Amman, Nov. 2 (Petra) -- His Majesty King Abdullah II's emphasis in the Speech from the Throne on the concept of "one Jordanian family" carries profound national and social messages, reflecting the importance of safeguarding national identity and strengthening the values of loyalty, belonging, and tolerance in the face of anything that could undermine society's security and stability, sociology and family counseling experts said.

In remarks to the Jordan News Agency (Petra), they said the king's reference to the Jordanian family went beyond the traditional meaning of a family, establishing an inclusive national concept based on the unity of Jordanians, regardless of their intellectual, social, or religious backgrounds.

They stressed that genuine belonging to the homeland is reflected in one's positions, conduct, and participation in protecting the country and preserving its achievements. Safeguarding the unity of the Jordanian family, they added, is a shared responsibility that begins within the household and extends to all state institutions and society.

Professor of Political Sociology Bader Madi said the Speech from the Throne delivered by King Abdullah carried profound national messages in both its timing and content, particularly in light of the shock experienced by Jordanian society following the crime in the village of Hmoud in Karak and the acts accompanying it, which he described as contrary to Jordanians' deeply rooted values, morals, and traditions.

Madi said the king had chosen to begin his address to the nation, not merely to Parliament, by underscoring the concept of one Jordanian family. This sent a clear message to every member of society that those who commit such terrorist acts and violate the country's values and the morals of its people do not represent this family and do not belong to its national and ethical fabric.

He noted that the deeper significance of the king's message lay in the fact that Jordanians, despite their different intellectual, social, religious, and political backgrounds, form one family united by their sense of belonging and loyalty to Jordan. Any attack on one member of this family, he said, calls for a unified national response commensurate with the gravity of the incident and the scale of its repercussions.

Madi stressed that Jordanian identity, as reflected in the royal message, was not merely a matter of geographical belonging or a sub-identity but an inclusive framework embodying social cohesion, mutual affection among Jordanians, and positive competition in serving the country and its citizens. National identity, he said, must take precedence over all other sub-identities, with efforts united in the service of Jordan, its stability and its future.

He said protecting this cohesion was a shared national responsibility requiring the integration of Jordanian society's deeply rooted values with the awareness of security institutions and the role of the Jordan Armed Forces, alongside the Hashemite leadership's efforts to safeguard national unity and promote tolerance and coexistence.

Jordan's strength, he added, lies in the cohesion of its people and their ability to confront challenges in the spirit of one family.

Meanwhile, Professor of Psychological and Educational Counselling at the Faculty of Educational and Psychological Sciences at Amman Arab University Suhaila Mahmoud Banat said the king's description of Jordanian society as one family and his assertion in the Speech from the Throne that those who break away from and betray this family have no place among its members, was a profound and highly significant statements reflecting the central role the family plays in shaping individuals and society.

Banat said the family was the primary source of values, knowledge, cultures, customs, and traditions. Jordanian families, she noted, are distinguished by an authentic set of values and social norms based on solidarity, love, affection, mutual support, belonging and respect for others and their freedoms. These values help strengthen loyalty among members of society and deepen their ties to their country and its institutions.

She explained that the family was an integrated system of human relationships and interactions, whose functions extended beyond biological, psychological, social, and educational aspects to include a cognitive role in transmitting ideas and concepts to successive generations.

Such ideas could be positive, fostering belonging, responsible behavior, and constructive work, or negative, leading to defeatism and harmful attitudes towards others, she said.

Banat stressed that the king's remarks about the family carried important significance because they represented an integrated system founded on shared principles, values, and standards. Violating this system through practices that threaten its cohesion and harm its members contradicts the very essence of genuine belonging, she said.

She added that Jordanian families remained committed to their authentic customs, traditions, and values, which promote courage, solidarity, mutual support, and affection.

The Jordanian family, with its deeply rooted values, forms a cornerstone in protecting the social fabric and strengthening cohesion, Banat said, stressing that preserving these values was a shared responsibility beginning at home and extending to all societal institutions. This would ensure the upbringing of generations loyal to their country, committed to its service and capable of contributing to its progress and future, she added.

Director of Al-Thoria Studies Center Mohammad Al-Jraibei said the Speech from the Throne stood out in its domestic and foreign messages for its clarity, firmness, and directness, as well as for arguments that genuinely reflected Jordanian society's culture and national identity.

He said the king's emphasis on the concept of one Jordanian family reflected his commitment to consolidating an inclusive and cohesive national identity rooted in established culture, social norms, and traditions. This identity transcends religious and ethnic differences and places national belonging and identity above all other affiliations, he said.

Describing those responsible for acts that violate society's values as not representing the Jordanian family sent a clear message that extremist behavior had no connection with the morals or culture of the Jordanian people, Al-Jraibei added.

He stressed that Jordanian national identity served as a safeguard for society and a symbol of its cohesion. In recent years, he noted, values of belonging and shared national identity had gained greater prominence as a result of public awareness and the contributions of institutions, researchers, the media, and civil society organizations.

Jordanians, he said, rally around their unity, culture, customs, and traditions in times of hardship and challenge, embracing their national identity as the first line of defense for Jordan and its stability.

//Petra// AF