Do we like King Abdullah II?
Our score: 5 out of 10. Real good on Gaza and interfaith work sits next to documented crackdowns on LGBTQ+ activists and critics under his government, with no clear words of his own either way.
Abdullah II is Jordan's hereditary king, so this isn't a ballot-box question. What matters is how much power he holds. Amendments in 2022 let him appoint the chief justice, the grand mufti and the royal court chief by decree. They also created a National Security Council that he heads. Critics say that turns the 1952 parliamentary monarchy into something else, while the then prime minister said the changes were in line with the Constitution.
The latest news is grim. Gunmen opened fire on mourners at a Greek Orthodox church funeral in Karak, and the king vowed that those responsible would face the “harshest penalties”. Jordan then hit what it called militant hideouts in southern Syria. Jordan's government says 20 Islamic State fighters died and admits some civilians did too. Damascus says it was not told beforehand. He also hosted Australia's prime minister in Canberra talks only weeks earlier.
On the harm check, the LGBTQ+ record is the worst part of the file, though it needs care. Human Rights Watch reported in 2023 that Jordanian authorities “systematically targeted” LGBT rights activists. It named the intelligence service and other security bodies, not the king personally, and the page carried no government reply. No words of his own on LGBTQ+ people turned up in our search. So it is a government record he presides over, not a quote of his.
Free speech is the other sore spot. Reporters Without Borders calls the 2023 cybercrime law “draconian”, and says journalists including Hiba Abu Taha, who wrote about Jordan's ties with Israel, were sentenced to a year in prison under it. The law came in on his watch, though the page we read doesn't say who signed it. Critics say it's being used on Gaza commentary.
Then there's the money. The 2021 Pandora Papers reporting alleged he used offshore companies to buy luxury homes in the US and UK worth about US$100 million. The reports did not allege criminal wrongdoing by him. The Royal Court called the claims distorted and said the king paid for the homes himself. It said owning them was “not unusual nor improper”, and no court has ruled on it.
On Gaza, his record is the strongest bit. When Donald Trump pushed the idea of moving Gaza's people out, he restated Jordan's position against displacement, while offering to take up to 2,000 sick children. In a BBC Panorama interview he said, “It is a genocide as far as I'm concerned.” Where you land on that depends on whether you read it as a moral line or a political one.