arabia", and show the Arab perspective.

What do you need to become an editor? Nothing much really; an e-mail account, a sufficient command in the English Language, good grammar skills, and suitable references for any ad
ditional information you might want to add to an article, or else it will be deleted by an administrator.

I would definitely recommend  becoming a contributor to Wikipedia, with no doubt there will be articles of interest to everyone, and increasing one's spectrum of knowledge is also a pleasant side factor. Beware though, it is a very time-consuming business, so choose your time carefully.

Stand-Up Comedy in Jordan

Had I been asked about stand-up comedy a few years ago, I would have replied that I knew nothing about it. Today, however, my answer is a whole lot different - surprisingly enough, this wild act has miraculously been taken to a new level of popularity amongst the people of Jordan and the Middle East.

After receiving a message last night informing me that a two hour stand-up comedy show was to be held at university the next day, performed by students and with free admittance, I was delighted. It was shear bad luck that I was persuaded by some friends to hang out for a while, and then continue to the show. Assuming that our fellow Arabs were most probably bad performers and you would be quite lucky if you even smiled, we headed to the show after half an hour from it's starting, what awaited us left us in complete shock; not only were all the seats taken and the sounds of laughter earsplitting, but students were crammed all over, the doors were jammed and what's more, many of them had cameras! It honestly was a memorable experience...


Not a while back some global comedians were in town too... Russel Peters, the Canadian stand up comic and actor, as well as the Axis of Evil comedy tour including Aron Kader, Maz Jobrani, Ahmad Ahmad and Dean Obeidallah, all witnessed massive success amongst the Jordanian people. As a matter of fact Russel Peters even got punk'd by King Abdullah II of Jordan! Not to mention the hilarious Lebanese comedian Nemr Abu Nassar or.. "the Tiger", who performed in the Cultural Palace in Amman a couple of weeks ago to about 1,800 people, more or less the largest stand-up comedy event to take place in the Middle East yet!

You've all heard of the common stereotype that Jordanians always have that disturbing frown drawn on their faces. To some extent, that stereotype may ring true, but my fingers are crossed - the young generation of stand up comedy Jordanians is up for the challenge to change that soon. As a side note, I've always heard laughter is good for the soul, and I can't but agree all the way; how bad is it really to laugh at one another? I sure do hope these events keep coming!

Friday 12th of March; World Day Against Cyber Censorship

I would like to admit, that a couple of months ago, I would have not imagined Friday the 12th of March to be a significant day at all. Today, however, the tables have turned and this Friday will be of major importance for bloggers all over Jordan and even the world. This Friday will mark both "Blog for Jordan Day" and "World Day Against Cyber Censorship". My main focus in this post will be about the latter.

The idea of discussing "World Day Against Cyber Censorship" would not have occurred to me had it not been for Naseem Tarawnah, author of "The Black Iris of Jordan", who posted about the subject and made it clear what the day meant in his post "Dear Jordanian Bloggers & Tweeps: Let’s Mobilize For March 12th".

I can't say I am an expert on the subject, but the moment I decided to look into it I found the shocking statistics that there are actually countries that are totally against Internet  and the web, nicknamed "Internet Enemies". I was honestly relieved to find out that Jordan was not in the list and was highly ranked in the regions Internet Freedom Index. The bigger shock was to find the majority of our neighboring Arab countries listed as "Internet Enemies", with the Index describing their Internet connections as being more or less of an Intranet, in other words a local network of sites with some exceptions. Of these countries were neighboring Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia.

Arab countries that were listed to be "Under Surveillance" by the government included Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. It was also a surprise to find Australia listed to be under surveillance; being one of the largest and most influential countries in the world, I would have thought it hardly plausible.

Now you might be asking, "So what if these countries are "Internet Enemies", or "Under Surveillance"?". Well if you wouldn't prefer to be jailed for speaking your mind on the web, as was the case with an Egyptian blogger not a while back, you would rather not be under those lists. In my opinion, I really think these "Internet Freedom" indexes should be linked with a country's "Freedom of Speech" index; that is if they haven't been linked already.

Jordan, nonetheless, wasn't a perfect country in the Index. For example newspaper columnist Mwaffaq Mahadin and Sufian Tell, a specialist in environmental issues, were held for 15 days for criticizing the assistance which the Jordanian intelligence services provide the United States in its fight against Al-Qaeda.

"Reporters Without Borders" is concerned about a ruling by Jordan’s highest appeal court, published on 13 January, that news websites and electronic media are subject to the country’s press and publications law. Media and communications minister Nabil Al-Sharif told the Jordan Times that the court’s decision was reached independently and should therefore be applied.

All in all, I urge all Jordanian bloggers to make this a subject of one of their posts. If not, a logo and slogan can be obtained and placed on your web space to show your support for the campaign.

Volunteer Work with KHCC & KHCF

A little while back I applied as a volunteer with King Hussein Cancer Center & Foundation (hereafter KHCC & KHCF). The King Hussein Cancer Center is the only specialized cancer center in the Middle East that treats both adult and pediatric patients. I thought it would be a great way to spend my spare time instead of lazing around at home… and it turns out I wasn’t the least bit mistaken.

After receiving a phone call a few days ago requesting me to be part of an awareness campaign about cancer, I gladly headed to City Mall to find out what exactly I had to do. Upon reaching the booth where my 4 hour shift was to begin, I was greeted with warm arms and my fellow volunteers explained it all. It was quite a surprise to find that the 11^th of February was the worlds cancer day; which I had no idea existed. We were to distribute brochures and leaflets among the people which were about the various types of cancers, how they could be prevented and methods of treatment, with specific emphasis on smoking and its harmful effects. As well as that we were also holding booths for donations to KHCC & KHCF, and for a health insurance program against cancer.


The experience was refreshing; getting to know my fellows in the booth and mingling with the Jordanian society. With no doubt there were some people who did not give us their attention, but on the other hand there were many who did, who shared their opinion about the matter and told us about their own experiences with cancer. It was very interesting to learn so much and at the same time contribute to the people’s knowledge.

To add to that, we even had our own benefits, which included a free meal complement of the center; which was of course “healthy” in their opinion, unlike the junk food we would normally get.

Those 4 hours could have honestly been just 30 minutes with the fascinating time I had - getting to know those wonderful people, learning plenty of new info, and with no doubt contributing to the awareness of society.

Stereotypes About The Middle East; A Rising Concern

Was searching YouTube for something to feed my boredom last night, when I came upon Queen Rania's YouTube channel. For those who haven't heard, Queen Rania of Jordan has launched an initiative - or several - on YouTube and Twitter, to communicate to the Western world and talk about various stereotypes westerners have about the Middle East, Arabs, and Muslims. Some have even taken to calling her the 'cyber queen of the Middle East'. I thought it would be interesting to jot down my thoughts on the matter of stereotyping:

Firstly, a common, deeply flawed misconception is that all Middle Easterners are terrorists. Well, going back to 9\11 there sure were 17 terrorists who all came from the Middle East, were Arabs and Muslims. But how far can we take that fact to say that we all are terrorists? We can hardly say that such a vast population of over 360 million people are reflected by those 17 who performed this disgraceful act of suicide in the name of religion. Sure there are terrorists in the Middle East, but the same goes for any other country in the world. Middle Easterners are generally peaceful people, as a matter of fact, Jordan itself is known for its wonderfully warm hospitality to foreigners!

Middle Easterners live in desert tents and get around using camels. To be honest I have never heard such an absurd statement without letting out a sincere laugh. Cars are well used in society here, an amazing fact is that oil-rich countries in the Gulf, mainly Kuwait, have a higher number of cars than people! The world's tallest building is in the Middle East, namely 'Burj Khalifa' - more commonly known as The Dubai Tower - which exceeds a height of 828m, making it the highest man-made structure in the world!

Architects and engineers are fully present in the Middle East (some people may think we are all desert dwelling Bedouins), doing a wonderful job of ensuring citizens' comfortable and stylish accommodation.

Arabs are all Muslims; Muslims are all Arabs Neither of these statements are correct. Muslims make more than 1.5 billion of the worlds population. Arabs make only about 360 million people straddling North Africa and Western Asia. Now the second statement has been debunked, what about the first? Are Arabs all Muslims? Definitely not, a significant population of Arabs follow Christianity, with myself being one of them. Personally, having many Muslim friends whom I consider brothers and sisters, the respect I have towards Islam is concrete. Islam itself does not teach enmity and war, but peace and love, just like the other heavenly religions.


Women are given no rights in the Middle East.  This stereotype varies significantly from one country to the next. For instance, Saudi Arabia has yet to permit woman to drive, whereas the Jordanian female population enjoy plenty of rights and can be seen in various positions about the country, from university professors to taxi drivers to ministers.

Middle Easterners hate Jews. This also, is a common misconception. The hate Middle Easterners have is directed to the Zionist Israeli government, and not the religion Judaism, which has our utmost respect. The causes of this hate are vast, and for one to know how it all began, he would have to go back to the formation of the Zionist Israeli state, which in fact was formed by betrayal of Sherif Hussein of Mecca, who had been promised the land as part of his Arab state after WW2 by the British. At present day, however, this hate is due to the daily killing and slaughter of Palestinians, their expulsion from their own lands and the numerous other mistreatment they receive.

Arab countries are oil-rich. Partly true in the Arabian gulf region, but countries such as Jordan, Lebanon and Syria have negligible oil resources or none! Electricity generated in Jordan is 96% from oil and natural gas imported by neighboring countries. Jordan is now aiming at building renewable energy resources such as wind and solar, as well  as building nuclear power reactors for peaceful purposes due to the significant amount of uranium found in the Kingdom.. and yes, I can assure you I said peaceful. Car oil in Jordan as a matter of fact is ridiculously expensive!

I hope I have given you a reasonable perspective on these matters and please feel free to contribute your feedback if you may have a different point of view or would like to discuss these matters in a deeper manner.

Please spare some time to view Queen Rania's pages on YouTube and Twiter at http://youtube.com/queenrania and http://twitter.com/queenrania

Medical Tourism in Jordan

An article that sparked my attention today was an article I read in AlGhad news, under the headline "Government undergoes study to lower medical costs for intensive care".

According to AlGhad, the government plans to decrease costs of medical care for patients staying for more than a week in Jordanian hospitals. Dr. Fawzi Al Hammoury, head of the Jordan's Private Hospitals Association, estimates this discount as percentage between 20% and 40% depending on the patients medical situation.

This discount comes as a key in enhancing Jordan's medical tourism, which is not only limited to foreign and Arab patients, but Jordanians as well. Dr. Hammoury noted that the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Bank now place Jordan within the top 5 countries in the world in the field of medical tourism and the leader in the Middle East.

He also notes that the medical care costs are significantly lower than both Great Britain and the United States with a percentage of 20 - 40%, as well as the neighbouring countries by 5 - 10%.

Middle East News wrote in their article "Jordan pushes medical tourism industry" on Sunday, December 20 - 2009 that: "Jordan has been at the forefront of the medical industry in the Middle East since the 1970s" and "Adding to the kingdom's reputation is the fact that most of its doctors are English-speaking and many have been trained or are affiliated with top US hospitals such as the Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins... Other features that make that Jordan a popular healthcare destination are sight-seeing attractions such as Petra and the Dead Sea and the fact that its capital, Amman, is considered one of the cleanest cities in the world."

"Come here, do your surgery. Afterward, have a vacation, visit Petra, swim in the Dead Sea," Dr. Hammouri  said, listing the country's most popular tourism destinations. The hospitals are offering package deals, including air travel. To add to that, Jordan also hosts the only specialized cancer centre in the Middle East, the King Hussein Cancer Centre and Foundation.

I was extremely impressed by our medical facilities and standards upon reading this, and being a current medical student I was inspired to learn more about the international reputation the country has earned and further about the various successes Jordanian doctors have achieved in medicine.