Princess+Grace+of+Jordan

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=**__Her Majesty Queen Noor al Hussein of Jordan __**=

- Basic Information o Current City: I move between Maclean, VA, and Amman, Jordan frequently. o Hometown: Washington, DC, USA o Sex: Female o Birthday: August 23, 1951 o Political Views: I favor Palestine, but I choose not to be too vocal about it. o Religious Views: Christian at birth, Sunni Muslim upon marriage o Bio: I was born on August 23, 1951, in Washington, DC as “Lisa Najeeb Halaby” of Syrian, British, and Swedish descent. I obtained my secondary education from the National Cathedral School, where I was born and raised. I briefly attended the Chapin School in Manhattan, New York, went onto the Concord Academy in Massachusetts, and finished my education with a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture and Urban Planning. After graduating, I moved to Australia, and became interested in Arab culture. Once offered a job aimed at redesigning the city of Tehran, Iran, I accepted immediately. Later on, my father offered me a job in order to redesign Jordanian airlines. After the death of King Hussein’s third wife, Alia, I developed a relationship with him that started as a friendship, but turned into a romance. I became engaged to be his fourth wife in 1987. I renounced my religion and my United States’ citizenship, as well as changed my name from Lisa Halaby to Noor al-Hussein, which means “Light of Hussein.” Although initially, the people of Jordan disdained my becoming Queen because I was American, but I proved myself to be truly concerned about the needs of Jordan. Hussein and I had four children: our sons Hamzah and Hashim, and our daughters Iman and Raiyah. I have always tried to stay involved with politics, but attempt to do so “behind the scenes,” because in the past I have been criticized for it. In order to continue our family’s reign over Jordan, I encouraged Hussein to name his eldest son, Abdullah, as his successor rather than his brother, Hassan. After Hussein passed, Abdullah became King. I attempt to play an active role in the relations between the Arabic and the Western realms, in order to further understanding between the two cultures. There are several institutions and organizations that I have established, and that I play an active, professional role in. My efforts are focused on topics such as My sincerest hope is that my organizations and foundations contribute positively to the forward progress of not simply Jordan, but many other countries around the world.

o Favorite Quotations: Regarding my title as Queen after Hussein's death: "What is important about me is independent of all that. What is important of everybody in life is independent of all that. And what is important about my husband was also independent of that," - **__Relationships__** o Mother: Doris Carlquist o Father: Najeeb Halaby o Daughters: Princess Iman of Jordan, Princess Raiyah of Jordan o Sons: Prince Hamzah of Jordan, Prince Hashim of Jordan o Brothers: Christian Halaby o Sisters: Alexa Halaby - **__Likes and Interest__** o Activities: Twitter, Reading, Debating o Interests: Travelling, Cultural Differences, International Relations, Urban Planning o Music: Amr Diab, Carlos Santana, Jack Johnson, Ahmad Sherif o Books: __Leap of Faith__, __To Kill A Mockingbird__, __1984__ o Movies: "Countdown to Zero," "Titanic," "Lawrence of Arabia" o Television: Al Jazeera News, The Style Network, The History Channel - **__Education and Work__** o High School: The Chapin School (Manhattan), and the Concord Academy (Massachusetts) o College/University: Princeton University o Employer: The People of Jordan

In the News/Out in Public: Simply Me: **
 * My Husband and I:

**GROUP 1: The Jordanian Royal Family Club (**[|**http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thejordanroyalfamilyclub/**]**) -** Upon seeing this group, I knew it was practically my duty as queen dowager of Jordan to join this group of my peers I have grown to know and love over the course of my marriage with Hussein. I sincerely hope my sister-in-law is not a member of this group as well, though. She and I have been having "problems" with eachother recently... Hopefully we can get these petty issues resolved! -** As a member of the growing faith of Islam, I felt compelled to join this group dedicated to the furtherment of the religion of Sunni Islam. There are two different divisions of Islam: Sunni and Shiite. Our beliefs differ greatly, so I joined the group pertaining to my personal sect of the Islam religion. -** I am an alumnus of Princeton University. This group reminds me of the wonderful times I had in college. Through this group, I will be able to connect with both graduates and current students to compare life from when I was in college to nowadays at Princeton. - I obtained a BA in Architecture and urban planning from Princeton, and as a follow-up to my joining of the Princeton University group, I thought I would join this group as well. As I said for the Princeton University group, this group will be able to connect myself, new urban planners, and graduates of urban planning programs. I can share my experiences from working in Australia, and in designing the new Tehran. - Wow! A group dedicated exclusively to me! I feel honored that Yahoo users would dedicate an entire group to me, so I believe they would be honored if I joined. I will quite enjoy sharing personal stories with persons interested in knowing more about me! - I feel that I am a powerful woman, and I try to portray myself as a classy person. Looking forward to connecting with other empowered, independant women, I feel this group will be able to expand my social horizons. Perhaps the members of the group will be women from different backgrounds than myself, and I will be able to learn from them. - This group will be a good, solid, connector between my Sunni Muslim group and my Powerful Women group. This group unites women from Islamic backgrounds, in order to spread ideas and tolerance. Some women in Islam feel oppressed, so this group will help women to feel more "free." - As the queen dowager of Jordan, I need to stay updated with news in the Arab world. This group will serve as a news tool when I am checking my other groups. I need to stay updated with the current events of Jordan and other countries around the Arabian sphere. -** In order to become the Queen of Jordan, I had to renounce the faith I grew up with, Christianity, in order to adopt Islam. There are many similarities and differences between the religion of my childhood with the religion of my adulthood. This group will provide an excellent tool for discussion about Christianity and Islam. - Although this group has a strange title, its message is clear. This group is dedicated to the abolition of nuclear weaponry from the world; a cause which I completely agree with. I have founded and become a member of several organizations all about this same cause of nuclear nonproliferation.
 * GROUP 2: Sunni Islam (**[|**http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sunni_Muslim/**]**)
 * GROUP 3: Princeton University (**[|**http://groups.yahoo.com/group/princetonuniversity/**]**)
 * GROUP 4: Urban Planning (**[|**http://groups.yahoo.com/group/urbandesign/**]**)**
 * GROUP 5: Queen Noor al Hussein of Jordan (**[|**http://groups.yahoo.com/group/queennooralhussein/**]**)**
 * GROUP 6: Powerful Women (**[|**http://groups.yahoo.com/group/women-of-power/**]**)**
 * GROUP 7: Sisters Only (**[|**http://dir.groups.yahoo.com/group/Sisters_Only/?v=1&t=directory&ch=web&pub=groups&sec=dir&slk=3**]**)**
 * GROUP 8: Arab News (**[|**http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/ArabTimes/**]**)**
 * GROUP 9: Christian-Muslim (**[|**http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/ArabTimes/**]**)
 * GROUP 10: Abolition Global Caucus (**[|**http://groups.yahoo.com/group/abolition-caucus/**]**)**

-** [|**http://quizilla.teennick.com/quizzes/result/16678269/7615029/**] - My result was Dawn. I agree with my result, because it labelled me as laid-back and calm. I try my best to let the small things slide, and only worry about what really matters. However, my result mentioned being shy with friends, which I most certainly am not. -** [|**http://quizilla.teennick.com/quizzes/result/16573741/7587206/**] - My result was Air. This result was similar to my result in the previous quiz. "Air" is described as calm, serene, and free, which I feel confidently describing myself as. Another aspect of this result connected strongly with me: the desire to take risks only if they will be "worth it." This holds most definitely true for me, as I only take risks if I'm sure the reward will justfy my risk. -** [|**http://quizilla.teennick.com/quizzes/result/16502375/7567302/**] - This quiz was more for fun than to really reveal anything about myself. My result was "Hubba Bubba," which reminds me of the gum I'd had as a child in Washington, DC. Our only flavor was bubblegum-flavored, and I would barter with my classmates for gum in gradeschool. -** [|**http://quizilla.teennick.com/quizzes/result/16329128/7515705/**] - Although I had hoped to recieve the result of Athena, goddess of wisdom, I recieved Hera, wife of Zeus. In an odd way, this reflects my personal life as wife of King Hussein, who ruled over Jordan until his death. Zeus ruled over all the Greek gods, with Hera at his side, as Hussein ruled over all of Jordan, with me at his side. - [|**http://quizilla.teennick.com/quizzes/result/14245704/7238480/**] - I am astounded with my quiz result of "soft." I have always thought of myself as a strong, outgoing woman who never lets nominal troubles overshadow the big picture. One aspect of my result labelled me as both "yin and yang," meaning that I look at issues and controversies from both sides before choosing a side. I wholeheartedly agree with this statement, although the classification as "soft" does not really fit me.
 * QUIZ 1: What Time Of Day Are You?
 * QUIZ 2: What is Your Inner Element?
 * QUIZ 3:What Kind of Gum Are You?
 * QUIZ 4: Which Greek Goddess Are You?
 * QUIZ 5: What is your Inner Self Like?**

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