To the Editor:In his column "Prince not worthy of addressing grads" (May 2 issue) Joe Farbeann describes Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan as "a man who has played an instrumental role in shaping the policies of a repressive government." It's crucial that before one judges the Jordanian government or royal family, one be exposed to a native's perspective. As a Jordanian citizen, I would like to respond to Farbeann's views and offer my own.

First, the issue of women's rights. Farbeann claims that the Jordanian government "has largely condoned the practice" of honor killings. I will not deny that these crimes occur in Jordan. Farbeann completely fails to mention, however, the measures taken by royal family members to combat this tragic trend, albeit not a widespread one. King Abdullah, Queen Rania and Queen Noor have continually been outspoken critics. In 2000, the allegedly "repressive government" proposed a bill-twice in two months-calling for the cancellation of Article 340 of the penal code that offers leniency to killers in crimes of honor. The lower house of the National Assembly rejected this proposal. Thus, it is neither the royal family nor the King-appointed upper house who "condones" honor killings, but rather a body elected by the people.

As for Farbeann's comment regarding torture in Jordanian prisons, the more urgent issue, I believe, is that the United States is sending some of its own prisoners to secret jails overseas. According to The Washington Post, the CIA has sent "terror suspects" to countries where torture during interrogation is legal, including Jordan. It would seem logical that when reproaching the Jordanian government for ill-treatment of prisoners, we also acknowledge American shortcomings that promote this kind of torture.

Furthermore, Farbeann accused Jordan of "censoring newspapers." True, newspapers avoid printing satirical cartoons of the country's leader, a common practice in American press. However, Jordan is not a democracy, but a constitutional monarchy, which provides rights to its citizens and encourages a freedom of the press consistent and harmonious with Jordan's particular values and culture.

Although Farbeann had the best intentions in describing Jordan and some of its challenges, the conclusions he draws about the government and the royal family are flawed and baseless. All countries face domestic challenges, Jordan most definitely included among them-and the United States ought not to be forgotten. A constructive way to analyze a country's reform efforts is to follow its steps toward progress rather than handpick isolated incidents from the country's national archives. After all, it is easier to claim that Arab governments "are given a pat on the head as long as they make reforms while running closed autocratic states" than to take a minute to recognize the impressive magnitude of such reforms within their respective histories and geopolitical contexts.

-Farrah Bdour '07