Queen Rania of Jordan has launched a YouTube channel and invited young people all over the world to take part in a cross-cultural dialog about the misperceptions of Islam and the Middle East.
Questions are posed by YouTubers on the forum of her page and Queen Rania addresses the issues raised in video taped answers. The queen will respond to directly to video questions from now until International Youth Day on August 12th 2008.
"The Real Arab World"
In a move that offers young people unprecendented access to a global icon, Queen Rania hopes to bring people together around a common goal with her YouTube presence.
"In a world where it's so easy to connect to one another, we still remain very much disconnected. There's a whole world of wonder out there that we cannot appreciate with stereotypes, so it's important for all of us to join forces, come together, and try to bring down those misconceptions," the young queen said in her YouTube video, "I want people to know the real Arab world, to see it unedited, unscripted and unfiltered, to see the personal side of my region, to know the places and faces and rituals and culture that shape the part of the world I call home."
A Variety of Responses
So far over there are over 2000 posts on the forum of Queen Rania's YouTube page. The messages range from warm encouragement from YouTubers like DavidJames107 who wrote,"Just wanted to say thank you for making this channel and hope."
Others like kevofdfw wondered," What would happen to you if you were to appear in public in Saudi Arabia dressed the way you are dressed in your YOUTUBE video? What would be the result of a person in Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, or Iran if that person were to announce publicly that they are a homosexual?"
On the opposite end of the spectrum there were decidedly negative comments including "DEATH TO ISRAEL & AMERICA" from a user called freedom1525 and "I hate Jordan" from medojr11.
Queen Rania is taking it all in stride, relating in a video message that, "So far I'm very pleased with the responses and reactions I've received from you all. Some of the input I received was very positive, others quite critical. But that's okay because debate is part of the dialogue. We don't always have to agree to get along."
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