NEWSWEEK: Why did you write the book? NOOR: I wrote it because after my husband’s death, many people [asked me] to share my perspective on living in two different cultures. Like my husband, I have a conviction that there is much more that binds [American and Arab] culture than separates us. I feel a responsibility to highlight our common ground so that both cultures can work together to resolve conflicts peacefully. My husband is the hero of the book; his search for peace is the central theme, and yet it’s not meant to be a definitive historical or political account.
What’s your reaction to the American invasion of Iraq? In the Middle East, birthplace of the three monotheistic faiths, people have been tested for a long time. That’s why I pray at this very difficult juncture that the common values shared by the children of Abraham, as my husband always emphasized, will come to the fore. The only security that will [produce] peace must be based on human needs, and its weapons are education, economic opportunity and a political voice for the people. As my husband said after the 1967 war, the precondition for peace is justice, and when we have justice in the Middle East, we will have peace. It’s that simple. And that means social, economic and political justice, especially where the Palestinians are concerned.
Will the demise of Saddam Hussein be a good thing for the region? I don’t look at it as a question of one man. I look at it as a question of whether people–Iraqis, Jordanians, Israelis, Palestinians–can have a voice in the decisions that affect their lives, in choosing their leaders and in having hope and opportunity.
Isn’t that the idea behind this war–to bring democracy to Iraq and the region? My husband said many years ago that his vision for Iraq was that it should be democratic, pluralistic and an example of tolerance, and play a vital role in the search for peace in the Middle East. I’m not taking a position on the Bush administration or any other government in the Middle East; I’m not at liberty to do that. But in my experience, I’ve only seen war as a multiplier of suffering. That said, I’m looking beyond the war and pray that it will end as quickly as possible for everyone. I see families on all sides suffering every day.
King Hussein tried to act as a mediator in the first gulf war, tried to find an Arab solution to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, and was vilified for it, wasn’t he? He was. He was often vilified, by both sides, for acting on principle. At the outset of that crisis, he called for the immediate withdrawal of Iraqi forces. He pressed Saddam. But that was overlooked by those who vilified him. He wanted to reverse that occupation under Arab auspices. He hoped military action could be averted so there’d be no civilian casualties, environmental destruction and political polarization in the region. Since that war, extremism has increased considerably. People are angry and frustrated. I think there’s hope for the future, but it means redirecting our security focus away from military and confrontational postures and toward human development and political freedom.
Would you like to see the Bush administration aggressively tackle the Palestinian-Israeli problem? I think it’s absolutely critical that the “road map” agreed to by the so-called quartet be implemented as soon as possible. There is no question but that peace and stability in the region will only derive from [a just solution]. If you look at the war in Kuwait and now Iraq, there was the rapid pursuit of international legitimacy backed up with military power. That stands in stark contrast, in the minds of most Arabs and Muslims around the world, with the dozens of U.N. Security Council resolutions on the Palestine issue that have been ignored.
