Queen Rania of Jordan sent a scathing message about the Islamic State during an address to the Abu Dhabi Media Summit in the United Arab Emirates, saying the terror group was trying to “hijack” the Arab world.
The monarch, age 44, also said the group was trying to “drag us back to the Dark Ages” via its social media messages and videos depicting beheadings of prisoners, the Daily Mail reported.
“A minority of irreligious extremists is using social media to rewrite our narrative and hijack our identity,” she said, the Daily Mail reported. “That’s what ISIS is doing to the Arab world and all of us.”
She spoke specifically of the beheadings and said: “These images don’t represent me any more than they represent you. They’re alien and abhorrent to the vast majority of Arabs … and they should make every Arab across this region seethe.”
Ms. Rania also said those Muslims who stayed silent on the beheadings were actually aiding and abetting the terrorist group.
“At the heart of the assault is an ideology,” she said, the Daily Mail reported. “And if you think you can defeat an ideology with a bullet, think of what happened when Osama bin Laden was killed. Sure he died, but his legacy is an even stronger, more twisted extremist movement. We must create a new narrative and broadcast it to the world. Because if we don’t decide what our identity is and what our legacy will be, the extremists will do it for us.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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