NationStates Jolt Archive

Queen Rania of Jordan is seated behind an enormous desk in her office in Amman with three cameras trained on her.

Two of them are ours, the third belongs to her staff, who are about the film the latest edition for her personalised channel - or V-log - on the video-sharing website YouTube.

It is the seventh video she will have posted since she made her online debut in March. Speaking in English, she asks people to suggest stereotypes they have heard about the Arab world so she could "break them down one by one".

King Abdullah's wife may not be the only public figure tapping into the popularity of YouTube - politicians and monarchs worldwide have created sites.

But as a prominent Arab using the internet to try to engage with the west and promote moderate Islam, she stands out from the crowd.

"My teenage son is a man of very few words and his response was 'cool', so I guess it's got to be good," she jokes.

YouTubers seem to agree with him: so far over two million people have watched her videos (a combination of posts from her and contributions from various musicians, comedians and local Jordanians).

By putting herself online, Queen Rania is opening herself to the criticism of millions of people.

"When I first broached the idea of doing YouTube some people looked at me as though I must have completely lost the plot," she confides.

"I do feel that our world is in a bit of a crisis at the moment," she says. "Violence has overtaken dialogue and compassion has lost out to anger. I'm hoping this will become a channel of communication between east and west because I very much think our world is in dire need of that."

Unlike the YouTube sites belonging to the British royal family or the UK government site, which don't allow comments and disable any discussion, Queen Rania's channel actively encourages them.

People have written a plethora of opinions on her page ranging from the adulatory, to the engaging, and the angry.

It's not exactly an online conversation. She can pick and choose which of the comments she responds to.

But she hasn't shied away from the tough issues: the rights of Arab women, honour killings, religion and terrorism have all been addressed.

And as one of the most photographed women on the planet, Queen Rania understands the power of the visual image.

"A lens is something through which you can really reach out to people and get your message across," she says.

It might be one of the reasons why, despite the crowd of cameras, staff and crew engulfing her, she manages to do her piece to camera in one take, with no hesitations, and no mistakes.

Queen Rania plans to end her V-log on 12 August, International Youth Day, but already she says it was move worth taking.

"By putting myself on YouTube I'm really putting myself out there, throwing myself into the thick of things. But it's a gamble worth taking.

"As Muslims we need to stand up and speak out about who we are. If we want to defy stereotypes we have to start defining ourselves and we're not going to do that just by sitting quietly at home expecting people to just get it."


(link (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7524933.stm))

Her YouTube channel is here (http://fr.youtube.com/user/QueenRania).

Here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Rania) is the article about her on Wikipedia.

Prepare for spam.

C'est le fair doos etc.

what is a Queen doing voicing her political opinions?

I do believe thats grounds for deposing in the UK at least :mp:

Queens are fun... they bake the best cookies... :)

what is a Queen doing voicing her political opinions?

In Jordan, the Royals have political power. It's not a democratic country - no matter queen Rania's agreeable appearance, it is not a nice country to live in.

Queens are fun... they bake the best cookies... :)
I would like to taste a queen's cookie...

That's a great initiative...

And she's BEAUTIFUL! Holy, that woman looks like a goddess!

She's pretty good in other aspects too.

In Jordan, the Royals have political power. It's not a democratic country - no matter queen Rania's agreeable appearance, it is not a nice country to live in.

Still a good initiative, by someone that doesn't have much control of the system but is using it...

Good to see someone who actually has influence encouraging and utilizing active and open discussion.


Now the country just needs to continue moving forward.

Arabs? On my youtube?

In Jordan, the Royals have political power. It's not a democratic country - no matter queen Rania's agreeable appearance, it is not a nice country to live in.

True, but I think Jordan is more.... liberal than most in that region - particularly say Syria and the Bassads (similar type of First Lady). And I'm pretty sure Jordan is a Constitutional Monarchy.

Arabs? On my youtube?

They're worse than fenians, the slippery bastards.

she's pretty hot...

she's pretty hot...

Yup, that's how royalty should look. :D

Can anyone say, "YouTube Poop"?

she has great incites and she's beautiful! It seems like she is certainly doing a better job at running a country then a certain president.

I think it's great.

This is probably the best approach. Here's somebody who's well known, speaks well, speaks English well, is charismatic, is attractive, and is showing a very positive approach.

This is what needs to happen. She's using pop culture to get the word out. Very smart. She has credibility. She's using it well.

I'm actually a big fan of Queen Rania; despite what many people might think, I think she's trying very hard to bring changes to a corrupt system from the inside, and her efforts aught to be applauded.

She's the closest thing Earth has to Chaotic Good / Neutral Good / Lawful Good Forgotten Realms royalty. :D

And of course the Liberal Media will pretend this didn't happen and wait for the next suicide bombing in Iraq or Afghanistan to go back on their love affair with The Evil Muslim Terrorist Hivemind.

I've always respected Queen Rania. She and Abdullah have had some big shoes to fill, and done well.

what is a Queen doing voicing her political opinions?

I do believe thats grounds for deposing in the UK at least :mp:

Not in Jordan.

In Jordan, the Royals have political power. It's not a democratic country - no matter queen Rania's agreeable appearance, it is not a nice country to live in.

Give it a rest, and see below. The family have done a lot of good for Jordan, and it's not an easy place to run. But if you want to see what it could be like, all you have to do is see what the neighbours are up to.

Good to see someone who actually has influence encouraging and utilizing active and open discussion.

Now the country just needs to continue moving forward.

Jordan is doing well. With little resources an an awful lot of immigrants to keep out of trouble, a lot of good has been done, particularly in "invisible" things like getting decent water, sanitation, power and telecoms into remote areas. Some things still suck though.

she has great incites and she's beautiful! It seems like she is certainly doing a better job at running a country then a certain president.

She isn't the ruler, but she is good at her job, and is a good statesman (or stateswoman, but that just doesn't work in English... clumsy language sometimes)

I think it's great.

This is probably the best approach. Here's somebody who's well known, speaks well, speaks English well, is charismatic, is attractive, and is showing a very positive approach.

This is what needs to happen. She's using pop culture to get the word out. Very smart. She has credibility. She's using it well.

I agree. It's very hard for anyone in the middle east to directly make a reasonable and rational debate with the west through mainstream channels. I like this idea, especially as it allows meaningful, but not chaotic, interaction, where both sides can put their points forward.

And of course the Liberal Media will pretend this didn't happen and wait for the next suicide bombing in Iraq or Afghanistan to go back on their love affair with The Evil Muslim Terrorist Hivemind.

'Fraid so. ZOMG! Ebil m0sl3mz r takin' over teh 1nt3rw3bz...