wfn.org | NCCCUSA Statement on Death of King Hussein

[CAROL_FOUKE.parti@ecunet.org (CAROL FOUKE)]

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
Internet: news@ncccusa.org

Contact: NCC News, 212-870-2227

15NCC2/8/99

A Statement on the Death of King Hussein
by
The Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell
General Secretary
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA
February 8, 1999

We have been saddened deeply by the death of King Hussein of 
Jordan after a long struggle with cancer.  Like many others, 
we had dared to hope that he would recover from his latest 
setback, as he has previously.  We offer our condolences to 
his wife, Queen Noor, to his son and heir King Abdullah II, 
to his children, to all the Hashemite royal family and to 
the people of Jordan, who have lost a long-serving, strong 
and capable ruler, and a brave, compassionate, sincere and 
humane man.  We ask God to be present to them to guide and 
comfort them through this time of grief and mourning.

Throughout the years of his reign, King Hussein has been a 
voice of wisdom and moderation, seeking to balance the many 
competing demands and conflicting trends that have 
characterized the life of Jordan and the region in his near 
half century as king.  He has been a spokesperson for peace 
with justice, which he embodied in the treaty of peace 
between Israel and Jordan.  He has given much of himself to 
the struggle for a just peace between Israel and the 
Palestinians, even leaving his medical treatment to provide 
crucial assistance to the conclusion of the Wye agreements.  
Few other individuals have done more for the peaceful 
resolution of Middle East conflicts than King Hussein.

At the same time, under his leadership Jordan has been 
transformed into a modern nation with honest and effective 
governance and an open society.  Of special note to us are 
the efforts that King Hussein and others have made to 
enhance good relations and promote dialogue among persons of 
different religious faiths, during a period when religion 
has often been used divisively and has become a source of 
conflict.

Over the years of his reign, many delegations and visitors 
from the U.S. churches have received cordial and gracious 
welcomes from the King, his family and members of his 
government.  He and his government were always open to 
exchange views with the U.S. Christian community, which has 
been of great benefit as we have sought to bear our own 
witness for peace.  Dialogue with King Hussein personally in 
1979 played a crucial role in the formation of the NCCCUSA 
Policy Statement on the Middle East, adopted by the 
Governing Board in November, 1980, that has served ever 
since as the foundation of the NCCCUSA's ecumenical activity 
and public witness on the Middle East.  

In our loss, we are comforted by the knowledge of the 
sincere faith in God that sustained King Hussein through 
many painful tests and trials in his life.  May God the 
Merciful receive him into the gardens of Paradise and grant 
him peace eternally.

-end-
 -0-