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The media
and freedom of the press in Jordan:
Prepared by Hani Hourani, George Hawatmeh and Said Essoulami.
Sindbad Publishing Hourse, 1998. 190 pages (Arabic; summaries
in English).
The UJRC
held a seminar just before the 1997 parliamentary elections,
in collaboration with Article 19 (The International Center Against
Censorship) and the Arab and International Center for Media
Studies, in order to assess the progress of the Jordanian media
and press during the phase of democratic transformation. The
proceedings include the views of various press and media trends,
political forces, and non-government organizations as well as
the demand to enact a modern press and publications law. Former
Information Minister Ibrahim Izzulddin reviews the impact of
press and publication laws on the freedom of press and expression
in the 1990s, and researcher Marcel Pot reviews the conditions
of the press since the democratic process was launched. Basim
Sakijha analyses the impact of the amendment to the Press and
Publication Law of 1997 on the press and Journalists. Toby Mendel,
chief of the legal Section at Article 19, explains the international
legal framework for freedom of the press. Attorney Asma Khader
examines the amendments and Isa Jahamani, former director of
the Press and Publications Department, gives his view on the
cabinet decision to suspend several weekly newspapers. The third
chapter sheds light on the new realities facing the press. Taher
Al-Adwan, chief editor of Al-Arab Al-Yawm, discusses the conditions
of the daily newspapers, Nidal Mansour discusses the weekly
newspapers, nad Mahmoud Al-Rimawi reviews the experience the
party press. The fourth chapter deals with the position of the
parliament and the judiciary towards freedom of the press, in
part based on a paper by attorney and former parliament deputy
faris Al-Nabulsi. Attorney and former Supreme Court President
Fahed Abu Al-Uthum discusses the Judiciary and freedom of the
press. Hasan Abdallah Ayed, a researcher at the Ministry of
Culture, examines parliamentary media and the press. The fifth
chapter discusses the elections and the mass media. Saeed Essoulami,
head of the Middle East and North Africa Section in Article
19, reviews international principles and criteria related to
the use of the media in election campaigns. Hani Hourani discusses
the position of the official media toward the political parties
and the last Jordanian elections. Chapter six discusses the
question of information technology, the press, and the public.
Rami Khouri-writer and Journalist of the Jordan Times, discusses
the public's perception of the mass media. Usamah El Sheriff,
chief editor of The Star, discusses the impact of the information
revolution on Jordan. Finally, the book The Media and heedom
of the press in Jordan the roundtable deliberations about the
future of the press and the media in Jordan. It also includes
the text of Supreme Court decision number 226/97 and various
cartoons and summaries of the topics in English.
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Jordanian
Political Parties:
Prepared
by a team of researchers at the UJRC, supervised by Hani Hourani.
Sindbad Publishing House, 1998. 213 pages (Arabic).
Jordanian
Political Parties provides a comprehensive guide and indispensable
reference to the nineteen parties that existed in 1998. it lists
each party's program, organization, parliamentary representation,
leading figures, date of establishment, number of founders,
addresses and telephone numbers. The UJRC had issued a guide
to political parties in Jordan in 1993, it which it introduced
17 seventeen parties that were registered with the government
it accordance with political parties law number 32 of 1992,
together with an appendix on four parties that were registered
later. The new guide contains an introduction by Hani Hourani
of the history of party life from 1921 to November 1997, followed
by chapters on parties will Islamic, nationalist, leftist and
centrist trends. The guide includes an appendix on the centers
parties that merged with the Constitutional National Party.
Hourani concludes: "Political parties in Jordan stand at
a decisive crossroads. The results they achieved in the last
election are no the only indicator of the decline of their presence
in Jordanian society and public life. They at also retreating
in parliament, and its is an indicator that should not be overlooked
or excuse by the election boycott. Other indicators show the
retreat of the position and influence political parties in the
various aspects of public life and the organization of civil
society.
Hourani blames the political parties for lacking the minimum
conditions needed to be serious parties-insufficient membership,
lack of financial power, lack of a media platform, lack serious
representation in parliament, and lack of enrollment of intellectuals.
The lack of the conditions All these faders weakens political
parties' ability to attract citizen and deprive then of the
chance to exert effective influence over the policies of the
state.
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The
Muslim Brotherhood Group in Jordan:
By Ibrahim Gharaybeh.
Sindbad Publishing House, 1997. 301 pages (Arabic).
Researcher Ibrahim Gharybeh, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood
(MB), analyzes it history, political experiences, and patterns
of performance in Jordanian public life. He divide its history
into four phases: the founding phase (1946-1952), the rise of
Arab nationalism an leftist parties (1953-1967), the rise of
Islamic movements (1968-1989), and the democratic transformation
since 1989. Gharatbeh then reviews the basic principles of the
MB, its political and reformist platform, its ideological and
theoretical line, is organizational structure and activities,
and the way it educates its members. He discusses MB politicians'
perceptions of such issues as democracy, pluralism, freedoms,
public rights, minorities, women, and political participation,
as well as their general views on reform of the individual and
society. He analyzes the MB's political performance in parliamentary
and party work, national and international issues, the Palestinian
issue, and the executive branch of government. This is followed
by an analysis of the MB's experience in the public, development,
and pastoral fields, including voluntary work and charity societies,
mosques, municipalities, trade union and student activities,
and the press, media, and publications. The last chapter addresses
issues that will face the MB in the future, including the society
and the state, social and economic interactions, organizational
interactions and dynamism within the Islamic movement, social
and cultural transformations in the Arab World and the world
at large, future positions they may occupy, and their perception
of the Palestinian issue. The appendices contain resumes of
prominent MB figures the 1945 Regulations governing the work
of the MB, the 1976 articles of association, the 1982 International
Organization of the MB, the Financial Regulations, and the sources
of funding.
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Islamic
Movement and Organizations in Jordan:
Edited by Hani Hourani and Hussein Abu Rumman.
Sidabad Publishing House, 1998. 294 (Arbaic and English).
This book
Islamic Movement and Organizations in Jordan is part of the
program on "Studies on Political Islam" that UJRC
initialed in 1995 to delve deeper into the study of contemporary
Islamic movements that have a political nature and to compare
these movements with each other. Ali Abdul Kazim, a sociologist
at the University of Jordan, covers the historical and ideological
background of the Muslim Brotherhood Group (MB) on the organizational,
political, and social levels. He also address the qualitative
changes at each levels and the development of MB's relationship
with the government and political movements since the 1950s.
Researcher Ibrahim Gharaybeh discusses the political and organizational
performance of the MB which reflects it stands towards domestic
policies, party and parliamentary action, and relations with
the government. Taleb Awad, political and economic researcher
at UJRC, outlines the MB's organizational structure and activities
from its establishment in 1946 to 1996.
He reviews its political achievements, based on coexistence
with the Jordanian political regime and participation in parliamentary
life. He discusses the future role of the MB in light of the
current situation and of its ideological foundations. Ahmad
Jamil Azem, researcher in international affairs, provides a
historical review of the establishment of the Islamic Action
Front party, its official licensing, and the problems that emerged
when it was founded, particularly with non-MB members (independents).
He discusses its achievements, the growth in its membership,
the election of the Shura Council, and its performance in various
phases as well as its handling of important issues such as "one
man, one vote," the Middle East peace process, and its
position toward the executive branch of government. He discusses
the problem of the relationship between the party and the MB.
His research paper is based on an earlier UJRC book by Hani
Hourani, Taleb Awad, and Hamed Dabbas. Zaid Ayadat, researcher
in political science, reviews the difference views within the
Islamic movement on the issue of political participation and
assesses the participation of the Islamists' voluntary and social
work. He introduces Islamic and charitable societies in terms
of the size of their membership and financial resources. He
discusses the role of women in these societies increasing Islamic
influence on the popular level, and the fact that Islamic organizations
are enhancing their enhancing their political influence through
these societies. Hamed Dabbas describes associations engaged
in Islamic work in Jordan. He summarizes their political, charitable,
and cultural activities in his review of three groups, and political
parties, seventy two, charitable, societies, four Islamic centers
and institutes, and four Islamic committees and clubs. In the
final chapter, Hani Hourani considers the future of the Islamic
movement by examining the challenge of transforming into a modern
political and democratic movement by examining the challenge
of transforming into a modern political and democratic movement
and the impact of the internal crisis on the Islamic movement.
He assesses the movement's experience after it decided to boycott
the 1997 parliamentary elections. The book Islamic Movement
and Organizations in Jordan contains appendices, important documents,
and a brief guide to the Islamic organizations, societies, institutions,
parties, and movement.
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The
Political Awareness of the Sources of Treat to Arab National
Security: The views of Intellectuals in Jordan:
By Basim
Tubasi.
UJRC and Sindbad Publishing House, 1997. 144 pages (Arabic)
Basim Tubasi
defines sources of threat and Arab national security priorities
in order to formulate an Arab national security doctrine based
on political participation and democratic expression. He chooses
a quantitative approach that facilitates reaching clear, accurate
and scientific results. He first discusses the theoretical approaches
and methods and next discusses the political environment in
the 1990s. the final chapter analysis the results of a poll
of the public's awareness of the sources of threat to Arab national
security. Tubasi argues that this threat is posed by inter-Arab
conflicts, some of which have reached the point of explosion.
Threats are also posed by domestic challenges that, in some
Arab countries, represent a bleeding wound that undermines their
potential and capability. Moreover, threats are posed by regional
conditions pertaining to the Arab-Israeli conflict and relations
with other neighboring countries.
There is also the international dimension, which is interlocked
with the regional and local ones dimensions. Other complications
are caused by the policies of major countries or alliances that
influence international relations. Tubasi strongly advocates
that the Arab nation should exercise its right to choose its
political and social systems and strengthen its cultural identity.
He approaches this issue from a political-cultural standpoint
rather than a purely military standpoint.
Perhaps the more important conclusion of this pioneering study
is that in the last decade, fifty nine 59 years after the Arab-Israeli
conflict, the source of threat to Arab national security have
become multi-faceted, particularly on the regional level. Thus,
the Arab political mind must conduct a comprehensive reformulation
that takes into consideration the need for democratic expression
to "instill the Arab national convictions into the conscience
of the Arab masses, particularly the belief in Arab nationalism
and the basics of Arab national security; this is the role which
the Arab elite and opinion leaders should play".
The study offers a profound analysis of the degree of political
awareness of the source of threat to Arab national security.
It represents a serious effort to enhance and deepen awareness
of national security and enable decision-makers and researchers
to use accurate and objective information.
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The
Algerian Crisis: Where to?:
By Hatem Rashid.
Sindbad Publishing House, 1998, 71 pages (Arabic)
This symposium was published on the tenth anniversary of the
events that led to political and party pluralism in Algeria,
during the era of President Chadi Ben Jadid. Discussants include
Bassam Al-Umoush, Jordanian Minister of Administrative Development
and former parliament deputy representing the Islamic Action
Front Party, Agerian journalist Baujadah Alawah, and Al-Arabi
Al-Kharyrouni, counselor at the Aglegrian embassy in Amman.
Author Hatem Rashid provides historical background on Algeria,
covering culture, population, the colonial period, and its impact
on inherited structures of society. He casts light on the struggle
of the National Liberation Front and the roots of the current
crisis. He discusses Pan-Arabism, Berber intellectuals, the
impact of culture and education, and language dualism in public
life. He examines the economic factor, the characteristics of
development and industrialization, the roots of party life,
party aspirations, the impact of Islamic currents, and relationships
between the Islamic currents, on the one hand, and other political
parties and the military authorities, on the other. Rashid also
analysis the results and implications of the parliamentary elections
and the violence that followed. He discusses the dimensions
of the Algerian crisis and ways of overcoming this crisis.
Publications can be ordered from Hani Hourani, Director General,
Al-Urdun Al-Jadid Research Center, P. O. Box. 940 631, Amman
11194, Jordan; Fax (962 6) 5533118; email: [email protected].
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The
Jordanian Economy in its Regional and International Framework:
Edited by B. Kay Abbabi.
Publishing House, 1998. 545 pages. (English)
This book The Jordanian Economy consists of the working papers
and the comments which were submitted to the conference of "The
Jordanian Economy in its Regional and International Frameworks".
The conference was organized by the Al-Urdun Al-Jadid Research
Center, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, and The University of
Pennsylvania? Philadelphia University during the period from
26 to 29 May 1996 at the Royal Cultural Center in Amman. The
Minister of Planning, Dr. Rima Khalaf, deputizing for the prime
minister in his capacity as sponsor of the conference, in addition
to economic experts and academics from Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine,
Syria, Iraq, and experts from the Federal Republic of Germany
and the United States of America participated in the conference.
The book consists of 11 eleven chapters. The first chapter deals
with the Arab economies: from international to regional transformations,
regional developments and the world economic crisis. The second
chapter deals with the Jordanian economy within the framework
of the likely scenarios of regional alliances. The four subsequent
chapters covered the following sectors of the Jordanian economy:
Water, agriculture, industry, transportation, banking, the stock
market, and foreign trade. The seventh chapter deals with the
requirements of the structural adjustment of the Jordanian economy.
The eight chapter deals with the economic role of the state
in a liberalized Arab economy (the case of Jordan). The ninth
chapter reviews the works of the roundtable on "The Middle
East and the Future Arab Economic Cooperation and integration.
"Finally, the eleventh and last chapter discusses the working
papers of the conference's preparatory committee.
These focuses open the door for researchers, decision makers
and persons interested in such topics to review and examine
the various dimensions of the challenges which the Jordanian
economy is facing within its regional and international frameworks.
In fact, such a through presentation of the topics mentioned
above makes this book a modern, indispensable reference on the
Jordanian economy and the economies of the Arab region.
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