Jordanian stamps of Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem

Jordanian postage stamp depictions of the Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem demonstrate how the Hashemite regime aims to bolster its legitimacy, balance relations with the PLO and Israel, affirm domestic and international sympathy and support to administer the Muslim holy places, and convey the kingdom's close attachment to the Palestinian issue. These depictions aim to create the additional impression that due to Jordan's special role, it has a strong stake in the stability west of the River and should be consulted in any political settlement between Israelis and Palestinians. Jordanian stamp depictions of the Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem are distinguished from other countries due to the Hashemite guardianship claim since 1924, Jordan's annexation of Eastern Jerusalem and the West Bank in 1950, and Jordan's interpretation of UN Resolution 242 that described these lands as Jordanian and should be returned under Hashemite sovereignty. This study aims to chronicle and analyse Jordanian stamp depictions from 1967 to 1989, one year after King Hussein's decision to disengagement legal and administrative ties to the West Bank. 2 (2005): 145–164.2 Donald Malcolm Reid, 'The Postage Stamp: A Window on Saddam Hussein's Iraq', Middle East Journal, 47, no. 1 (1993): 77–89.3 The total number of stamps refers to major types of stamps used for postage such as definitive, commemorative, and semi-postal stamps. Souvenir sheets and stamps not used for postal purposes such as specimens, variations, and Cinderella stamps are excluded from this count.4 Kimberly Katz, Jordanian Jerusalem: Holy Places and National Spaces (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2005).5 Abu Huzaifa, 'Masjid al-Aqsa (Bayt al-Maqdis)', IslamicLandmarks.com [Website], https://www.islamiclandmarks.com/masjid-al-aqsa/.6 Mustafa Abu-Sway, 'A Noble Hashemite Custodianship Undermined', Palestine-Israel Journal of Politics, Economics and Culture, 22, no. 4 (2017). https://pij.org/articles/1806/a-noble-hashemite-custodianship-undermined.7 See Jordanian Ministry of Awqaf, Islamic Affairs and Holy Sites website (Arabic), https://www.awqaf.gov.jo/Default/Ar8 The Hashemite Custodianship Of Jerusalem's Islamic And Christian Holy Sites 1917–2020 CE (Amman: The Royal Aal Al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, 2020), 7, 33.9 Abed Habib Najjar, The Stamps of Jordan, 1920–1965: A Philatelic Study (London: Sahara Publications Limited, 1998), 10–11.10 Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue, Part 19: Middle East [4th ed.] (Black Bear Press Limited, 1990), 236, 244, 275.11 Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue, Part 19: Middle East [4th ed.] (Black Bear Press Limited, 1990), 140, 321, 453–455.12 'Nobody Knew Jerusalem Could Be So Complicated', J Street, 19 May 2017. https://jstreet.org/nobody-knew-jerusalem-complicated/#.Y5jwfexOk0E.13 Shaul Mishal, West Bank/East Bank: The Palestinians in Jordan, 1949–1967 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1978), 2.14 Joseph Massad, Colonial Effects: The Making of National Identity in Jordan (New York: Columbia University Press, 2001), 230.15 'Jordanian Parliament Resolution Regarding the Annexation of the West Bank', The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: An Interactive Database [Website], https://ecf.org.il/media_items/464.16 Martin Kramer, 'The West Bank was Annexed Once Before. It Ended in Regret', Mosaic Magazine, 25 June 2020. https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/martinkramer/files/the_west_bank_was_annexed_once_before._it_ended_in_regret._.pdf.17 James Lunt, Hussein of Jordan: Searching for a Just and Lasting Peace (New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1989), xxxiv, 67–68.18 Laurie Brand, 'Palestinians and Jordanians: A Crisis of Identity', Journal of Palestine Studies, 24, no. 4 (Summer 1995): 46–61.19 The Constitution of The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, 1952, https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/3ae6b53310.pdf.20 Michael Sharnoff, 'Does Jordan Want the West Bank?' Middle East Quarterly, 27, no.4 (Fall 2020): 1–11.21 Ruwan Baybars, 'Watha'iq Munamnamat: min Ta'rikh al-Taw-abi' al-Baridiat fi al-'Urdunn' [Stylized Documents: From the History of Postage Stamps in Jordan]. 7iber, December 8, 2020. https://www.7iber.com/culture/%d8%b7%d9%88%d8%a7%d8%a8%d8%b9-%d8%a8%d8%b1%d9%8a%d8%af%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d8%aa%d8%a7%d8%b1%d9%8a%d8%ae-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a3%d8%b1%d8%af%d9%8622 Kimberly Katz, 'Jordanian Jerusalem: Postage Stamps and Identity Construction', Jerusalem Quarterly, 5, (1999): 14–26.23 Joseph Massad, Colonial Effects: The Making of National Identity in Jordan (New York: Columbia University Press, 2001), 235.24 Arab Territories Under Israeli Occupation, 6 October 1967; CIA Directorate of Intelligence Weekly Summary Special Report, N2 38, No. 0310/67A, 1–9. The CIA Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) [Website], https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP79-00927A006000070004-7.pdf.25 Yotam Ben-Hillel, 'The Legal Status of East Jerusalem', Norwegian Refugee Council, December 2013. https://www.nrc.no/globalassets/pdf/reports/the-legal-status-of-east-jerusalem.pdf.26 Michael Sharnoff, Nasser's Peace: Egypt's Response to the 1967 War with Israel (New York: Routledge, 2017), 58.27 'Address by King Hussein Ibn Talal', United Nations General Assembly, Fifth Emergency Special Session, A/PV.1536, 26 June 1967, http://undocs.org/en/A/PV.1536.28 Resolution 24 2 (1967) of 22 November 1967, Security Council Resolution 242: The Situation in the Middle East, https://peacemaker.un.org/sites/peacemaker.un.org/files/SCRes242%281967%29.pdf.29 Mohammed Awad, 'Jordanian-Palestinian Relations: A Jordanian View', (Monterey, CA: PhD Thesis, Naval Postgraduate School, 2005), 45.30 Yehuda Lukacs, Israel, Jordan, and the Peace Process (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1997), 139.31 Mahdi Bseiso, 'Dome of the Rock', Stamps of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan [Website], 9 October 1969, Stanley Gibbons 841.32 Ido Zelkovitz and Yehiel Limor, 'The War of the 60 Stamps: The Battle for Public Opinion—How the Nakba Influenced Jordanian Postage Stamps', British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies (2021): 1–19.33 The stamp referencing the Palestinian refugees crossing the river is from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, 'Tragedy of the Refugees', 10 December 1969, Stanley Gibbons 861.34 Mahdi Bseiso, 'Tragedy in the Holy Lands', Stamps of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan [Website], 10 December 1969, Stanley Gibbons 885.35 Ido Zelkovitz and Yehiel Limor, 'The War of the 60 Stamps: The Battle for Public Opinion—How the Nakba Influenced Jordanian Postage Stamps', British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies (2021): 1–19.36 James Ciment and Kenneth Hill (eds), Encyclopedia of Conflicts Since World War II, Volume 1 (Routledge, 2012), 185–186.37 First Islamic Summit Conference, in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco, Rajab, 1389 H. – September, 1969. Organization of Islamic Cooperation [Website], https://www.oic-oci.org/docdown/?docID=4404&refID=1237.38 Mahdi Bseiso, 'Burning of Al-Aqsa Mosque', Stamps of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan [Website], 21 August 1972, Stanley Gibbons 973.39 Al-Anba, 'Husayn Says West Bank and Jerusalem Must be Restored', 27 June 1971, cited in Joint Publications Research Service [hereafter JPRS] JPRS-53638, 20 July 1971, 1, 6.40 Al-Dustour (Arabic), 'Husayn Reaffirms Intent to Preserve "Arab Nature" of Jerusalem', 28 September 1976, cited in JPRS-68289, 30 November 1976, 1, 11.41 Telegram 1112 from Amman, 15 March; National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 1167, Saunders Files, Middle East Negotiations Files, Middle East—Jarring Talks, 1–31 March 1972.42 Alan Hart, Arafat: Terrorist or Peacemaker? (London: Sidgwick and Jackson Ltd., 1984), 356.43 Adnan Abu Odeh, Jordanians, Palestinians, & the Hashemite Kingdom in the Middle East Peace Process (Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace Press, 1999), 183.44 Mahdi Bseiso, 'Wasfi al-Tall (Assassinated Statesman)', Stamps of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan [Website], 28 November 1972, Stanley Gibbons 986; Michael Sharnoff, 'Maps of the West Bank in Jordanian Postage Stamps, 1952–1985', Contemporary Review of the Middle East, 9, no. 1 (2022): 51–69.45 Postage Stamps of Jordan, 'Visit of Shah of Iran', 15 May 1960, Stanley Gibbons 499–501.46 Mahdi Bseiso, 'Anniversary of Iranian Monarchy', Stamps of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan [Website], 12 October 1973, Stanley Gibbons 1018.47 Amman Domestic Service (Arabic), 'King Husayn's 27 Oct Speech', 29 October 1974, cited in Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports FBIS-MEA-74-211, 31 October 1974, A1.48 London EVENTS (English), 'Interview with King Husayn on Oil and Middle East', 25 February 1977, cited in JPRS 68,811, No. 1629, 22 March 1977, 28–31.49 Mahdi Bseiso, 'Tourism', Stamps of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan [Website], 1 March 1975, Stanley Gibbons 1098.50 Ido Zelkovitz and Yehiel Limor, 'The War of the 60 Stamps: The Battle for Public Opinion—How the Nakba Influenced Jordanian Postage Stamps', British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies (2021): 1–19.51 Mahdi Bseiso, 'Tragedy of the Holy Lands', Stamps of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan [Website], 18 July 1976, Stanley Gibbons 1169.52 Yehuda Lukacs, Israel, Jordan, and the Peace Process (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1997), 141.53 Alan Hart, Arafat: Terrorist or Peacemaker? (London: Sidgwick and Jackson Ltd., 1984), 405.54 Adnan Abu-Odeh and Moeen Tahir, Yawmiyaat ʻAdnan Abu ʻAwdah, 1970–1988 [Diary of Adan Abu-Odeh, 1970–1988] (Doha: Al-Markaz Al-ʻArabi lil-Abhath wa-Dirasat al-Siyasat, 2017), 46–49.55 Musa S. Braizat, The Jordanian Palestinian Relationship: The Bankruptcy of the Confederal Idea (London: British Academic Press, 1998), 154.56 Yehuda Lukacs, Israel, Jordan, and the Peace Process (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1997), 141.57 'Land Day, 1976: A Turning Point in the Defense of Palestinian Lands in Israel', Interactive Encyclopedia of the Palestine Question [Website], https://www.palquest.org/en/node/14509.58 Mahdi Bseiso, 'Opening of Postal Museum', Stamps of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan [Website], 1 July 1981, Stanley Gibbons 1295.59 Mahdi Bseiso, 'Jerusalem', Stamps of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan [Website], 4 November 1982, Stanley Gibbons 1336.60 Karimah Suleiman Aljedayah, Nabeel Ali Alatoom, Mohammad Ibrahim Abu Jraiban, Mohammad Husni Abumelhim, Abdel-Rahman Abu-Melhim, and Mahmoud Ali Rababah, 'Hashemites' Custodianship of Jerusalem Islamic Holy Places', Qudus Journal of Islamic Studies, 10, no.1 (2022): 253–284.61 Mahdi Bseiso, 'Birth Centenary of King Abdullah', Stamps of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan [Website], 13 December 1982, Stanley Gibbons 1348.62 The Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought [Website], accessed 10 December 2022. https://www.aalalbayt.org/.63 Mahdi Bseiso, 'Establishment of Royal Academy for Islamic Civilization Research', Stamps of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan [Website], 16 September 1983, Stanley Gibbons 1384.64 Mahdi Bseiso, 'Restoration of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem', Stamps of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan [Website], 25 November 1985, Stanley Gibbons 1480.65 Daoud Kuttab, 'The Restoration Projects that Keep Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa in Good Repair', Arab News, 13 March 2021. https://www.arabnews.com/node/1824536/middle-east.66 Mahdi Bseiso, 'Palestinian Welfare', Stamps of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan [Website], November 29, 1983, Stanley Gibbons 1397.67 Mahdi Bseiso, 'Palestinian Welfare', Stamps of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan [Website], 5 June 1989, Stanley Gibbons 1576.68 Al-Hawadith (Arabic), 'West Bank Role Stressed', 30 November 1984, cited in JPRS-NEA-007, 18 January 1985, 53.69 'Nobody Knew Jerusalem Could Be So Complicated', J Street, 19 May 2017. https://jstreet.org/nobody-knew-jerusalem-complicated/#.Y5jwfexOk0E.70 Washington Post, 29 August 1982 as cited in Sam Bahour, 'Israel's Jordan is Palestine Option', Institute for Policy Studies, 1 May 2001. https://ips-dc.org/israels_jordan_is_palestine_option/71 Warren Richey, 'Jordan as Palestine—True, or a 'Twisted' View of History? 6 April 1983, Christian Science Monitor, https://www.csmonitor.com/1983/0406/040653.html.72 Sami Al-Khazendar, Jordan and the Palestine Question: The Role of Islamic and Left Forces in Foreign Policy-Making (Reading: Garnet Publishing Ltd., 1997), 54.73 Ziad Abu-Amr, Islamic Fundamentalism in the West Bank and Gaza: Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic Jihad (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1994), 57.74 Emile Sahliyeh, In Search of Leadership: West Bank Politics since 1967 (Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution, 1988), 18475 Musa S. Braizat, The Jordanian Palestinian Relationship: The Bankruptcy of the Confederal Idea (London: British Academic Press, 1998), 137.76 Russell Lucas, Institutions and the Politics of Survival in Jordan: Domestic Responses to External Challenges, 1988–2001 (Albany: State University of New York, 2005), 26

Ancient history · Annexation · Archaeology · Islam · Legitimacy · Middle East · Political science · Politics · Settlement (finance · Sharia · Sociology · Sovereignty · Sympathy · History · Law · National Identity and Symbolism · Psychology

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