Queen Rania Highlights Importance of Showing the True Face of Islam in Interview with Rai Uno

You came here and you gave a message about Islam. Do you there are many misunderstandings about Islam?
 
Queen Rania: We came to Ambrosetti to look at many solutions to the many problems and challenges facing our world today. And obviously the issue of terrorism is one that we have to look at. We find that more recently Islam has been used as an excuse for many extremists to carry out some terrorist acts, and I believe that this has really affected the image of Islam and there have been many misunderstandings and its really important for us to really show the true face of Islam and to show that it is a religion of tolerance respect, equality and that these are the values that are held not only in Islam but also for Christians and Jews around the world. So at a time when the headlines are making us focus on our differences, I think that it is very important to focus on our commonalities and to show that these are all ideals that we hold close to our heart. 
 
Jordan is a victim of terrorism. What do you think is necessary to do to isolate extremism and terrorism?
 
Queen Rania: Well I believe that all countries in the world today feel quite vulnerable to terrorism. I don’t think any nation or any people could say that they are immune to this danger that faces us. And it's important for us to realize that it is not a problem that is going to disappear over night. It is going to take a lot of time, a lot of commitment. But looking at the nature of the threat that we face today it's quite different. Terrorism has always existed but now it seems to be an ideological war. And we really need to look at fighting this ideology of terrorism. And to do that, not only do we have to take action on the ground, be more rigid and have security measures, but we have to really look at how this kind of ideology thrives. And it seems that it always thrives in areas where there is frustration, where is a feeling of despair, or unfairness, injustice, where you have communities that are feeling disenfranchised. So we have to draw people in and make sure that they are given the opportunity and they have hope in the future. And very importantly we have to also solve some of the areas of conflict in our world today. For example, the Palestinian-Israeli struggle, the situation in Iraq. Once these are dealt with and once the situation is improved for people, I think it'll take away from the terrorist ability to recruit people on the basis and feed from their frustration.
 
Tomorrow you will receive the citizenship of Milan. What kind of feeling you have with the city and with Italy, with this country?
 
Queen Rania: Well I've always believed that there is a very special bond and connection between Italy and Jordan and I myself have a very special place in my heart for the Italian people. I don’t know if you know but I had a baby seven months ago and as a result of the past period I've really been slowing down my activities and my work and I'm very glad that this is one of the first major working trips that I do after having the baby and I'm very glad that this happened to be in Italy. I'm very honored and humbled by the citizenship. It tells me that the Italian people and in Milan in particular, are people that are very open to other societies. Me being an Arab and Muslim woman is proof that Milan wants to reach out, that it is a cosmopolitan city, that it wants to reach out to other cultures, to learn, to build bridges of understanding, and I think this is a testament to the Italian people…and as I said I'm very honored and humbled and I just hope that this is just a continuation of our very strong bond that ties us together.

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