{"id":145533,"date":"2026-08-12T17:46:24","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T14:46:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ordonna.com\/?p=145533"},"modified":"2026-08-12T17:46:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T14:46:24","slug":"the-hashemites-and-jerusalem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ordonna.com\/ar\/blog\/the-hashemites-and-jerusalem\/","title":{"rendered":"The Hashemites and Jerusalem"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Hashemites and Jerusalem \u2014 A Legacy of Custodianship and Holy Sites<\/span><\/span><\/h5>

A Responsibility Across Generations<\/h2>\n

Jerusalem occupies a place unlike almost any other city in the world.<\/p>\n

Sacred to Muslims, Christians and Jews, its ancient streets contain places of worship, pilgrimage and memory that have shaped religious history for centuries.<\/p>\n

For Jordan and the Hashemite Royal Family, Jerusalem also carries a particular historical responsibility.<\/p>\n

Across generations, the Hashemites have supported the protection, restoration and preservation of Muslim and Christian holy sites in the city\u2014a relationship that predates the establishment of the modern Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan itself.<\/p>\n

The modern story reaches back to Sharif Hussein bin Ali, leader of the Great Arab Revolt and great-great-grandfather of King Abdullah II.<\/p>\n

In the early 1920s, concern was growing over the condition of Jerusalem’s Islamic holy sites, particularly the Dome of the Rock. In 1924, a delegation representing the Islamic Higher Council approached Sharif Hussein and explained the need for restoration.<\/p>\n

Sharif Hussein responded with a major financial contribution toward the work.<\/p>\n

That act became one of the foundations of a Hashemite commitment that would continue through successive generations.<\/p>\n

His son, Emir Abdullah bin Al Hussein\u2014the future King Abdullah I and founder of Jordan\u2014personally supervised restoration work and maintained a close relationship with Jerusalem throughout his reign.<\/p>\n

King Hussein bin Talal later oversaw major restoration projects at Al-Aqsa Mosque\/Al-Haram Al-Sharif and the Dome of the Rock, including extensive work to preserve one of the most recognizable religious monuments in the world.<\/p>\n

Today, King Abdullah II carries the Hashemite Custodianship of Jerusalem’s Muslim and Christian holy sites, continuing a responsibility inherited across generations.<\/p>\n

But this story is about more than monarchs.<\/p>\n

It is about buildings that have survived centuries.<\/p>\n

It is about mosques, churches, ancient stone, mosaics, domes, manuscripts and sacred spaces visited by generations of worshippers.<\/p>\n

It is about the people of Jerusalem whose lives remain connected with these places.<\/p>\n

And it is about an unusual historical relationship in which a Royal family’s responsibility toward a city beyond the borders of its own Kingdom has continued across more than a century.<\/p>\n

More Than a Political Relationship<\/h3>\n

To understand the Hashemite relationship with Jerusalem, it is important to look beyond modern political boundaries.<\/p>\n

The connection is religious, historical and custodial.<\/p>\n

At its heart is the preservation of places whose significance extends far beyond Jordan or Palestine.<\/p>\n

For Muslims, Al-Aqsa Mosque\/Al-Haram Al-Sharif is one of Islam’s holiest places.<\/p>\n

Within the same ancient city stand some of Christianity’s most sacred sites, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.<\/p>\n

The Hashemite Custodianship encompasses responsibility toward both Muslim and Christian holy sites, making the preservation of Jerusalem’s religious character central to the story.<\/p>\n

Over the decades, that responsibility has taken different forms.<\/p>\n

Sometimes it has meant financing restoration.<\/p>\n

Sometimes it has meant rebuilding structures damaged by fire, conflict or the passage of time.<\/p>\n

Sometimes it has involved supporting Jerusalem’s religious institutions and communities.<\/p>\n

And increasingly, it has also involved diplomatic and legal efforts intended to safeguard the holy sites, their identity and their historical and religious status.<\/p>\n

A Story Older Than Modern Jordan<\/h3>\n

This is what makes the Hashemite relationship with Jerusalem particularly remarkable.<\/p>\n

When Sharif Hussein supported restoration work in Jerusalem in the 1920s, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan did not yet exist.<\/p>\n

Transjordan was still a young Emirate under his son Abdullah.<\/p>\n

Jordan would not achieve full independence until 1946.<\/p>\n

The custodial relationship therefore did not emerge as a later extension of Jordanian foreign policy.<\/p>\n

It formed part of the Hashemite story while the Jordanian state itself was still being built.<\/p>\n

From Sharif Hussein bin Ali to King Abdullah I, from King Hussein to King Abdullah II, successive generations would inherit that responsibility and reinterpret it according to the challenges of their own time.<\/p>\n

To understand that journey, we must return to its modern beginning.<\/p>\n

To Jerusalem in the 1920s.<\/p>\n

And to Sharif Hussein bin Ali.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Sharif Hussein bin Ali: The Beginning of the Modern Hashemite Custodianship<\/span><\/span><\/h5>

The modern chapter of the Hashemite relationship with Jerusalem begins with Sharif Hussein bin Ali, leader of the Great Arab Revolt and a central figure in the modern history of the Hashemite family.<\/p>\n

By the early 1920s, Jerusalem’s Islamic holy sites were in need of significant restoration and preservation work.<\/p>\n

In 1922, the Islamic Higher Council was established in Jerusalem, taking responsibility for protecting Islamic holy places and raising funds for urgently needed restoration work, particularly at the Dome of the Rock.<\/p>\n

The challenge was considerable.<\/p>\n

Centuries of exposure to weather, earthquakes, structural deterioration and the passage of time had left important parts of the sanctuary requiring specialist attention and substantial financial resources.<\/p>\n

In 1924, representatives of the Islamic Higher Council approached Sharif Hussein bin Ali and explained the condition of the holy sites and the need for restoration.<\/p>\n

Sharif Hussein responded with a major financial contribution to support the work.<\/p>\n

According to the Royal Hashemite Court’s detailed history of the First Hashemite Restoration, his contribution amounted to 38,000 gold lira\u2014a substantial sum that helped support restoration of the Dome of the Rock and the wider effort to preserve Jerusalem’s Islamic heritage.<\/p>\n

The 1924 Pledge<\/h3>\n

The year 1924 carried another important significance.<\/p>\n

On 11 March 1924, representatives of the people of Jerusalem and Palestine affirmed Sharif Hussein bin Ali’s custodianship of Jerusalem’s holy sites through a bay’ah, or pledge.<\/p>\n

Nearly nine decades later, this historical event would be explicitly recalled in the 2013 agreement between King Abdullah II and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reaffirming the Hashemite Custodianship.<\/p>\n

The agreement describes the custodianship as a responsibility affirmed to Sharif Hussein by the people of Jerusalem and Palestine and subsequently inherited by his Hashemite descendants.<\/p>\n

This gives the modern Hashemite relationship with Jerusalem an important dimension.<\/p>\n

It was not simply a financial contribution to restore an important monument.<\/p>\n

It developed into an enduring custodial responsibility associated with the preservation of the city’s holy sites and their religious character.<\/p>\n

Preserving a Sacred Heritage<\/h3>\n

The restoration supported by Sharif Hussein was significant because the Dome of the Rock is far more than an architectural landmark.<\/p>\n

Standing within Al-Aqsa Mosque\/Al-Haram Al-Sharif, its golden dome has become one of the most recognizable symbols of Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

The wider sanctuary is one of Islam’s holiest places, connected with Al-Isra’ wal-Mi’raj\u2014the Prophet Muhammad’s Night Journey and Ascension\u2014and revered by Muslims throughout the world.<\/p>\n

Preserving such a place therefore meant preserving religious heritage belonging not to one generation, but to generations of worshippers who came before and those who would follow.<\/p>\n

That principle\u2014preservation for future generations\u2014would become a recurring theme throughout the Hashemite restorations of Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

From Father to Son<\/h3>\n

Sharif Hussein’s contribution also established a responsibility that his family would continue.<\/p>\n

At the time, his son Abdullah was already establishing the institutions of the Emirate of Transjordan east of the Jordan River.<\/p>\n

Emir Abdullah bin Al Hussein personally supervised restoration work connected with Jerusalem’s holy sites, according to the Royal Hashemite Court, and continued this involvement during subsequent restoration work in the 1940s.<\/p>\n

The relationship was therefore already passing from one Hashemite generation to another.<\/p>\n

This pattern would repeat itself throughout the century.<\/p>\n

Sharif Hussein bin Ali.<\/p>\n

His son Abdullah.<\/p>\n

Later King Hussein.<\/p>\n

And today King Abdullah II.<\/p>\n

Each generation would encounter Jerusalem under different historical circumstances, and each would face different challenges in preserving its holy places.<\/p>\n

A Commitment Beyond Borders<\/h3>\n

There is something particularly important about the timing of this story.<\/p>\n

In 1924, Jordan did not yet exist as an independent Kingdom.<\/p>\n

Transjordan was still a young Emirate, and independence would not come until 1946.<\/p>\n

Yet the Hashemite commitment to Jerusalem’s holy sites was already taking shape.<\/p>\n

This is one reason the custodianship cannot be understood simply as a feature of modern Jordanian diplomacy.<\/p>\n

Its roots reach into the period when the Jordanian state itself was still being formed.<\/p>\n

The Hashemite responsibility toward Jerusalem and the development of modern Jordan therefore grew alongside one another.<\/p>\n

And soon those two stories would become even more closely connected.<\/p>\n

The Beginning of a Century-Long Responsibility<\/h3>\n

Sharif Hussein bin Ali could not have known all the challenges Jerusalem would face over the century that followed.<\/p>\n

War would damage its holy places.<\/p>\n

Fire would threaten Al-Aqsa Mosque.<\/p>\n

The Dome of the Rock would require repeated restoration.<\/p>\n

Christian holy sites would also need protection and support.<\/p>\n

Political conflict over Jerusalem would become one of the most difficult and enduring issues in the modern Middle East.<\/p>\n

Yet the responsibility established during this early period continued through all of those changes.<\/p>\n

The Royal Hashemite Court today describes King Abdullah II as having inherited the custodianship of Jerusalem’s Islamic and Christian holy sites through his Hashemite ancestors beginning with Sharif Hussein bin Ali.<\/p>\n

What began in the early twentieth century therefore became a responsibility carried across generations.<\/p>\n

And the next figure in that story would connect Jerusalem even more closely with the emerging Jordanian state.<\/p>\n

His name was Abdullah bin Al Hussein.<\/p>\n

He would become the founder of modern Jordan.<\/p>\n

And Jerusalem would ultimately become the place where his life came to an end.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

King Abdullah I and Jerusalem \u2014 A King’s Lifelong Connection to the Holy City<\/span><\/span><\/h5>

The Hashemite responsibility toward Jerusalem that began during the time of Sharif Hussein bin Ali soon passed to his son, Abdullah bin Al Hussein.<\/p>\n

For Abdullah, however, Jerusalem would become much more than a place connected with religious responsibility.<\/p>\n

The city would intersect repeatedly with his political life, the creation of Transjordan, the protection of the holy sites and, ultimately, the final moments of his life.<\/p>\n

Jerusalem and the Birth of Transjordan<\/h3>\n

Jerusalem appeared at a decisive moment in Abdullah’s story even before the establishment of the Emirate of Transjordan.<\/p>\n

After arriving in Ma’an in November 1920 and moving north to Amman in March 1921, Prince Abdullah met British Colonial Secretary Winston Churchill in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

Those discussions formed part of the political arrangements that led to British recognition of an administration in Transjordan under Abdullah’s leadership.<\/p>\n

Jerusalem therefore stood near the beginning of the political journey that would eventually lead to the creation of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.<\/p>\n

But Abdullah’s relationship with the city would soon extend far beyond politics.<\/p>\n

Continuing His Father’s Responsibility<\/h3>\n

When Sharif Hussein bin Ali supported the restoration of Jerusalem’s Islamic holy sites in the 1920s, Prince Abdullah became directly involved in the work.<\/p>\n

According to the Royal Hashemite Court, Emir Abdullah personally supervised restoration projects associated with the First Hashemite Restoration.<\/p>\n

He later supervised additional renovation work during the 1940s, when Egyptian technical expertise and materials were used in restoration projects.<\/p>\n

The pattern established by Sharif Hussein was therefore already becoming something larger than the actions of one individual.<\/p>\n

Responsibility was passing from father to son.<\/p>\n

And as Abdullah’s own political role developed\u2014from Emir of Transjordan to King of an independent Hashemite Kingdom\u2014his relationship with Jerusalem continued alongside it.<\/p>\n

Jerusalem After the War of 1948<\/h3>\n

The Arab-Israeli war of 1948 brought enormous change to Jerusalem and the surrounding region.<\/p>\n

Fighting caused considerable damage within the Old City.<\/p>\n

Al-Aqsa Mosque\/Al-Haram Al-Sharif was affected, while the roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre also suffered damage.<\/p>\n

Following the war, King Abdullah I visited Al-Aqsa and called for the restoration of the Mihrab of Zakariah as part of wider reconstruction work on structures that had been damaged.<\/p>\n

The significance of this moment extended beyond repairing buildings.<\/p>\n

Jerusalem contained sacred places belonging to both Muslims and Christians, and preserving that religious heritage became part of the Hashemite custodial responsibility.<\/p>\n

The King’s actions during the following year would demonstrate that commitment in an unusually personal way.<\/p>\n

The Fire at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre<\/h3>\n

In 1949, fire broke out at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.<\/p>\n

The church stands at the heart of Jerusalem’s Christian heritage and is one of Christianity’s most sacred places.<\/p>\n

According to the Royal Hashemite Court, King Abdullah I personally helped extinguish the fire, which damaged parts of the church.<\/p>\n

It is a striking episode in the history of the Hashemite relationship with Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

The Muslim Hashemite King was not simply supporting the restoration of Islamic holy places.<\/p>\n

He was personally involved when one of Christianity’s holiest churches was threatened.<\/p>\n

That moment helps explain an essential feature of the custodianship that continues today: the Hashemite responsibility in Jerusalem encompasses the protection of both Islamic and Christian holy sites.<\/p>\n

Mosques and churches form different parts of the same sacred city, and their preservation has remained intertwined within the Hashemite story.<\/p>\n

A King Closely Connected With Jerusalem<\/h3>\n

By this stage, Abdullah was no longer the young prince who had travelled north from the Hijaz.<\/p>\n

Transjordan had achieved independence in 1946, and Abdullah had become King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.<\/p>\n

Yet Jerusalem remained deeply connected with his life.<\/p>\n

His visits to the city, his involvement with its holy sites and his custodial responsibilities continued throughout his reign.<\/p>\n

The Royal Hashemite Court records that King Abdullah maintained his role as Custodian of Jerusalem’s holy sites throughout his years as monarch.<\/p>\n

Then, in 1951, the relationship between the King and the Holy City reached its final and most poignant chapter.<\/p>\n

20 July 1951<\/h3>\n

Friday, 20 July 1951.<\/p>\n

King Abdullah I travelled to Jerusalem to attend Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque.<\/p>\n

Accompanying him was his young grandson, Prince Hussein bin Talal\u2014the future King Hussein.<\/p>\n

As King Abdullah approached Al-Aqsa, he was assassinated.<\/p>\n

The founder of modern Jordan died in Jerusalem at the entrance to one of Islam’s holiest places.<\/p>\n

His grandson witnessed the assassination.<\/p>\n

Prince Hussein survived, and within little more than a year, history would place extraordinary responsibility upon the teenager who had accompanied his grandfather that day.<\/p>\n

He would become King Hussein of Jordan.<\/p>\n

From Abdullah to Hussein<\/h3>\n

King Abdullah I’s death marked the end of the founding generation of Hashemite Jordan.<\/p>\n

But it did not end the family’s responsibility toward Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

King Talal succeeded his father, and the Kingdom soon entered another period of transition.<\/p>\n

Then, in 1952, the throne passed to the young King Hussein bin Talal.<\/p>\n

The new King had already experienced Jerusalem in a way few people ever could.<\/p>\n

He had stood beside his grandfather on that July morning in 1951.<\/p>\n

Now he would inherit both the Kingdom his grandfather helped create and a Hashemite responsibility toward the Holy City that had already passed through generations.<\/p>\n

During King Hussein’s long reign, that responsibility would take on an extraordinary physical form.<\/p>\n

The Dome of the Rock would undergo major restoration.<\/p>\n

Al-Aqsa Mosque would face one of the most devastating fires in its modern history.<\/p>\n

And the young grandson who had walked beside King Abdullah I in Jerusalem would spend decades helping preserve the holy places his grandfather had worked to protect.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

King Hussein and Jerusalem \u2014 Restoring and Protecting the Holy Sites<\/span><\/span><\/h5>

For King Hussein bin Talal, Jerusalem was connected with both personal memory and royal responsibility.<\/p>\n

As a fifteen-year-old prince, he had been beside his grandfather, King Abdullah I, when the King was assassinated in Jerusalem on 20 July 1951.<\/p>\n

Little more than a year later, Hussein was proclaimed King of Jordan.<\/p>\n

He inherited a young Kingdom facing enormous political and economic challenges. He also inherited the Hashemite responsibility toward Jerusalem’s holy sites\u2014a responsibility that would become one of the enduring commitments of his long reign.<\/p>\n

During the decades that followed, King Hussein would oversee some of the most ambitious Hashemite restoration projects undertaken in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

His story with the Holy City would encompass preservation, war, fire, reconstruction and one of the most remarkable restorations of the Dome of the Rock in modern times.<\/p>\n

The Second Hashemite Restoration<\/h3>\n

The preservation of Jerusalem’s holy sites became an important responsibility early in King Hussein’s reign.<\/p>\n

During 1952 and 1953, restoration and maintenance work was undertaken on the Dome of the Rock.<\/p>\n

The structure faced serious problems.<\/p>\n

Its outer wooden covering had failed to prevent water from entering the building, while the exterior of the dome itself required attention.<\/p>\n

The restoration replaced the deteriorating outer wooden elements with stronger aluminium supports and gilded plates, helping protect the historic structure beneath.<\/p>\n

In 1954, King Hussein directed the establishment of the Jordanian legal framework for the Hashemite Restoration Committee.<\/p>\n

Under his supervision, restoration work extended beyond the Dome of the Rock to other important structures within Al-Aqsa Mosque\/Al-Haram Al-Sharif, including the Dome of the Chain, Sabil Qaytbay and the Women’s Mosque.<\/p>\n

The work continued for years.<\/p>\n

What had begun with Sharif Hussein bin Ali and continued under King Abdullah I was becoming an increasingly organized and institutional Hashemite commitment to the preservation of Jerusalem’s religious heritage.<\/p>\n

Jerusalem After 1967<\/h3>\n

The Six-Day War of June 1967 fundamentally changed the political situation surrounding Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

Israel captured East Jerusalem and the West Bank, territories that had been under Jordanian administration.<\/p>\n

For Jordan, the loss carried enormous political, military, human and religious significance.<\/p>\n

Yet the change in territorial control did not bring the Hashemite relationship with Jerusalem’s holy sites to an end.<\/p>\n

Jordan continued to maintain its role in the administration and care of the Islamic holy sites through the Jerusalem Awqaf, and King Hussein continued to regard their preservation as a Hashemite responsibility.<\/p>\n

Only two years after the war, that responsibility would face one of its greatest tests.<\/p>\n

21 August 1969 \u2014 The Fire at Al-Aqsa<\/h3>\n

On 21 August 1969, fire swept through the Al-Qibli Mosque within Al-Aqsa Mosque\/Al-Haram Al-Sharif.<\/p>\n

The blaze caused extensive damage to the historic interior.<\/p>\n

Among the greatest losses was the Minbar of Salah Al-Din.<\/p>\n

The magnificent wooden pulpit carried extraordinary historical significance.<\/p>\n

It had originally been commissioned by Nur Al-Din Zengi in the twelfth century and was later brought to Jerusalem by Salah Al-Din after his recovery of the city in 1187.<\/p>\n

For centuries, it had stood inside Al-Aqsa.<\/p>\n

The 1969 fire devastated it.<\/p>\n

The destruction became one of the most painful episodes in the modern history of Al-Aqsa Mosque and created an enormous restoration challenge.<\/p>\n

Jordan participated in repairing the damage caused by the fire, continuing a process of emergency restoration that would extend across subsequent decades.<\/p>\n

But recreating the Minbar itself presented an extraordinary problem.<\/p>\n

It was not simply a piece of furniture that could be replaced.<\/p>\n

It was a masterpiece of Islamic craftsmanship assembled through an extraordinarily sophisticated system of interlocking carved wooden pieces.<\/p>\n

Reconstructing it faithfully would require years of research, craftsmanship and dedication.<\/p>\n

The project would eventually cross from King Hussein’s reign into that of his son, King Abdullah II.<\/p>\n

Preserving the Dome of the Rock<\/h3>\n

King Hussein’s commitment to Jerusalem became particularly visible again toward the end of the twentieth century.<\/p>\n

By the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Dome of the Rock required another major intervention.<\/p>\n

The building had suffered from environmental deterioration and damage, and extensive restoration was needed to preserve both its exterior and interior.<\/p>\n

King Hussein ordered a comprehensive restoration.<\/p>\n

The project involved strengthening the structure, repairing the roof and restoring the famous dome that dominates Jerusalem’s skyline.<\/p>\n

According to the Royal Hashemite Court, King Hussein personally contributed substantially to the work. The Court records that in 1992 he sold his home in London, with the proceeds going toward the restoration project.<\/p>\n

It was an extraordinary gesture.<\/p>\n

The restoration of a seventh-century Islamic monument was being supported personally by a twentieth-century Hashemite King whose family had already spent generations caring for the holy places of Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

Restoring the Golden Dome<\/h3>\n

The restoration was technically demanding.<\/p>\n

The Dome of the Rock is one of the world’s most recognizable religious buildings, and any intervention had to protect both its structural integrity and its historic artistic character.<\/p>\n

The project included reinforcement and restoration of the dome and its infrastructure, while the exterior was covered with new gilded material that restored its extraordinary golden appearance.<\/p>\n

Thousands of gold-plated elements were used in the work.<\/p>\n

The restoration was completed during the 1990s, returning the dome to the brilliant appearance that continues to define Jerusalem’s skyline today.<\/p>\n

For King Hussein, however, the project represented something deeper than architectural preservation.<\/p>\n

It was another chapter in a responsibility inherited from his ancestors.<\/p>\n

Sharif Hussein had helped finance restoration of the sanctuary in the 1920s.<\/p>\n

King Abdullah I had personally supervised restoration work.<\/p>\n

King Hussein was now preserving the same sacred complex for another generation.<\/p>\n

Jerusalem and Jordan’s 1988 Disengagement<\/h3>\n

Another important moment came in 1988.<\/p>\n

King Hussein announced Jordan’s disengagement from the West Bank, a major political decision intended to support Palestinian national aspirations and the role of the Palestine Liberation Organization.<\/p>\n

But Jerusalem’s holy sites were treated differently.<\/p>\n

The Hashemite custodial responsibility was maintained.<\/p>\n

This distinction would prove extremely important in the decades that followed.<\/p>\n

The 2013 agreement between King Abdullah II and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas later explicitly recalled King Hussein’s 1988 disengagement decision and noted that the Jerusalem holy sites were excluded from it.<\/p>\n

The Hashemite relationship with Jerusalem therefore continued even as Jordan’s political relationship with the West Bank changed fundamentally.<\/p>\n

Peace Without Abandoning Jerusalem<\/h3>\n

In 1994, King Hussein signed the Jordan-Israel Peace Treaty.<\/p>\n

For a King who had experienced decades of war and regional confrontation, the treaty represented a historic transition toward formal peace.<\/p>\n

But peace did not mean abandoning Jordan’s role in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

Jordan continued to emphasize its historic responsibilities toward the holy sites.<\/p>\n

The custodianship remained part of the Kingdom’s relationship with Jerusalem and would continue into the reign of King Hussein’s successor.<\/p>\n

This is an important part of understanding King Hussein’s approach.<\/p>\n

War changed borders.<\/p>\n

Diplomacy changed relationships.<\/p>\n

Political circumstances changed repeatedly.<\/p>\n

But the Hashemite commitment to the holy sites continued through each of those transformations.<\/p>\n

A Restoration That Crossed Generations<\/h3>\n

One project perhaps symbolizes that continuity better than any other.<\/p>\n

The Minbar of Salah Al-Din, destroyed in the Al-Aqsa fire of 1969, remained absent from its historic location for decades.<\/p>\n

King Hussein gave particular attention to its reconstruction, but he did not live to see the completed Minbar returned to Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

He died on 7 February 1999.<\/p>\n

The responsibility passed to his son.<\/p>\n

Under King Abdullah II, Jordanian craftsmen and specialists continued the extraordinary work of reconstructing the historic Minbar using traditional techniques.<\/p>\n

King Abdullah II supported and supervised the project, and in 2007 the completed Minbar was installed in its historic place inside Al-Aqsa Mosque\/Al-Haram Al-Sharif.<\/p>\n

A monument destroyed during the reign of King Hussein had been restored during the reign of King Abdullah II.<\/p>\n

The project itself had crossed generations.<\/p>\n

From Father to Son<\/h3>\n

King Hussein’s relationship with Jerusalem lasted almost as long as his reign.<\/p>\n

He had first entered our Jerusalem story as a young prince walking beside his grandfather.<\/p>\n

Decades later, he had become one of the principal figures responsible for preserving some of the city’s most important Islamic monuments.<\/p>\n

Between those two moments lay war, political transformation, restoration and peace.<\/p>\n

But the custodial responsibility endured.<\/p>\n

When King Hussein died in 1999, his son King Abdullah II inherited much more than the throne of Jordan.<\/p>\n

He also inherited a Hashemite responsibility whose modern story had already passed through Sharif Hussein bin Ali, King Abdullah I and King Hussein.<\/p>\n

And under the new King, that responsibility would expand again.<\/p>\n

Restoration would continue.<\/p>\n

The Minbar of Salah Al-Din would finally return home.<\/p>\n

Christian holy sites would receive major Hashemite support.<\/p>\n

And a new Jordanian-Palestinian agreement would formally reaffirm a custodial relationship whose roots stretched back nearly a century.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

King Abdullah II \u2014 Carrying the Hashemite Custodianship Into the 21st Century<\/span><\/span><\/h5>

When King Abdullah II assumed his constitutional powers in February 1999, he inherited a Kingdom transformed by nearly half a century of his father’s leadership.<\/p>\n

He also inherited a responsibility much older than his own reign.<\/p>\n

The Hashemite Custodianship of Jerusalem’s Muslim and Christian holy sites had already passed through generations\u2014from Sharif Hussein bin Ali to King Abdullah I and King Hussein bin Talal.<\/p>\n

Under King Abdullah II, that responsibility entered the twenty-first century.<\/p>\n

The challenges were different, but the principle remained the same: to help preserve Jerusalem’s holy sites, protect their religious and historical character, support the institutions responsible for their care, and represent their interests through Jordan’s diplomatic and legal efforts.<\/p>\n

Completing a Promise Across Generations<\/h3>\n

One of the most symbolic projects of King Abdullah II’s reign began decades before he became King.<\/p>\n

The Minbar of Salah Al-Din had been destroyed in the devastating fire at Al-Aqsa Mosque in August 1969.<\/p>\n

King Hussein had supported efforts to reconstruct the historic pulpit, but the extraordinary complexity of recreating its intricate wooden structure meant that the project would extend beyond his lifetime.<\/p>\n

King Abdullah II carried the work forward.<\/p>\n

Specialists and craftsmen worked at Al-Balqa Applied University in Jordan to recreate the Minbar using traditional woodworking techniques and the complex interlocking geometric construction associated with the original masterpiece.<\/p>\n

In 2002, King Abdullah II personally placed the first decorative piece on the reconstructed Minbar.<\/p>\n

Four years later, he unveiled the completed structure.<\/p>\n

Then, in 2007\u2014almost thirty-eight years after the original had been destroyed\u2014the reconstructed Minbar of Salah Al-Din was returned to Jerusalem and installed in its historic position inside Al-Aqsa Mosque\/Al-Haram Al-Sharif.<\/p>\n

It was more than the restoration of a historic object.<\/p>\n

A project associated with King Hussein had been completed by his son.<\/p>\n

Once again, the preservation of Jerusalem’s heritage had crossed from one Hashemite generation to another.<\/p>\n

The Fifth Hashemite Restoration<\/h3>\n

The return of the Minbar formed only one part of a much wider program of restoration during King Abdullah II’s reign.<\/p>\n

Projects have included work on the southern and eastern walls of Al-Aqsa Mosque\/Al-Haram Al-Sharif, doors and windows, roofing, lighting and sound systems, historic fountains and domes, the Islamic Museum, and the interior marble, mosaics and plaster decoration of the Dome of the Rock.<\/p>\n

These projects illustrate an important reality about preserving ancient religious monuments.<\/p>\n

Restoration is never truly finished.<\/p>\n

Stone deteriorates.<\/p>\n

Roofs require repair.<\/p>\n

Decorative work must be conserved.<\/p>\n

Electrical, fire protection and other essential systems must be maintained without damaging historic structures.<\/p>\n

Preserving a sacred complex that has stood for centuries therefore requires continuing expertise, funding and attention.<\/p>\n

Under King Abdullah II, that work has remained an important part of the Hashemite custodial responsibility.<\/p>\n

The Hashemite Fund<\/h3>\n

In 2007, a new institutional framework strengthened that work.<\/p>\n

King Abdullah II established the Hashemite Fund for the Restoration of Al-Aqsa Mosque\/Al-Haram Al-Sharif and the Dome of the Rock under Jordanian law.<\/p>\n

The Fund was created to help provide the financial resources required for the continuing care, maintenance and restoration of these holy sites.<\/p>\n

Its establishment represented another stage in the evolution of the custodianship.<\/p>\n

What had begun generations earlier through direct Hashemite support for restoration had developed into an institutional system intended to preserve the holy places over the long term.<\/p>\n

The principle, however, remained remarkably consistent.<\/p>\n

Each generation inherited the responsibility to preserve what previous generations had protected.<\/p>\n

2013 \u2014 Reaffirming the Custodianship<\/h3>\n

A particularly important moment came on 31 March 2013.<\/p>\n

King Abdullah II and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas signed an agreement in Amman concerning Jerusalem’s holy sites.<\/p>\n

The agreement reaffirmed King Abdullah II’s custodianship and recognized his right to undertake legal efforts to safeguard and preserve the holy sites, particularly Al-Aqsa Mosque, defined in the agreement as the entirety of Al-Haram Al-Sharif.<\/p>\n

It also reaffirmed the King’s role in representing the interests of the holy sites in relevant international forums, overseeing and managing the Islamic Waqf institution in Jerusalem in accordance with Jordanian law, and preserving the religious, historical, cultural and physical character of the sites.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the agreement affirmed Palestinian sovereignty and the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

The significance of the agreement lay partly in bringing a much older historical relationship into a modern legal and political framework.<\/p>\n

A custodianship whose contemporary roots reached back to Sharif Hussein bin Ali was formally reaffirmed between Jordanian and Palestinian leadership nearly ninety years later.<\/p>\n

Protecting Christian Jerusalem<\/h3>\n

The Hashemite Custodianship is not limited to Islamic holy sites.<\/p>\n

The protection of Christian holy places and the preservation of Jerusalem’s Christian presence form another important part of the responsibility.<\/p>\n

This dimension became especially visible during King Abdullah II’s reign.<\/p>\n

In 2016, the King directed that restoration work be undertaken on the Holy Edicule\u2014the shrine surrounding the traditional site of the tomb of Jesus Christ\u2014inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.<\/p>\n

King Abdullah personally covered the costs associated with the Hashemite contribution to the project.<\/p>\n

The first phase of restoration was completed in 2017.<\/p>\n

Further work followed.<\/p>\n

King Abdullah later contributed part of the monetary award from the Templeton Prize, which he received in 2018, toward additional restoration at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.<\/p>\n

The Hashemite Fund and Jerusalem Awqaf restoration authorities have also supported work at the Chapel of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives.<\/p>\n

These projects continue a principle already visible in the story of King Abdullah I, who personally helped fight the 1949 fire at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.<\/p>\n

Across generations, the Hashemite responsibility has encompassed both the Islamic and Christian heritage of Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

Supporting the People Who Protect the Holy Sites<\/h3>\n

Buildings cannot be separated from the people who care for them.<\/p>\n

Jordan’s role in Jerusalem therefore extends beyond stone, mosaics, domes and restoration projects.<\/p>\n

The Jerusalem Awqaf Department and the personnel responsible for administering and maintaining Al-Aqsa Mosque\/Al-Haram Al-Sharif form an important part of the continuing custodial framework.<\/p>\n

Jordan supports this institutional presence and the people responsible for maintaining the sanctuary.<\/p>\n

At moments when the holy sites have been damaged, King Abdullah II has also directed new restoration work.<\/p>\n

Following damage at Al-Aqsa in 2021, for example, the King instructed that repairs be carried out through the Hashemite Fund and the Jerusalem Awqaf Department as part of the continuing Hashemite restoration program.<\/p>\n

The custodianship is therefore not simply commemorated as history.<\/p>\n

It functions through people, institutions and continuing work.<\/p>\n

Jerusalem in Jordan’s Diplomacy<\/h3>\n

Under King Abdullah II, Jerusalem has also remained one of the central themes of Jordanian diplomacy.<\/p>\n

The King has repeatedly raised the protection of Jerusalem’s Muslim and Christian holy sites in meetings with international leaders and institutions.<\/p>\n

Jordan’s position connects the preservation of the holy sites with a broader vision for peace.<\/p>\n

King Abdullah has consistently supported a negotiated two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and has emphasized the importance of Jerusalem to any lasting settlement.<\/p>\n

Within that wider diplomatic effort, Jordan has continued to defend the historical and legal status of the holy sites and the Hashemite custodial role.<\/p>\n

This adds another dimension to the meaning of custodianship in the twenty-first century.<\/p>\n

Restoration protects the physical structures.<\/p>\n

Administration supports their daily religious life.<\/p>\n

Diplomacy and legal action seek to protect their status.<\/p>\n

Together, these responsibilities form different parts of the same mission.<\/p>\n

A Responsibility, Not a Possession<\/h3>\n

Perhaps the most important way to understand the Hashemite Custodianship is through the idea of responsibility.<\/p>\n

Jerusalem is not presented within this story as something belonging to a Royal family.<\/p>\n

Its holy sites belong to religious traditions, communities and generations of worshippers whose connections to them reach across centuries.<\/p>\n

Custodianship means caring for what has been entrusted to one’s protection.<\/p>\n

That distinction helps explain why restoration occupies such a central place in the Hashemite story.<\/p>\n

The objective is not to remake Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

It is to preserve it.<\/p>\n

To protect ancient architecture.<\/p>\n

To maintain places of worship.<\/p>\n

To safeguard religious heritage.<\/p>\n

And to help ensure that future generations inherit the sacred places that previous generations inherited before them.<\/p>\n

From History Into the Present<\/h3>\n

By the reign of King Abdullah II, the Hashemite relationship with Jerusalem had already survived extraordinary historical change.<\/p>\n

The Ottoman Empire had disappeared.<\/p>\n

The modern states of the Middle East had emerged.<\/p>\n

Jordan had been founded and gained independence.<\/p>\n

Jerusalem had experienced war, division, occupation, fire and repeated political upheaval.<\/p>\n

Kings had died and generations had changed.<\/p>\n

Yet the custodial responsibility continued.<\/p>\n

Sharif Hussein bin Ali supported the restoration of Jerusalem’s holy sites in the 1920s.<\/p>\n

King Abdullah I carried that responsibility forward.<\/p>\n

King Hussein oversaw major restorations through decades of regional transformation.<\/p>\n

And King Abdullah II continues it today.<\/p>\n

More than a century after the modern Hashemite relationship with Jerusalem began, the responsibility remains alive\u2014not simply in historical memory, but in the restoration work, religious institutions, diplomatic efforts and people who continue to care for the Holy City’s sacred places.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

The Holy Sites \u2014 What the Hashemite Custodianship Protects<\/span><\/span><\/h5>

To understand the Hashemite Custodianship, it is important first to understand the extraordinary places at its heart.<\/p>\n

Jerusalem’s Old City contains sacred spaces connected with centuries of Muslim and Christian history. Some are known throughout the world, while others are smaller monuments, chapels, fountains, schools, gates and religious buildings whose stories are woven into the larger history of the city.<\/p>\n

The Hashemite responsibility toward Jerusalem encompasses both Islamic and Christian holy sites.<\/p>\n

At the center of the Islamic dimension stands Al-Aqsa Mosque\/Al-Haram Al-Sharif.<\/p>\n

And here, an important distinction is necessary.<\/p>\n

Al-Aqsa Mosque \u2014 More Than One Building<\/h3>\n

Visitors unfamiliar with Jerusalem sometimes use the name \u201cAl-Aqsa Mosque\u201d only for the large silver-domed building located toward the southern end of the sanctuary.<\/p>\n

That building is the Al-Qibli Mosque.<\/p>\n

But in the context of the Hashemite Custodianship\u2014and as explicitly defined in the 2013 agreement between King Abdullah II and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas\u2014Al-Aqsa Mosque refers to the entirety of Al-Haram Al-Sharif.<\/p>\n

The sanctuary covers approximately 144 dunums.<\/p>\n

It includes the Al-Qibli Mosque, the Dome of the Rock and the other mosques, buildings, walls, courtyards and attached areas above and beneath the ground, as well as Waqf properties connected with the sanctuary.<\/p>\n

This distinction is important because the Hashemite responsibility is not limited to maintaining a single mosque building.<\/p>\n

It concerns an entire sacred complex.<\/p>\n

Al-Haram Al-Sharif<\/h3>\n

Al-Haram Al-Sharif is one of the most important sacred spaces in Islam.<\/p>\n

Muslims associate Jerusalem with Al-Isra’ wal-Mi’raj\u2014the Night Journey and Ascension of the Prophet Muhammad\u2014and Al-Aqsa holds a central place in Islamic religious history.<\/p>\n

It is traditionally described as Islam’s third holiest mosque, after Al-Masjid Al-Haram in Mecca and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina. King Abdullah II has repeatedly emphasized its exceptional religious importance to Muslims around the world.<\/p>\n

The sanctuary itself contains layers of history extending across centuries.<\/p>\n

Its stone platforms, arches, gates, fountains, prayer spaces, schools, domes and courtyards form a religious landscape rather than a single monument.<\/p>\n

Preserving Al-Aqsa therefore means caring for this larger historical environment.<\/p>\n

The Dome of the Rock<\/h3>\n

At the center of the sanctuary stands its most recognizable landmark: the Dome of the Rock.<\/p>\n

Completed in the late seventh century during the Umayyad period, the structure is among the oldest surviving monumental works of Islamic architecture.<\/p>\n

Its extraordinary octagonal form, decorative mosaics, inscriptions and golden dome have made it one of the defining images of Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

The Dome of the Rock has also occupied a central place in the history of the Hashemite restorations.<\/p>\n

Sharif Hussein bin Ali contributed substantially toward restoration work in the 1920s.<\/p>\n

Emir Abdullah supervised restoration efforts.<\/p>\n

King Hussein later oversaw another major restoration, including the famous dome.<\/p>\n

And restoration and conservation work has continued during the reign of King Abdullah II.<\/p>\n

Few monuments demonstrate the generational nature of the Hashemite commitment as clearly as the Dome of the Rock.<\/p>\n

Four Hashemite generations have been connected with its preservation.<\/p>\n

The Al-Qibli Mosque<\/h3>\n

Toward the southern end of Al-Haram Al-Sharif stands the Al-Qibli Mosque.<\/p>\n

Its distinctive silver-colored dome makes it another of the sanctuary’s most familiar structures.<\/p>\n

This is the building many international visitors mistakenly identify as the entirety of \u201cAl-Aqsa Mosque.\u201d<\/p>\n

The distinction matters.<\/p>\n

The Al-Qibli Mosque is part of Al-Aqsa Mosque\/Al-Haram Al-Sharif\u2014not the whole of it.<\/p>\n

It was inside the Al-Qibli Mosque that the historic Minbar of Salah Al-Din stood for centuries before being destroyed in the devastating fire of 1969.<\/p>\n

Its reconstruction and return in 2007 became one of the most remarkable Hashemite restoration projects of the modern era.<\/p>\n

The story of the Minbar therefore connects one particular building inside the sanctuary with a restoration effort that stretched across the reigns of King Hussein and King Abdullah II.<\/p>\n

More Than the Famous Monuments<\/h3>\n

The Hashemite restoration story also reaches beyond the structures most visitors immediately recognize.<\/p>\n

Projects undertaken during successive restorations have involved walls, roofs, doors, windows, mosaics, marble, fountains, domes, terraces, prayer spaces and other historic elements throughout Al-Aqsa Mosque\/Al-Haram Al-Sharif.<\/p>\n

Among the structures restored during the reign of King Abdullah II are Sabil Qaytbay, Sabil Qasim Pasha and the Dome of the Chain, as well as sections of the sanctuary’s southern and eastern walls.<\/p>\n

The Islamic Museum has also formed part of Hashemite-supported restoration work.<\/p>\n

These smaller elements matter because a historic sanctuary survives through the preservation of its whole environment\u2014not only its most photographed monuments.<\/p>\n

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre<\/h3>\n

A short distance away, within the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City, stands one of Christianity’s most sacred places: the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.<\/p>\n

Christian tradition associates the site with the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

For centuries, pilgrims from around the world have travelled to Jerusalem to worship there.<\/p>\n

The church also occupies an important place in the history of Hashemite care for Christian holy sites.<\/p>\n

King Abdullah I personally helped fight a fire that damaged parts of the church in 1949.<\/p>\n

Decades later, King Abdullah II supported major restoration work at the church.<\/p>\n

In 2016, the King personally funded the Hashemite contribution toward restoration of the Holy Edicule, the shrine surrounding the traditional site of Christ’s tomb.<\/p>\n

He later contributed part of the monetary award from his 2018 Templeton Prize toward further restoration work at the church.<\/p>\n

The connection between these two moments is striking.<\/p>\n

King Abdullah I helped protect the church in the middle of the twentieth century.<\/p>\n

His great-grandson King Abdullah II supported its restoration in the twenty-first.<\/p>\n

Again, the story crosses generations.<\/p>\n

The Chapel of the Ascension<\/h3>\n

The Hashemite restoration effort has also reached other Christian holy places.<\/p>\n

On the Mount of Olives stands the Chapel of the Ascension, traditionally associated by Christians with the ascension of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

In 2017, restoration of the chapel was overseen by the Hashemite Fund for the Restoration of Al-Aqsa Mosque\/Al-Haram Al-Sharif together with the Hashemite Reconstruction Authority of the Jerusalem Awqaf.<\/p>\n

The project provides another example of how the custodial responsibility extends beyond the best-known landmarks and includes the broader Christian religious heritage of Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

One Holy City, Multiple Sacred Traditions<\/h3>\n

Jerusalem cannot be understood through only one monument or one community.<\/p>\n

Its significance comes partly from the extraordinary concentration of sacred history within a remarkably small area.<\/p>\n

Mosque courtyards and church bells belong to the same ancient cityscape.<\/p>\n

Pilgrims have travelled there for centuries.<\/p>\n

Generations have prayed there.<\/p>\n

Empires have fought over it.<\/p>\n

Communities have built their lives around it.<\/p>\n

And monuments have survived earthquakes, fires, wars and political transformation.<\/p>\n

The Hashemite Custodianship exists within this complex religious landscape.<\/p>\n

Its Islamic responsibility centers especially on Al-Aqsa Mosque\/Al-Haram Al-Sharif, while its broader custodial role also encompasses the protection and support of Christian holy sites and Jerusalem’s Christian presence. The Royal Hashemite Court describes the custodianship specifically in terms of Jerusalem’s Islamic and Christian holy sites.<\/p>\n

Protecting More Than Stone<\/h3>\n

A holy site is more than architecture.<\/p>\n

Without worshippers, clergy, custodians, guards, restorers and communities, even the most magnificent monument becomes only a historic structure.<\/p>\n

This is why the Hashemite responsibility extends beyond physical restoration.<\/p>\n

Jordan’s Jerusalem Awqaf institutions help administer and maintain Al-Aqsa Mosque\/Al-Haram Al-Sharif, while the Hashemite role also includes support for the preservation of Jerusalem’s Christian presence and holy places.<\/p>\n

Protecting Jerusalem’s religious heritage therefore means preserving both places and the religious life connected with them.<\/p>\n

It means maintaining buildings without erasing their history.<\/p>\n

Supporting worship while respecting sacred character.<\/p>\n

Preserving art, architecture and archaeological heritage.<\/p>\n

And helping ensure that the holy places remain living religious spaces rather than monuments belonging only to the past.<\/p>\n

A Heritage Entrusted to the Future<\/h3>\n

Seen this way, the Hashemite restorations form part of a much larger story.<\/p>\n

A piece of mosaic repaired today may have been created centuries ago.<\/p>\n

A wooden Minbar reconstructed in Jordan can return to the place where its predecessor stood for hundreds of years.<\/p>\n

A golden dome restored by one generation becomes part of the Jerusalem skyline seen by the next.<\/p>\n

A church protected by one Hashemite King can be restored decades later by his descendant.<\/p>\n

That is the deeper meaning of custodianship.<\/p>\n

The holy sites are inherited from the past.<\/p>\n

They are cared for in the present.<\/p>\n

And they are preserved for people who have not yet seen them.<\/p>\n

Jerusalem therefore represents more than a chapter in Hashemite history.<\/p>\n

It represents a responsibility passed from generation to generation\u2014with the expectation that the sacred heritage entrusted to each generation will survive for the one that follows.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Jerusalem’s Christians \u2014 A Living Heritage Under Hashemite Custodianship<\/span><\/span><\/h5>

Jerusalem’s Christian story reaches back to the earliest centuries of Christianity.<\/p>\n

For Christians around the world, the city is inseparable from the life, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Churches, monasteries, convents and pilgrimage routes preserve traditions that have drawn worshippers to Jerusalem for generations.<\/p>\n

But Christianity in Jerusalem is not only a story of ancient monuments.<\/p>\n

It is also a living heritage.<\/p>\n

Christian families, clergy, churches, schools and institutions remain part of the social and religious fabric of the city today.<\/p>\n

For the Hashemite Custodianship, protecting Jerusalem’s Christian heritage therefore means more than preserving historic buildings.<\/p>\n

It also means helping protect the Christian presence that gives those buildings life.<\/p>\n

Christianity at the Heart of the Holy City<\/h3>\n

Some of Christianity’s most sacred places stand within Jerusalem’s Old City and the surrounding landscape.<\/p>\n

The most important is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.<\/p>\n

Located within the Christian Quarter, the church is traditionally associated with two events at the heart of Christian faith: the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

Its interior contains a complex collection of chapels, shrines and sacred spaces shared by several Christian communities.<\/p>\n

Not far away, the Via Dolorosa follows the traditional route associated with Jesus on his way to the crucifixion.<\/p>\n

On the Mount of Olives and around Jerusalem stand other important Christian places connected with the final days of Jesus’s life, his teachings and the traditions of the earliest Christian communities.<\/p>\n

Together, these places have made Jerusalem one of the world’s great centers of Christian pilgrimage.<\/p>\n

A Christian Presence Across the Centuries<\/h3>\n

The Christian presence in Jerusalem long predates the modern political borders of the Middle East.<\/p>\n

For centuries, different Christian communities have maintained churches, monasteries, schools, charitable institutions and places of pilgrimage in the city.<\/p>\n

Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Armenian, Coptic, Syriac, Ethiopian, Anglican, Lutheran and other Christian traditions all form part of Jerusalem’s remarkable religious landscape.<\/p>\n

Their histories are different.<\/p>\n

Their traditions are different.<\/p>\n

But together they contribute to the Christian character of the Holy City.<\/p>\n

This diversity is important because preserving Christian Jerusalem does not mean protecting only famous monuments.<\/p>\n

It also means protecting the ability of Christian communities to continue worshipping, educating their children, maintaining their institutions and remaining part of the city whose history they helped shape.<\/p>\n

The Hashemite Tradition of Protection<\/h3>\n

The Hashemite relationship with Jerusalem’s Christian holy places has developed alongside its responsibility toward the Islamic holy sites.<\/p>\n

We have already encountered one powerful example.<\/p>\n

In 1949, King Abdullah I personally helped fight a fire at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.<\/p>\n

Decades later, his great-grandson King Abdullah II would support restoration of the same church.<\/p>\n

These events occurred in very different historical periods, yet they express the same principle.<\/p>\n

The religious heritage of Jerusalem cannot be divided into places worthy of protection and places that can be ignored.<\/p>\n

Its Islamic and Christian holy sites together form essential parts of the city’s identity.<\/p>\n

King Abdullah II has repeatedly described the Hashemite Custodianship in terms of protecting both Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem and safeguarding the city’s historic religious character.<\/p>\n

Restoring the Tomb of Christ<\/h3>\n

One of the most important modern examples came in 2016.<\/p>\n

Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre stands the Holy Edicule, the shrine surrounding the site traditionally revered by Christians as the tomb of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

After centuries of use, environmental exposure and structural pressure, the shrine required major conservation.<\/p>\n

King Abdullah II issued a Royal benefaction to support the restoration and personally covered the Hashemite contribution to the project.<\/p>\n

The restoration brought together specialists and the Christian communities responsible for the church.<\/p>\n

In March 2017, the restored Edicule was formally unveiled.<\/p>\n

The project attracted international attention because it involved conservation of one of Christianity’s most sacred places.<\/p>\n

For the Hashemite story, however, it also represented continuity.<\/p>\n

King Abdullah I had helped protect the Church of the Holy Sepulchre from fire.<\/p>\n

King Abdullah II was now helping preserve one of its most sacred structures for another generation.<\/p>\n

The Templeton Prize and Jerusalem<\/h3>\n

The King’s support for Christian holy places continued.<\/p>\n

In 2018, King Abdullah II received the Templeton Prize in recognition of his efforts to promote interfaith harmony and protect Jerusalem’s Islamic and Christian holy sites.<\/p>\n

The award included a financial prize.<\/p>\n

King Abdullah directed part of that award toward further restoration work at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.<\/p>\n

The gesture connected two important themes of his reign.<\/p>\n

Interfaith dialogue and the physical preservation of religious heritage.<\/p>\n

One involved words and diplomacy.<\/p>\n

The other involved stone, architecture and restoration.<\/p>\n

Both reflected the same broader commitment to protecting the religious character of Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

Beyond the Church of the Holy Sepulchre<\/h3>\n

The Hashemite role in Christian Jerusalem is not limited to one church.<\/p>\n

Restoration efforts have also included the Chapel of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives, a site traditionally associated with the ascension of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

The project was carried out with involvement from the Hashemite Fund and Jerusalem restoration authorities.<\/p>\n

Jordan has also repeatedly raised concerns internationally about pressures facing Jerusalem’s Christian communities, churches and properties.<\/p>\n

This reflects a broader understanding of preservation.<\/p>\n

A church can be restored physically.<\/p>\n

But if the community surrounding it disappears, part of the city’s living heritage disappears with it.<\/p>\n

Protecting Christian Jerusalem therefore requires attention to both monuments and people.<\/p>\n

The Pact of Omar and a Tradition of Protection<\/h3>\n

Jordanian and Hashemite discussions of Jerusalem’s Christian heritage often refer to a much older tradition associated with Caliph Omar ibn Al-Khattab.<\/p>\n

According to Islamic historical tradition, after Jerusalem came under Muslim rule in the seventh century, Omar provided assurances concerning the safety of the city’s Christian inhabitants, churches and religious property.<\/p>\n

The account became an enduring symbol of Muslim responsibility toward Christian holy places and communities in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

For the Hashemites, whose lineage is traced to the Prophet Muhammad, this tradition forms part of a wider understanding of religious responsibility: protecting places of worship and preserving the presence of different religious communities within the Holy City.<\/p>\n

King Abdullah II has frequently connected contemporary Hashemite custodianship with principles of coexistence, mutual respect and protection of both Muslim and Christian heritage.<\/p>\n

Christians as Part of the Arab Identity of Jerusalem<\/h3>\n

There is another dimension that is particularly important in Jordan’s approach.<\/p>\n

Jerusalem’s Christians are not treated simply as foreign pilgrims visiting ancient Christian monuments.<\/p>\n

Arab Christian communities have been part of Jerusalem and the wider region for centuries.<\/p>\n

Their language, families, churches, schools and institutions form part of the historical fabric of Arab society.<\/p>\n

Jordan itself reflects this heritage.<\/p>\n

Christian Jordanians have long participated in the country’s political, economic, cultural and social life, while churches and Christian communities form part of the Kingdom’s own religious landscape.<\/p>\n

This helps explain why Jordan frequently speaks about Jerusalem’s Muslim and Christian identity together.<\/p>\n

Protecting Christian Jerusalem is not separate from protecting the character of the Holy City.<\/p>\n

It is part of it.<\/p>\n

A City of Churches and Mosques<\/h3>\n

Walk through Jerusalem’s Old City and the relationship becomes visible.<\/p>\n

The call to prayer rises above ancient stone.<\/p>\n

Church bells sound across nearby quarters.<\/p>\n

Pilgrims move through narrow streets toward places sacred to their traditions.<\/p>\n

Clergy pass between monasteries and churches.<\/p>\n

Worshippers enter Al-Aqsa Mosque\/Al-Haram Al-Sharif.<\/p>\n

Others make their way toward the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.<\/p>\n

These communities do not share identical beliefs or histories.<\/p>\n

But they share a city.<\/p>\n

That coexistence is part of Jerusalem’s character and one of the things the Hashemite Custodianship seeks to preserve.<\/p>\n

Protecting a Living Heritage<\/h3>\n

Historic preservation can sometimes be understood as protecting the past.<\/p>\n

In Jerusalem, it must also protect the present.<\/p>\n

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre matters because generations worshipped there before us.<\/p>\n

But it also matters because people worship there today.<\/p>\n

The same is true of monasteries, chapels, schools and Christian institutions throughout the city.<\/p>\n

Their value lies not only in their age, but in their continuing religious life.<\/p>\n

This is why the Hashemite commitment to Christian Jerusalem reaches beyond restoration projects.<\/p>\n

It is connected with a larger principle: Jerusalem should remain a city in which its historic religious communities can preserve their heritage, practice their faith and continue their presence.<\/p>\n

One Custodianship, A Shared Responsibility<\/h3>\n

The golden Dome of the Rock and the ancient Church of the Holy Sepulchre appear very different.<\/p>\n

They belong to different faith traditions.<\/p>\n

Their architecture tells different stories.<\/p>\n

Their worshippers follow different religious paths.<\/p>\n

Yet within the Hashemite story, they are connected by a common responsibility.<\/p>\n

Preserve what generations inherited.<\/p>\n

Protect places of worship.<\/p>\n

Respect the communities connected with them.<\/p>\n

And pass that heritage forward.<\/p>\n

This is why the full title matters:<\/p>\n

The Hashemite Custodianship of Jerusalem’s Muslim and Christian Holy Sites.<\/p>\n

It describes not simply a relationship with monuments, but a responsibility toward the religious character of one of the world’s most sacred cities.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Why Jordan? \u2014 Understanding Jordan’s Special Role in Jerusalem<\/span><\/span><\/h5>

For a visitor discovering this history for the first time, one question may naturally arise.<\/p>\n

Why Jordan?<\/p>\n

Jerusalem today lies outside the borders of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, yet Jordan continues to administer Islamic Waqf affairs at Al-Aqsa Mosque\/Al-Haram Al-Sharif, finance restoration projects, support Christian holy sites and raise the protection of Jerusalem’s sacred places in international diplomacy.<\/p>\n

The answer cannot be found in one treaty or one political event.<\/p>\n

Jordan’s role is the result of more than a century of Hashemite custodianship combined with the modern political history of Jordan, Palestine and Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

To understand it, we need to connect several parts of the story we have already explored.<\/p>\n

The Relationship Began Before Modern Jordan<\/h3>\n

The first important point is perhaps the most easily overlooked.<\/p>\n

The modern Hashemite custodial relationship with Jerusalem predates the independence of Jordan.<\/p>\n

Sharif Hussein bin Ali supported restoration of Jerusalem’s holy sites during the 1920s, while his son Emir Abdullah was still building the institutions of Transjordan.<\/p>\n

The 2013 agreement between King Abdullah II and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas recalls the 1924 pledge through which the people of Jerusalem and Palestine affirmed Sharif Hussein’s custodianship of the holy sites.<\/p>\n

Jordan would not become an independent Kingdom until 1946.<\/p>\n

The relationship with Jerusalem therefore did not begin because modern Jordan later acquired territory west of the Jordan River.<\/p>\n

Its Hashemite roots were already established.<\/p>\n

Jerusalem and the Hashemite Kingdom<\/h3>\n

The relationship became even closer during the reign of King Abdullah I.<\/p>\n

Following the Arab-Israeli war of 1948, Jordanian forces remained in control of East Jerusalem and the West Bank.<\/p>\n

In 1950, the West Bank was formally united with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, an act whose international recognition was limited and whose status remains part of the complex political history of the period.<\/p>\n

For the following seventeen years, East Jerusalem was administered by Jordan.<\/p>\n

During this period, Jordan was responsible for municipal services and public institutions in the areas under its administration, while the Hashemite restoration of Jerusalem’s holy sites continued.<\/p>\n

King Hussein’s Second Hashemite Restoration became one of the most visible expressions of that responsibility.<\/p>\n

Jerusalem and Jordan were therefore connected not only through Hashemite custodianship, but also through direct administration during an important period of the twentieth century.<\/p>\n

1967 Changed the Map<\/h3>\n

That situation changed dramatically in June 1967.<\/p>\n

During the Six-Day War, Israel captured East Jerusalem and the West Bank.<\/p>\n

Jordan no longer exercised territorial control over those areas.<\/p>\n

But the Hashemite relationship with Jerusalem’s holy sites did not disappear.<\/p>\n

Jordan continued to support and administer Islamic religious affairs in Jerusalem through the Jerusalem Awqaf, while Hashemite restoration work continued.<\/p>\n

This distinction is fundamental to understanding Jordan’s role today.<\/p>\n

Territorial administration changed.<\/p>\n

The custodial responsibility continued.<\/p>\n

The decades following 1967 demonstrated this clearly.<\/p>\n

After the devastating fire at Al-Aqsa in 1969, Jordan participated in restoration.<\/p>\n

King Hussein later financed major work on the Dome of the Rock.<\/p>\n

The Jerusalem Awqaf remained connected with Jordan.<\/p>\n

The Hashemite role had survived a fundamental transformation in the political map.<\/p>\n

1988 \u2014 Jordan Disengages From the West Bank<\/h3>\n

Another major change came in 1988.<\/p>\n

King Hussein announced Jordan’s disengagement from the West Bank as the Kingdom moved to support Palestinian national aspirations and the Palestine Liberation Organization’s role as representative of the Palestinian people.<\/p>\n

But the Jerusalem holy sites were specifically excluded from the disengagement.<\/p>\n

That exception is crucial.<\/p>\n

Jordan was relinquishing its administrative and legal relationship with the West Bank while maintaining the Hashemite custodial responsibility toward Jerusalem’s holy sites.<\/p>\n

The 2013 Jordanian-Palestinian agreement explicitly recalls this distinction, noting that King Hussein’s 31 July 1988 disengagement excluded Jerusalem’s holy sites.<\/p>\n

Jordan, Palestine and Two Different Responsibilities<\/h3>\n

This also helps clarify an important point.<\/p>\n

The Hashemite Custodianship does not replace Palestinian claims to Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

The two are treated as distinct.<\/p>\n

The 2013 agreement explicitly recognizes the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and states that the State of Palestine has the right to exercise sovereignty over its territory, including Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the Palestinian leadership recognizes King Abdullah II’s custodial role over Jerusalem’s holy sites.<\/p>\n

The agreement therefore places the two responsibilities alongside one another:<\/p>\n

Palestinian sovereignty and national rights.<\/p>\n

Hashemite custodianship of the holy sites.<\/p>\n

It also provides for consultation and coordination between the King of Jordan and the Palestinian president concerning the holy sites when necessary.<\/p>\n

Understanding this distinction is essential for an international visitor trying to make sense of Jordan’s role.<\/p>\n

Jordan’s custodianship is not presented as a substitute for Palestinian sovereignty.<\/p>\n

It is a historical and religious responsibility concerning the holy sites.<\/p>\n

The 1994 Jordan-Israel Peace Treaty<\/h3>\n

Another important milestone came when Jordan and Israel signed their peace treaty in 1994.<\/p>\n

The treaty formally ended the state of war between the two countries.<\/p>\n

It also addressed Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

Article 9 states that Israel respects Jordan’s \u201cpresent special role\u201d in Muslim holy shrines in Jerusalem and that, when negotiations on permanent status take place, Israel will give high priority to Jordan’s historic role in these shrines.<\/p>\n

This gave Jordan’s existing role another form of formal recognition within the diplomatic framework between Jordan and Israel.<\/p>\n

The Royal Hashemite Court identifies the 1994 treaty as one of the important modern acknowledgements of Jordan’s special role in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

The Jerusalem Awqaf<\/h3>\n

But Jordan’s role is not only found in agreements between governments.<\/p>\n

It is also visible every day through institutions.<\/p>\n

The Jerusalem Awqaf and Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs Department operates under Jordan’s Ministry of Awqaf, Islamic Affairs and Holy Places.<\/p>\n

Its responsibilities include the administration, maintenance and religious affairs of Al-Aqsa Mosque\/Al-Haram Al-Sharif.<\/p>\n

This means that the custodianship has a practical dimension.<\/p>\n

People maintain the sanctuary.<\/p>\n

Restoration teams conserve historic structures.<\/p>\n

Religious personnel serve worshippers.<\/p>\n

Administrative institutions manage Waqf affairs and properties.<\/p>\n

The 2013 agreement specifically recognizes the King’s role in overseeing and managing the Waqf institution in Jerusalem and its properties in accordance with Jordanian law.<\/p>\n

So when we speak about Hashemite Custodianship, we are not referring only to a historical title.<\/p>\n

There is an institutional structure behind it.<\/p>\n

2013 \u2014 Bringing the Historical Story Into a Modern Framework<\/h3>\n

The agreement signed by King Abdullah II and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on 31 March 2013 brought many of these historical strands together.<\/p>\n

It recalled Sharif Hussein bin Ali’s role and the 1924 custodianship.<\/p>\n

It recalled King Hussein’s 1988 disengagement and the exclusion of Jerusalem’s holy sites.<\/p>\n

It recognized King Abdullah II as Custodian.<\/p>\n

It defined Al-Aqsa Mosque as the entire 144-dunum Al-Haram Al-Sharif.<\/p>\n

It recognized the King’s role in administering, maintaining and preserving the Islamic holy sites, representing their interests internationally and overseeing the Jerusalem Waqf.<\/p>\n

And it simultaneously affirmed Palestinian sovereignty and the Palestinian right to self-determination.<\/p>\n

In this sense, the agreement did not create the Hashemite relationship with Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

It formally reaffirmed a relationship whose history stretched back generations.<\/p>\n

Why Jerusalem Remains Important to Jordan<\/h3>\n

There is also a larger reason Jerusalem remains so important to Jordan.<\/p>\n

Jordan and Palestine are deeply connected by geography, history, families, culture, commerce and decades of shared experience.<\/p>\n

Events in Jerusalem therefore have consequences far beyond the walls of the Old City.<\/p>\n

For Jordan, protecting Jerusalem’s holy sites is connected with religious responsibility, regional stability, relations with the Palestinian people and the search for a lasting peace.<\/p>\n

King Abdullah II has repeatedly described the custodianship as a historical, religious and moral responsibility inherited from his Hashemite predecessors.<\/p>\n

This is why Jerusalem appears so frequently in Jordanian diplomacy.<\/p>\n

It is not simply another foreign-policy issue.<\/p>\n

It is woven into the history of the Hashemite Kingdom itself.<\/p>\n

A Role Built Across History<\/h3>\n

Jordan’s special role in Jerusalem becomes much easier to understand when viewed as a timeline rather than a single political arrangement.<\/p>\n

Sharif Hussein bin Ali supported the holy sites and received the 1924 pledge.<\/p>\n

King Abdullah I continued the responsibility while building Transjordan and later the independent Kingdom.<\/p>\n

Jordan administered East Jerusalem before 1967.<\/p>\n

King Hussein maintained the custodianship after territorial control was lost.<\/p>\n

The 1988 disengagement excluded Jerusalem’s holy sites.<\/p>\n

The 1994 peace treaty acknowledged Jordan’s special role in Muslim holy shrines.<\/p>\n

The 2013 Jordanian-Palestinian agreement reaffirmed King Abdullah II’s custodianship and defined its responsibilities in detail.<\/p>\n

Seen together, these events explain why Jordan remains so closely connected with Jerusalem today.<\/p>\n

Borders changed.<\/p>\n

Political arrangements changed.<\/p>\n

Generations changed.<\/p>\n

But the custodial relationship endured.<\/p>\n

More Than a Century Later<\/h3>\n

More than a century has now passed since the early Hashemite restoration efforts in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

The world surrounding the Holy City has changed almost beyond recognition.<\/p>\n

Yet Jordan still maintains restoration programs.<\/p>\n

The Jerusalem Awqaf still cares for Al-Aqsa Mosque\/Al-Haram Al-Sharif.<\/p>\n

Hashemite support continues to reach Muslim and Christian holy sites.<\/p>\n

And the King of Jordan continues to raise their protection in regional and international diplomacy.<\/p>\n

That is why Jordan.<\/p>\n

Not because of one moment.<\/p>\n

Not because of one treaty.<\/p>\n

And not because of one King.<\/p>\n

Jordan’s role is the product of a responsibility built across generations\u2014shaped by religion, history, institutions, agreements and more than a century of Hashemite involvement with the Holy City.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

A Sacred Trust Across Generations<\/span><\/span><\/h5>

More than a century separates the first modern Hashemite restoration efforts in Jerusalem from the custodianship carried today by King Abdullah II.<\/span><\/p>\n

Across that century, almost everything surrounding the Holy City has changed.<\/p>\n

Empires disappeared.<\/p>\n

New states emerged.<\/p>\n

Borders were redrawn.<\/p>\n

Wars transformed Jerusalem and the wider region.<\/p>\n

Generations came and went.<\/p>\n

Yet within all that change, one responsibility continued to pass from one Hashemite generation to another.<\/p>\n

Sharif Hussein bin Ali helped support the restoration of Jerusalem’s Islamic holy sites in the 1920s.<\/p>\n

His son, King Abdullah I, continued that responsibility, personally supervising restoration work and extending Hashemite care to Christian holy places as well. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

King Hussein bin Talal carried the responsibility through decades of war, political transformation and enormous regional change, overseeing major restoration projects that helped preserve Al-Aqsa Mosque\/Al-Haram Al-Sharif and the Dome of the Rock.<\/p>\n

And today, King Abdullah II continues the custodianship through restoration, institutional support, diplomacy and the protection of Jerusalem’s Islamic and Christian holy sites. During his reign, Hashemite-supported work has included the return of the reconstructed Minbar of Salah Al-Din to Al-Aqsa, continuing conservation across the sanctuary, and restoration projects at Christian holy places including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

More Than Buildings<\/h3>\n

But the meaning of this story cannot be measured only in restored domes, repaired walls or preserved mosaics.<\/p>\n

Jerusalem’s holy places matter because people give them meaning.<\/p>\n

They are places where generations have prayed.<\/p>\n

Places where parents have brought their children.<\/p>\n

Places where pilgrims have travelled from distant countries.<\/p>\n

Places maintained by clergy, Waqf employees, craftsmen, restorers and communities whose lives remain closely connected with the Holy City.<\/p>\n

A mosque without worshippers is only architecture.<\/p>\n

A church without its community becomes only a monument.<\/p>\n

Protecting Jerusalem’s religious heritage therefore means protecting both its sacred places and the living traditions surrounding them.<\/p>\n

This is why Jordan’s Hashemite role has repeatedly emphasized the rights of Muslim and Christian worshippers alongside preservation of the holy sites themselves. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Muslim and Christian \u2014 One Responsibility<\/h3>\n

Perhaps one of the most distinctive elements of the Hashemite story in Jerusalem is that its custodial responsibility crosses religious boundaries.<\/p>\n

The Dome of the Rock and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre belong to different faith traditions.<\/p>\n

Al-Aqsa Mosque\/Al-Haram Al-Sharif and Jerusalem’s ancient churches tell different religious stories.<\/p>\n

Yet each forms part of the sacred character of the same city.<\/p>\n

King Abdullah II has described the Hashemite Custodianship specifically as a duty toward Jerusalem’s Islamic and Christian holy sites, while emphasizing the importance of safeguarding the city’s spirituality, peace and coexistence. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

That principle reaches back through the story we have followed.<\/p>\n

King Abdullah I helped extinguish a fire at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 1949.<\/p>\n

His great-grandson King Abdullah II personally supported restoration of Christ’s Tomb within the same church decades later. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Different generations.<\/p>\n

The same city.<\/p>\n

The same idea of responsibility.<\/p>\n

The People of Jerusalem<\/h3>\n

There is another part of this story that should never disappear behind the names of kings, treaties and monuments.<\/p>\n

The people of Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

Muslim and Christian Jerusalemites are not simply inhabitants living beside famous holy sites.<\/p>\n

They are part of the living heritage of the city itself.<\/p>\n

Families, religious leaders, worshippers, shopkeepers, teachers, students, craftsmen and communities have carried Jerusalem’s traditions through periods of extraordinary change.<\/p>\n

Buildings can be restored with stone, wood and gold.<\/p>\n

Living heritage depends upon people.<\/p>\n

Jordan’s continuing engagement with Jerusalem therefore also includes support for Jerusalemites and the religious communities whose presence helps preserve the city’s Arab, Islamic and Christian character. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What Custodianship Really Means<\/h3>\n

The word \u201ccustodianship\u201d is important.<\/p>\n

It does not mean ownership.<\/p>\n

It means responsibility.<\/p>\n

A custodian receives something precious with an obligation to protect it.<\/p>\n

Not for one lifetime.<\/p>\n

Not for one generation.<\/p>\n

But so that it can eventually be entrusted to those who follow.<\/p>\n

Seen in this way, the Hashemite restorations become part of a much larger chain.<\/p>\n

One generation repairs a dome.<\/p>\n

Another restores a wall.<\/p>\n

Another reconstructs a Minbar destroyed decades earlier.<\/p>\n

Another preserves a Christian shrine that has welcomed pilgrims for centuries.<\/p>\n

The people performing the work may change.<\/p>\n

The responsibility remains.<\/p>\n

Jerusalem and the Hashemite Story<\/h3>\n

Jerusalem therefore occupies a unique place within the history of the Hashemite family.<\/p>\n

The modern custodial story began before Jordan became an independent Kingdom.<\/p>\n

It continued through the founding generation of the Jordanian state.<\/p>\n

It survived wars and changes of territorial control.<\/p>\n

It continued after Jordan’s disengagement from the West Bank.<\/p>\n

And it remains part of Jordan’s religious and diplomatic responsibilities today. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

That continuity explains why Jerusalem appears again and again throughout the Hashemite story.<\/p>\n

It is present in the life of Sharif Hussein bin Ali.<\/p>\n

In the story of King Abdullah I.<\/p>\n

In the long reign of King Hussein.<\/p>\n

And in the responsibilities carried today by King Abdullah II.<\/p>\n

Jerusalem is not a footnote to that history.<\/p>\n

It is one of the threads running through it.<\/p>\n

Preserving What Cannot Be Replaced<\/h3>\n

Ancient monuments carry something that modern construction can never reproduce completely.<\/p>\n

Time.<\/p>\n

A stone worn by centuries of footsteps cannot simply be replaced.<\/p>\n

A mosaic created generations ago carries the craftsmanship of people whose world has disappeared.<\/p>\n

A church where pilgrims have worshipped for centuries contains memories that cannot be manufactured.<\/p>\n

A mosque that has witnessed generations of prayer belongs to a history much larger than any individual lifetime.<\/p>\n

This is why preservation matters.<\/p>\n

Once some things are lost, they cannot truly be recreated.<\/p>\n

Restoration therefore represents a promise between generations:<\/p>\n

What we inherited, we will try to protect.<\/p>\n

What we protect, we will pass forward.<\/p>\n

A Story Still Being Written<\/h3>\n

The story of the Hashemites and Jerusalem has no final chapter yet.<\/p>\n

Restoration continues.<\/p>\n

Religious institutions continue their work.<\/p>\n

Muslims and Christians continue to worship.<\/p>\n

Jordan continues to carry its custodial responsibilities.<\/p>\n

And Jerusalem continues to stand at the meeting point of faith, history, identity and human memory.<\/p>\n

Future generations will inherit the same question faced by those who came before them:<\/p>\n

How do we preserve places whose importance belongs not only to us, but also to those who will come after us?<\/p>\n

For more than a century, successive Hashemite generations have answered that question through service to Jerusalem’s holy places.<\/p>\n

From Sharif Hussein bin Ali to King Abdullah I.<\/p>\n

From King Hussein bin Talal to King Abdullah II.<\/p>\n

Across changing borders, changing generations and changing times, the responsibility has endured.<\/p>\n

And perhaps that is the clearest way to understand this extraordinary relationship.<\/p>\n

The Hashemite relationship with Jerusalem is not simply a chapter of history.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is a custodianship inherited from the past, exercised in the present, and entrusted to the future.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Hashemites and Jerusalem \u2014 A Legacy of Custodianship and Holy SitesA Responsibility Across Generations Jerusalem occupies a place unlike almost any other city in the world. Sacred to Muslims, Christians and Jews, its ancient streets contain places of worship, pilgrimage and memory that have shaped religious history for centuries. For Jordan and the Hashemite...","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":145534,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4681],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-145533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t