JOC Releases New Proposed Jordanian Constitution – Removes Monarchy

– JOC Releases New Proposed Jordanian Constitution
– Draft Constitution Removes Monarchy, Outlaws Terrorist Organizations,
– Establishes Individual Rights All while Creating A Democracy In Jordan

(Amman, Jordan   April 2021) –  As promised, The Jordanian Opposition Coalition (JOC) today released the following Constitutional documents via Press Release, Complete Wording and Video:

“Jordan has been in turmoil now for the last several weeks, and it shows that the Hashemite Regime, led by Dictator King Abdullah II, is crumbling,” Mudar Zahran, Secretary General for the Jordanian Opposition Coalition (JOC), said. “When a regime crumbles, it’s time for the country as a whole to head in a new direction, and that new direction always calls for a new Constitution.”

“The concepts in this document eliminate the Monarchy,” Zahran continued. “To create this document, we studied Constitutions from around the world, and throughout history, and the US constitution has been our greatest inspiration while preparing this document.”

The document being presented to the world community not only declares individual rights, but outlines the operations of the new Jordanian government. To create these operations, the JOC has melded concepts found in the US Constitution with the operations of a Parliamentary body. As a result, the document creates 3 branches of government, supported by separate but equal powers.

“To support this, we have also created a Bill of Rights,” Zahran continued. “We are going to support the rights of humans to practice ones faith in peace, although Jordan will be an Islamic nation.”

“This new Constitution is revolutionary for the Middle East because it was created before a movement takes place not after,” Zahran added. “The Constitution takes vital concepts from each of the following constitutions and melds them into one, high quality Constitution that will represent Jordan’s modern Islamic Democracy movement: Iraq, Afghanistan, Egyptian, English and American”.

Zahran added, “The proposed Constitution then organizes them for a Jordan that lives in economic peace with its neighbors and is able compete in world economic markets”.

By its design, this is a DRAFT document that the JOC has used to discuss issues with a variety of groups. The JOC also guarantees 100% that before any new Constitution is placed before the Jordanian people for a democratic vote, a Constitutional Commission will review it, and the review will take place publically through hearings held throughout the country.

“We believe in transparency, and the hearings will ensure that all Jordanians will have a chance to participate in the creation of this document,” Zahran added. “This Constitution will be ours and represent us, not be a document that supports a Hashemite dictatorship.”

According to Zahran, “We want to hear from everyone, so visit our website and leave us a message.”

The JOC is also asking other countries, world bodies, and international leaders for suggestions on how to make this document better so that it serves the direct needs of the people and country of Jordan, and the general needs of the world.

“Bringing Jordan into the 21st century without bloodshed is an intriguing one,” said Mohammad Beitbet, Shadow Secretary of Labor of the JOC.  “Any avenue that helps bring peace, stability and economic success to that corner of the world, will improve the lives of millions of people, and in my opinion is an avenue worth walking down to see where it goes.”

“This is one of the most encouraging documents to come out of a Middle East movement for democracy in years,” Michael Ross, the JOC’s Senior Advisor said. “When I put this document together, we used one, fundamental concept: the concept of one man, one vote being supported by transparency.”

“What makes this even more exciting is this: most political movements that create a new country create a Constitution AFTER they take over, not before,” Michael Ross added. “This document not only provides a transparent roadmap for everyone to follow, but it is designed to organize all opposition groups around foundational concepts that will help make the transition to a new Jordan a success while bring peace and prosperity to millions of people in the region.”

June 11, 2023 | 19 Comments »
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19 Comments / 19 Comments

  1. @Ted

    What I find fascinating is that Mudar doesn’t hide his contrarian views to impress his Arab constituency.

    I agree. Mudar’s full throated endorsement of his views are as startling as they are important. A true revolutionary for whom the entire region could benefit.

    Also, what you mention about MBS, I quite agree. He has made measurable reforms as he moves towards refashioning his kingdom towards a more moderate future, which, given his position in the Sunni Arab world, is not to be ignored.

    The point I was trying to make, however, is that amid the peace deals being considered and negotiated, both now and in the past, there is never any mention made about a shared narrative between the parties, which would actually provide a measurable foundation for the peace being proposed to actually flower and develop in the future. Should such a shared narrative fail to be addressed in the development of peace, it will tie Israel’s peace partners to the very antithesis of peace, making the peace more fragile and limited than it otherwise might be.

  2. Saudi Arabia has made progress, over a more than 20 year period, according to one article. I can’t find the article that says antisemitic tropes were removed from older grades but not younger. Israel is still not on their maps

    https://www.jns.org/jns/antisemitism/23/5/24/290489/

    https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-710756

    https://www.algemeiner.com/2023/05/23/saudi-arabia-has-mostly-removed-antisemitic-tropes-from-school-textbooks-new-report-says/

    However, Israel is still demonized. From Algemeiner:

    However, Impact-se noted, Zionism is still described as a “Jewish racist political movement” that “aims to expel the Palestinian people and establish a Jewish state by force,” but overall, extremist ideologies are denounced, tolerance is promoted, and women, whose participation in the Saudi workforce is positively expounded, are no longer taught to conform to gender stereotypes.

    At best, this will impact future generations. Like Holocaust education in the west. There was no such thing when I was young and I thought antisemitism was a thing of the past. Now, Holocaust education, or something that purports to be that, is everywhere, but so is antisemitism,

  3. What I find fascinating is that Mudar doesn’t hide his contrarian views to impress his Arab constituency. Instead, he wears them on his sleeve. He wants to be elected on his terms.

    Mudar is a visionary and a revolutionary.. Every since his twenties he set his sights on becoming the leader of the Palestinians and went into exile because of his views. He never varied.

  4. @Peloni @Sebastien.

    the Arabs have been fed a steady diet of such antisemitic rhetoric from the cradle to the grave over the past century

    But you shouldn’t have left out what they have been taught since Medina.
    Furthermore the Wahabbism is part of the problem. Remember that they clashed with the Saudis and cut a deal with them for more power. Mecca 1979: The mosque siege that changed the course of Saudi history

    Trump demanded when he addressed the Arab league and other Muslim states in Riyadh, that the the terrorists “and their ideology” must be defeated. Then this happenned:

    As of 2017, changes to Saudi religious policy by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have led to widespread crackdown on Islamists in Saudi Arabia and rest of the Arab World. In 2018 Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, denied that anyone “can define this Wahhabism” or even that it exists. By 2021, the waning power of the religious clerics brought forth by the social, religious, economic, political changes and a new educational policy asserting a “Saudi national identity” that emphasize non-Islamic components have led to what has been described as the “post-Wahhabi era” of Saudi Arabia.[j]

    MBS has started on the path to reform, albeit, slowly. A few years ago, al Sisi also called for reform. And now Mudar is joining their ranks. I never once was so bold as to suggest that he do this. This is on him and part of his belief system. He also argued that its not in the Koran. It is in the Hadiths which he rejects. Remember Mohammed reach out his hand to the Jews prior to Medina.

  5. @Ted
    @Sebastien

    views of Jews were overwhelmingly unfavorable.

    I would suggest that this is due in no small part to the Jihadi education process which includes descriptions of Jews as subhuman colonizers and defends the Pals as the true indigenous people of Israel. In fact, the Arabs have been fed a steady diet of such antisemitic rhetoric from the cradle to the grave over the past century, and not within one Arab society or nation, but within nearly all if not all Arab societies and nations. So the unfavorability shown towards Jews is arguably neither organic nor immutable. Personally, I believe the lack of any education reform within the signatories of any one of Israel’s peace treaties was a pivotal mistake for exactly the reason I have described here. If the Jihadi education system is maintained in nations with whom we are allied, the acceptance of Jews in the region will not change simply due to a top down decree that Israel is now an ally of that given nation. Every alliance with Israel should be required to provide a fair telling of the true history of the region and the role which the Jews have played over the millennia. Of course, this was not done precisely so that the lack of any movement on reforming the Jihadi teachings among the allied nations might not become an obstacle to achieving peace. Yet, in not making such inconvenient stipulation such as education reform as a vital corollary to the peace process, it has left many worrying frictions unresolved, in spite of the treaties which are signed signifying peaceful relations and a hopeful future. If peace can not be based on an honest desire of coexistence and mutual acceptance and support, what merit is there to be found in peace at all. Let the Sunnis reform their education systems and remove the antisemitic propaganda which still remain being taught as history or let them cut bait and wait for any peace with Israel til the day when they are able to do exactly this.

    In fact, education reform is something which I find most encouraging about Mudar’s coming rise to power. It is not his desire of a democratic future for his people alone which will revolutionize the region. Remember, there is nothing more important than seeing a good example succeed, and recalling this, I would suggest that Mudar’s intent to reform the Jordanian education system and rid it of its traditional antisemitic tripe would be among the most important of the accomplishments which he has in mind for his people, albeit not the only one.

    One more point to consider about this topic is that the Jihadi eduction system forms something of a trap for any nation allied to Israel. As warm relations with the Jewish State are an obvious consequence of being an Israeli ally, it places an onus upon the leaders of those countries to adopt a policy of daylight with Israel so as to mollify the antisemitic masses within the allied nation. Education reform is a vital first step to any meaningful peace between Israel and the nations with which she is allied, and the lack of such reforms may go a long way towards understanding why Israel’s most recently acquired ally, the UAE, has taken to prominently present itself as Israel’s greatest critic of late, perhaps.

  6. I am concerned about that but Mudar had to appeal on the basis of
    Democracy. What he will do once he is elected the first time regarding calling an election remains to be seen.

  7. @Ted

    “Then there will be new elections”

    Not so comforting. Found this article about Pew survey from 2009

    “In the predominantly Muslim nations surveyed, views of Jews were overwhelmingly unfavorable. Nearly all in Jordan (97 percent), the Palestinian territories (97%) and Egypt (95%) held an unfavorable view. Similarly, 98% of Lebanese expressed an unfavorable opinion of Jews, including 98% among both Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims, as well as 97% of Lebanese Christians…But Pew poll finds only 35% of Israeli Arabs express bad opinion of Jews.”

    https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/poll-90-percent-of-me-views-jews-unfavorably

    Find that last sentence strains credulity. for obvious reasons after the last year.

  8. @Ted, if it did not matter if I believe it, you would not have to provide a response. I frankly do not believe anything Mudar says. If it occurs and has a good result great. I have no hatred for him or you! Simply do NOT put any stock on all these so called things he says or does not say.

    Emirates will not be facts either until they occur. Nir Barkat talking about they may have been a trial balloon and not speculation.

  9. @Bear

    Israel is likely to try individual Palestinian Emirates and the Sheik of the Local Tribe or other leaders as Nir Barkat has recently mentioned.

    That is pure speculation. Mudar gave you the facts in his speech. He did not mention that an Emirate may be set up in Hebron.
    That is under discussion and I have written about it.
    I am not trying to convince you. Mudar and I are telling you what’s coming. Whether you believe it or not is of no concern.

  10. @MIRIB
    Your reference is to what Mudar said in his speech entitled, “Jordan’s Future Between the Abraham Accords and an Arab NATO” delivered at my Webinar a year ago.
    Mudar was not giving his opinion so much as he was talking about what is actually happening. He mentioned all the agencies he is working with to usher in the New Jordan. They all recognize that Hashemite monarchy is over. What he said is finally coming to pass.

    Now his reference to Areas A and B is what they are all talking about. In some fashion he, New Jordan, will be responsible for managing A and B. but he didn’t go into much detail. Don’t worry about it. In the short run the Arabs will be there and he will replace the PA.

  11. @Ted, Israel may as events unfold (PA un-going collapse) get rid of the current terrorists and leaders in the area including Judea & Samaria.

    Israel is likely to try individual Palestinian Emirates and the Sheik of the Local Tribe or other leaders as Nir Barkat has recently mentioned. As mentioned these have been the most successful Arab governance style.

    As I said seeing is believing and we will see what happens. I know you believe in Mudar but until I see something on the ground I do NOT!

  12. @Ted- I’m watching the first video and stopped to ask you: what is Mudar saying about Areas A & B in Israel in his list of the new Arab NATO Cololition? Already I don’t like that. That is ISRAEL, not a separate entity of his new Arab dream list. How many of them hold Jordanian passports? as well as Israeli passports! Let them go to Jordan if Mudar is talking about them playing a part in his new arab world.

  14. @ Ted, correct Rome was not built in a day!

    Not one Arab Country is democratic in nature. Very few Arabs appear to favor democracy. Arabs have a long history of the strongest man or the man who can inspire the strongest and most ruthless to follow him and control the rest of the population.

    I see nothing in Jordan that one would believe differently. Hopefully I err but seeing is believing. When I see it I will believe it.

    I believe if the Mullah’s in Iran fall they have more of a chance to become a democratic nation than Jordan. They have an internationally recognized leader in the son of the Shah who is promoting democracy for Iran. Many Iranians follow him.

    I see nothing or no one in Jordan that is similar to Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran. He travels everywhere including Israel and is a significant personality.

    I am sorry Ted, Mudar could not even enter Israel in 2019. So I see no evidence that he has the clout and backing to control Jordan or that Jordan’s King will fall anytime soon. Even if he falls I believe Jordan will either break up into warring clans or a strongman will eventually appear to control the country.

  16. @SEBASTIEN
    The king will abdicate and Mudar will be appointed to run the country and hold elections for the purpose of passing the constitution. Then there will be new elections. Something like that, I hope.

  17. @Ted What will he do with the existing parliament?

    Just the latest outrage

    Jordan: Member of Parliament praises ‘martyr’ who killed IDF soldiers

    “.. After his words, the members of the Arab Parliament stood and read the Sura in memory of the terrorist.

    Atiyah is known as a member of the parliament who is hostile to Israel, Israel Hayom noted. The Arab Parliament is the representative body of the Arab League.”

  18. Notice Date above 2021. It is now 2023 and the Monarchy in Jordan is still in power. These false announcements have lead to a severe credibility gap.

  19. Sounds excellent. And also, though not mentioned, It is a “s\trump” speech for the new political assumption of approval form the people of Jordan.

    They are saying that no one can offer more than we can. TAKE it and you’ll be happy. It will be a new world.