Queen Noor of Jordan receives Woodrow Wilson award at Princeton's 100th Alumni Day

posted on: Feb 27, 2015

Throughout her life, Queen Noor of Jordan has played many roles: Princeton University student, social rights activist, president of the United World Colleges, New York Times best selling author, and of course, Queen of Jordan.

On Saturday, Queen Noor became the recipient of Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson award given to alumni who follow in Wilson’s mission of world peace and his call to service.

The Richardson Auditorium at Princeton University was packed with more than 1,000 people for the school’s 100th annual Alumni Day as Queen Noor accepted the award.
As part of the ceremonies, Martin D. Eakes, a community organizer and economic strategist, received the James Madison medal.

During her speech, Queen Noor recalled her time at Princeton in the first co-ed class for the university and highlighted the inequalities that people are still facing every day in the Middle East.

“What goes on here has repercussions far beyond the ivy walls and Gothic arches,” said Queen Noor, a member of Princeton’s class of 1973.

For the Queen, the wake up call during her college years occurred when she was heading to a civil rights protest at Fort Dix and was met with tear gas, she said. This pushed her to fight for justice not only in the United States, but around the world.

Queen Noor was born Lisa Najeeb Halaby in Washington, D.C. and in 1978 she became the first American-born queen of an Arab country when she married the late King Hussein.

“Despite our very different backgrounds, we share the same ideals,” Queen Noor said.

She said those goals focused on justice and humanitarianism. And she cautioned against those who advocate violent means to resolve the ongoing injustice in the Middle East.

“The anger that all this injustice breeds cannot be bombed away,” she said. “Western war on Islam allows extremist groups to find common ground.”

In addition to being an advocate for nuclear disarmament, the Queen also spoke about inequalities between men and women in the Middle East.

“The oppression of women in Islamic parts of the world are not because of Islam, but in spite of it,” said Queen Noor, who converted from Christianity to Islam after she married King Hussein.

She said that King Hussein “believed deeply and passionately” in the true Islamic concepts: peace, equality, and justice.

“Peace is inseparable from equality between men and women,” she said.

Queen Noor’s presentation acted as a call-to action and emphasized that everyone can work to fight injustices and inequalities. Her speech drew a standing ovation from the crowd.

“Whatever your field, you can make it a platform for service,” she said.

Source: www.nj.com