Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad


Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad is a Jordanian prince and a professor of philosophy. He is the son of Prince Muhammad bin Talal of Jordan and his first wife, Princess Firyal. He is a grandson of King Talal of Jordan and thus a first cousin of King Abdullah II and sixteenth in the line of succession to the Jordanian throne. He is well known for his religious initiatives, about which a book was published in 2013. He is also the step-father of the heir to the defunct Bulgarian throne, through his second marriage to Míriam Ungría López, Dowager Princess of Tarnovo.

Education

He attended Harrow School for his 'O' and 'A' Levels.
He graduated with highest honors and an A.B. in comparative literature from Princeton University in 1988 after completing a 59-page senior thesis titled "Le Jeu de Trois Contes".
He received his PhD in Modern and Medieval Languages and Literatures
with a thesis titled, "What is Falling in Love?: A Study of the Literary Archetype of Love."
University of Cambridge :
He attended Al-Azhar University, College of Usul al-Din, Cairo
receiving his PhD in Islamic Philosophy, awarded highest honors on January 16, 2010, with thesis title: Love in the Holy Qur'an.

Marriage and family

In 1997, Prince Ghazi married Areej bint Omar Al Zawawi, and the couple had four children:
  • Princess Tasneem
  • Prince Abdullah
  • Princess Jennah
  • Princess Salsabeel
Prince Ghazi and Princess Areej divorced in 2020. In September 2022, Prince Ghazi married Princess Miriam, widow of the late Prince of Tarnovo.

Activities

Official work

Promoted to First Lieutenant.
Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant.

Other official activities

In religious affairs

In education and cultural affairs

  • Al-Balqa` Applied University:
  • The Royal Commission to Investigate the Conditions and Treatment of Foreign Students in Jordan:
  • National Examination Council:
  • National Committee for Higher Education:
  • National Committee for Lower Education:

In tribal affairs and social development

  • Royal Committee for the Preservation and Development of Camel Livestock:
  • Committee for Tribal Lands and Claims:
  • Royal Institute for Development and Charitable Works:
  • Royal Committee for the Endowment of Underprivileged Schools and Tribal Areas:

In sports

Part-time work (in academia)

Discovery of [Al-Maghtas]

The site of baptism of Jesus had been known to be around the Jordan River, but no one knew exactly where. An abandoned site in Jordan overlooking the river, was heavily mined in 1967 due to an acquired front line position during the Six-Day War. In 1994 after the signing of the Israel–Jordan peace treaty, Prince Ghazi who is deeply interested in religious history, was searching the area after a monk convinced him to take a look around of what was thought to be the baptism site. When they found evidence of ruins, that was enough to encourage de-mining and further development. Soon afterwards, there were several archaeological digs, tourists influx and pilgrimage activity, and several papal and state visits. In July 2015, the site was designated as a UNESCO world heritage site and is now known as the most likely location for the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist.

Welcoming Pope Benedict XVI to Amman

Prince Ghazi gave the welcoming address on the occasion of the pilgrimage of Pope Benedict XVI in Jordan, May 9, 2009. His wide-ranging speech, during Benedict's visit to the new King Hussein Mosque in Amman, was carried live on Eternal Word Television Network TV. It gave an account of Muslim-Christian relationships, acknowledged the pope's kindness toward Muslims and made an appeal on behalf of Muslim minorities. The speech also noted that crusaders had damaged the Christian tribes in Jordan that had preceded Islam by 600 years.

World Interfaith Harmony Week

On September 23, 2010, King Abdullah II of Jordan proposed a World Interfaith Harmony Week to the UN General Assembly.

On October 20, 2010, Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad, Personal Envoy and Special Advisor of the King of Jordan, presented the proposal – having conceived and written the draft resolution – before the UN General Assembly 34th plenary meeting in New York where it was adopted unanimously. His speech called to those who love God and love the neighbour, or the Good and the neighbour, to coordinate and concentrate their activities in a more effective way.

International Initiative for Islamic Integral Professorial Chairs (IIIPC)

On January 30, 2012, in celebration of King Abdullah II's fiftieth birthday, Prince Ghazi launched the International Initiative for Islamic Integral Professorial Chairs. This started with the Integral Chair for the Study of Imam Al-Ghazali's Work, which was established in Jerusalem at the Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque and Al-Quds University, and King Abdullah II ibn Al-Hussein Waqf for the Integral Chair for the Study of Imam Fakhr Al-Din Al-Razi's Work, which was established at the King Hussein bin Talal Mosque, the University of Jordan and W.I.S.E. University. Other Islamic integral professorial chairs are to come.

Visiting the Al-Aqsa Mosque

On 28 February 2012, during a meeting for the Arab League in Doha, Qatar, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas made a plea for Muslims to visit the Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque. On April 18, 2012, Prince Ghazi, accompanied by the Grand Mufti of Egypt Sheikh Ali Goma, broke what had been a 45-year taboo in some parts of the Islamic World and visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque in order to pray there and support the beleaguered Muslim community in Jerusalem. The visit was viewed as controversial in Egypt, but set off a change of public opinion in the Islamic World that continues to this day.
During the trip to Jerusalem, the Prince and the Grand Mufti also visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This visit was much appreciated by the Christian community of Jerusalem.

International delegation of Muslims and Christians' visit to Nigeria

Between 22 and 26 May 2012 an international delegation of Muslims and Christians, sponsored jointly by the Royal Jordanian Aal Al Bayt Institute and the World Council of Churches, visited Nigeria. Prince Ghazi headed the Muslim delegation and Revd Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit led the Christian delegation.
The visit was proposed in reaction to the numerous incidents of fierce inter-communal strife which have affected the lives of Nigerians during 2000–2012, and the awareness that Nigeria is the country in the world where the most severe inter-communal violence between Christians and Muslims has been experienced.
The delegation sought to understand the reasons behind this violence. To this end they issued a report entitled 'Report on the Inter-Religious Tensions and Crisis In Nigeria’

Positions at non-governmental organizations

Publications

Books

A Thinking Person’s Guide to Love, 2023. A Thinking Person’s Guide to Our Reality, 2023. The Litanies of Love, 2022. A Tentative Guide to Islamic Invocations, 2019. A Thinking Person’s Guide to the Truly Happy Life, 2018. A Tentative Guide to the Themes of the Surahs of the Qur’an, 2018. A Thinking Person’s Guide to Islam, UK 2017. 100 Books on Islam in English and the End of Orientalism ITS, UK 2014. The Challenges Facing Arab Christians Today MABDA and RUTAB, Jordan 2013Searching for Consensus MABDA and RUTAB, Jordan 2013What is Islam, and Why? Love in the Holy Quran, USA, 2013. Love in the Holy Qur'an Dar al-Razi, Jordan, 2010. Al-Insan, The Sacred Origin of Sports and Culture. Hannibal the Formidable..
  • The Tribes of Jordan at the Beginning of the Twenty-first Century. The ISBN printed in the document is invalid, causing a checksum error.

Co-authored books

War and Peace in Islam: The Uses and Abuses of Jihad MABDA and The Islamic Texts Society, Jordan, 2013. Edited by HRH Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad, Professor Ibrahim Kalin, and Professor Mohammad Hashim Kamali. A Common Word, Muslims and Christians on Loving God and Neighbor Eerdmans Publishing House Co. 2010 True Islam and the Islamic Consensus on the Message of Amman / Kitab Ijma’ Al-Muslimin ‘ala Ihtiram Mathahib al-Din. The Holy Sites of Jordan.

Articles

  • ‘A Common Word Between Us and You’ ; An Open Letter to World Christian Leaders from World Muslim Leaders, October 13, 2007.
‘The appearance of the A Common Word of 2007 was a landmark in Muslim-Christian relations and it has a unique role in stimulating a discussion at the deepest level across the world.’
— Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, 2010.

  • ‘Open Letter to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI’.
  • ‘The Prophet Muhammad’.
  • ‘Truth and Knowledge’,.

Decorations and awards