Joel C.Rosenberg in Jordan

On Thursday, my first meeting was with His Royal Highness Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad, a member of the royal family and a descendant in the line of the Prophet Muhammad. The Prince is the Chief Advisor to the King for Religious and Cultural Affairs and the King’s Personal Envoy to Islamic, Christian and Jewish leaders all over the world. He helps lead Jordan’s initiative on inter-faith dialogue, which is a special priority of the King. As such, he has played a key role in the visits of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict to visit Jordan. He is currently overseeing the upcoming trip of Pope Francis to Jordan later this month. He also oversaw the King’s initiative to grant land to several Jordanian Christian church denominations to build worship centers along the Jordan River and facilities at the “official Baptism site.”

My conversation with the Prince was off the record, but I can say that we met for over two hours and I was deeply impressed with this man, his intellect, and his personal warmth and hospitality. I was also intrigued by how passionate he and his King (who also happens to be his older cousin) are to battle against religious extremism, define and defend a moderate expression of Islam, and to build bridges of friendship with the Christian world. Amen.