of undocumented Iraqi war refugees put even
the best estimates in doubt. Yet despite these
anomalies, the life expectancy of the average
Jordanian of 78.5 years surpasses that of the aver-
age U.S. citizen by one year. Street crime, theft,
and murders are rare occurrences. Jordan is also
experimenting with democratic forms of political
participation both at the state and local levels
of government. Civil society is expanding and
nongovernmental organizations are flourishing.
The government promotes women’s participation
in government, business, and the public sphere.
The literacy rates are among the highest in the
region. The government has heavily invested in
making Jordan a center for high-tech, medical,
and professional services for the whole region.
English has been introduced as a mandatory
second language at all levels of the educational
system. The challenge facing Jordan is how to
achieve its developmental goals and not be side-
tracked by unresolved conflicts on its borders
that have serious consequences inside its own
territory.
See also alaWi; arab-israeli conFlicts; arme-
nians; christianity and islam; crUsades; democ-
racy; hUsayn ibn ali, shariF; islamism; ottoman
dynasty.
Garay MenicucciFurther reading: George Alan, Jordan: Living in the
Crossfire (London: Zed Books, 2005); Joseph Massad,
Colonial Effects: The Making of National Identity in
Jordan (New York: Columbia University Press, 2001);
Abd al-Raman Munif, Story of a City: A Childhood
in Amman (London: Quartet Books, 1996); Eugene
Rogan, Frontiers of the State in the Late Ottoman
Empire: Transjordan 1850–1921 (New York: Cambridge
University Press, 1999); Jillian Schwedler, Faith in
Moderation: Islamist Parties in Jordan and Yemen (New
York: Cambridge University Press, 2006); Avi Shlaim,
The Politics of Partition: King Abdullah, the Zionists, and
Palestine 1921–1951 (New York: Oxford University
Press, 1998).
Joseph (Arabic: Yusuf) the son of the Israelite
patriarch Jacob and a Muslim prophet who, because
of his brothers’ jealousy, was sold to slavery and exiled
in Egypt
The longest segment of material about Joseph
appears in sura 12 of the qUran, which is named
after Joseph, the son of Jacob (Arabic: Yaaqub).
This sura’s 111 verses constitute the Quran’s
longest continual narrative of one character’s life.
They relate Jacob’s favoritism toward Joseph; his
brothers’ jealousy that compels Joseph be sold to
slavery in egypt; Joseph’s brother’s deceitfulness
toward their father Jacob; Joseph’s handsomeness;
the attempted seduction of Joseph by the wife of
his Egyptian master; as well as Joseph’s impris-
onment, exoneration, and his interpretation of
dreams, which led to his family’s move to Egypt
and their acceptance of Pharaoh’s protection.
The sura about Joseph emphasizes the quranic
theme that God can directly influence human
affairs. It portrays God as playing a crucial role
in directing the events in Joseph’s and his family’s
lives. Joseph also exemplifies the powers associ-
ated with true prophets of God in that Joseph’s
prophetic dreams foretell future events. Joseph’s
life as a prophet embodies a pattern found in the
lives of other quranic prophets: he is severely criti-
cized and marginalized; finally, he is vindicated and
rises to a position of great honor. As such, Joseph
is one of many quranic prophets, the pattern of
whose lives are precursors for the life of mUham-
mad. The idea of Muhammad’s life reflecting those
of previous prophets such as Joseph’s is strength-
ened by the belief of many Muslims that the sura
about Joseph was revealed to Muhammad at the
very time seventh-century skeptics of Muhammad
challenged his knowledge of the narratives of the
children of Israel. According to many Muslims,
the detail and specificity of the sura provide a very
persuasive response to this challenge.
Some of the best-known passages in this chap-
ter portray Joseph as being so handsome that the
women of Egypt cut their hands in their astonish-K 408 Joseph