Al Hayat columnist says Jordanian, Moroccan approach to Arab Spring proved successful

AMMAN — Jordan and Morocco have turned the challenging Arab Spring into an opportunity and a source of positive energy, drawing from the harmony between their peoples and the leaderships, which is a distinctive quality of the two Arab monarchies, argued Jamal Khashoggi.

In an opinion piece published Saturday in the pan-Arab London-based Al Hayat newspaper, Khashoggi said Jordan and Morocco have survived the turmoil that accompanied the Arab Spring uprisings, not through force but through reforms.

The veteran journalist and columnist added that the Jordanian and Moroccan “recipe” has found solutions not only to the Arab Spring uprisings but also to political Islam, which is a source of worry to other Arab regimes.

In Jordan, the writer said, His Majesty King Abdullah has opened the door for all political powers to participate in the reform endeavour and the decision-making process, but some of them, mainly the Muslim Brotherhood, have passively decided to remain isolated.  

In Jordan, new political powers are gaining ground and will one day replace the Brotherhood movement, which will marginalise itself more if it refuses to participate in the next elections, expected to bring the Kingdom’s first ever parliamentary government, said the columnist.

Quoting King Abdullah’s recent remark that Jordan’s major problem is not political but economic and that development is the major priority, Khashoggi noted that in a country like Jordan, where the population increases by one million each year whenever a neighbouring country collapses, development must be the foremost priority.

But this development requires security, stability, partnership between officials and experts, and accountability from Parliament, not authoritarian rule, the writer said, adding that, with security being the major guarantee to development, Parliament has endorsed a new package of constitutional amendments granting the King the sole power to appoint the army and intelligence chiefs and not the elected prime minister.

Khashoggi is a Saudi journalist, columnist, author and general manager of the upcoming Al Arab News Channel. 

He previously served as a media aide to Saudi Prince Turki Al Faisal while he was Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States. 

Khashoggi has written for various Arab dailies and weeklies, including Asharq Al Awsat, Al Majalla and Al Hayat, and was editor-in-chief of the Saudi-based Al Watan. 

He has worked as a foreign correspondent in Afghanistan, Algeria, Kuwait, Sudan and other Middle Eastern countries.