Name—King Hussein
Date of death—Sunday at 11:43 a.m.
Age—63
Cause of death—Lymphatic cancer. Fought a seven-month battle against the cancer. He had been unconscious on a respirator for two days after returning home to Jordan last week to die.
Services—Funeral to be held Monday, just 24 hours after his death, in keeping with Islamic tradition. The funeral will be an enormous procession through Amman.
Background—Jordan plunged into mourning for its beloved king. The weather was unusual as a rare, dripping fog shrouded the city after the king died. Distraught citizens sobbed in the streets. World leaders converged on the desert kingdom in an amazing united showing of grief for the statesman who built bridges for peace in the turbulent Middle East. Jordan crowned an untested new monarch: King Abdullah, Hussein's eldest son. King Abdullah is 37 years old. He was sworn in just four hours after the death of his father. He was sworn in before Parliament. Jordan was determined that the transition be swift and smooth.
Quotation—An announcer on Jordanian television said: "Even the sky is crying."
Description—Black flags fluttered from the few taxicabs on the streets. The wail of Koranic verses of mourning filled the country's mosques and residents wept openly on the sidewalks of Jordan's hilly capital.
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Background—King Hussein was known for his far-reaching abilities as a mediator and leader—skills that lifted Jordan into a place of international prominence. Clearly, the respect for King Hussein was apparent because his elaborate state funeral drew people from around the world and across the political spectrum.
More background—Courtiers, Jordanian officials and members of the royal family had kept a vigil at the king's bedside for two days as thousands of citizens sobbed at the hospital gates. With him were his dozen children and his wife, the American-born Queen Noor.
More background—King Hussein had survived repeated assassination attempts as he walked the tightrope of Mideast politics. The tensions of the region were a factor in the elaborately plotted protocols of the state funeral. The Israeli delegation, for example, was scheduled to be kept closer to Western leaders than to leaders from harder-line Arab states, according to palace sources.
Quotation—King Abdullah, a veteran military man but a political novice, paused in front of the life-size portrait of his father and said: "This is God's judgment and God's will. God have mercy on Hussein the father, the brother, the commander and the man.… We will preserve Hussein's legacy."
More background—President Clinton and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton were to be in attendance at the state funeral.
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Exercise 13.8
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2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education