Latest news with #Al-Abbadi
Ammon
10-08-2025
- General
- Ammon
Nabataean Kingdom of Jordan: The forthcoming scholarly release by Al-Abbadi
Ammon News - Renowned Jordanian historian and thinker, Dr. Ahmad Oweidi Al-Abbadi, is preparing to launch his new monumental work "The Nabataean Kingdom of Jordan from 600 BCE to 106 CE", a two-volume study expected to be published before the end of this year or early next year, Allah willing. This book crowns decades of meticulous academic research—both field and archival—marking a qualitative leap in historical studies on the Nabataeans and their role in Jordan and the broader Arab region. In this work, Dr. Al-Abbadi does not merely retell Nabataean history in chronological order; he delves deeply into their cultural roots, social interactions, and civilizational contributions, guided by a rigorous critical vision that challenges both orientalist narratives and the conventional approaches of Arab and foreign scholarship. With a precise academic language and a strict analytical method, the author offers a fresh reading that unsettles long-held historical assumptions—foremost among them the notion of the 'Semitic race,' which he describes as 'an artificial construct of the eighteenth century.' Instead, he proposes a more accurate term, grounded in archaeological and historical evidence: 'Arab Thamudic'. The book also redraws the historical image of Petra, asserting that the Nabataeans were not its original founders but rather heirs to ancient Jordanian civilizations such as the Hurrians and Edomites, who had laid the earliest foundations of its rock-cut architecture more than 12,000 years ago. Dr. Al-Abbadi highlights how the Nabataeans developed this heritage, bringing it to its zenith during their golden age, before its decline with the Roman occupation in 106 CE. Through this approach, the book becomes far more than a historical study—it is a project to rewrite the civilizational memory of Jordan, linking its deep past to its contemporary national identity, and moving beyond the rigid interpretations imposed by orientalist readings. Upon its release, this work is expected to spark wide scholarly and intellectual debate due to its bold arguments, depth of analysis, and strong connection to Jordan's heritage and its role in Arab civilization. This publication is part of a series of major works to which Dr. Al-Abbadi has dedicated his scholarly life, aiming to re-read the ancient history of Jordan and reaffirm its place as one of the leading intellectual references defending Arab historical identity and highlighting Jordan's contribution to the march of human civilization.
Shafaq News
25-07-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Basra rally denounces Khor Abdullah agreement as betrayal
Shafaq News – Basra On Friday, hundreds of Iraqis protested outside the Kuwaiti consulate in Basra province to reject the Khor Abdullah maritime agreement, denouncing what they called a 'surrender of maritime sovereignty.' Ali al-Abbadi, a representative of the demonstrators, told Shafaq News Agency that the issue of the Khor Abdullah agreement and its implications for Iraq's maritime boundaries remains a point of contention between the government and the people. 'While the Iraqi public sees the deal as humiliating and a violation of the country's territory and waters, the government views it as an unavoidable reality due to UN Security Council Resolution 833 of 1993.' Al-Abbadi added that the Federal Supreme Court had settled the dispute in September 2023 by declaring the 2013 law ratifying the agreement unconstitutional. However, he noted that public outrage followed a statement by Faiq Zidan, head of Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council, who—after a visit to Kuwait—claimed the court had rejected the same challenge it had previously upheld, arguing it lacked constitutional or legal grounds. Earlier, a majority of Iraqi lawmakers voiced support for the Federal Supreme Court's decision to void the agreement. MP Amer Abdul-Jabbar told Shafaq News that 194 out of 329 parliamentarians had signed a petition addressed to the head of the court, endorsing the September 2023 ruling.
Ammon
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Ammon
Al-Abbadi Deconstructs the Concept of 'Semitism' and Replaces It with the 'Thamudic-Arabic-Jordanian Identity'
Ammon News - In a bold and unconventional historical and scientific endeavor, Jordanian thinker and historian Dr. Ahmad Oweidi Al-Abbadi presents a profound critical reassessment of the concept of 'Semitism' in his newly released book 'The Nabataean Kingdom of Jordan (500 B.C. – 130 A.D.)'. In it, he proposes replacing the fabricated Orientalist term with a more accurate and historically grounded identity: the 'Thamudic–Arabic–Jordanian'. In the introduction to his book, Dr. Al-Abbadi examines the origins of the term 'Semitic,' explaining that it emerged from European Orientalist discourse when the German scholar August Ludwig Schlözer coined it in 1781. Schlözer based his classification on biblical narratives, particularly the division of the sons of Noah—Shem, Ham, and Japheth—despite this classification having no basis in the Qur'an, epigraphy, or historical anthropology. Al-Abbadi describes this as a mythical linguistic-ethnic fabrication, inconsistent with the Qur'anic account, which mentions only one son of Noah who disbelieved and drowned in the flood, as in the verse: "And Noah called out to his son, who had kept himself apart, 'O my son, come aboard with us and do not be with the disbelievers!'... But he was among the drowned." [Hud: 42–43]. Dr. Al-Abbadi poses a provocative and essential question: 'How is it that the biblical narrative is exalted and granted taxonomic authority over human origins and languages, while the Qur'anic text—which never once refers to the three sons of Noah—is neglected? Is this not a methodological rupture that demands a thorough reevaluation of the foundations we often accept without scrutiny?' He further argues that the concept of "Semitism" has been deliberately used as a linguistic smokescreen to support colonial agendas, particularly the justification of the Zionist entity's existence as a supposed 'natural return' to the ancestral land of the so-called 'Semitic peoples'—a claim devoid of scientific, linguistic, or scriptural credibility. As an alternative, Dr. Al-Abbadi offers a rigorously substantiated and evidence-based identity: the Thamudic–Arabic–Jordanian civilization, grounded in archaeological findings, epigraphic records, and the environmental geography of the region. He asserts that this identity better represents the peoples of the region—the Thamud, Edomites, Moabites, Ammonites, Nabataeans, Lihyanites, Safaites, Qedarites, Bashanites, and the people of the forgotten Jordanian Kingdom of Perea—all of whom contributed to the development of the Arabic language through local inscriptions and scripts. Al-Abbadi emphasizes that the land of Jordan was historically home to the people of Thamud, memorialized in the Qur'an in the verse: 'And [with] Thamud, who carved out the rocks in the valley.' [Al-Fajr: 9]. He points to their inscriptions and architectural remains in Tayma, Al-Hijr, Al-'Ula, Madain Salih, and the eastern mountains of Jordan, all of which serve as testimony to a once-thriving Arab civilization. Contrary to colonial narratives, which portray early Arabs as mere nomads, these findings reveal their role as city builders and cultural pioneers. In a detailed historical context, Al-Abbadi reconstructs the development of the Arabic language, clarifying that what is now known as the Arabic script is not a continuation of the fictitious 'Semitic' model, but rather the result of organic linguistic evolution through the Thamudic, Nabataean, and Safaitic scripts that originated in the heart of ancient Jordan. He calls for a reclassification of the Arabic script to reflect its authentic local roots rather than its association with misleading terminologies. Dr. Al-Abbadi concludes with an earnest appeal to Arab and Islamic research institutions to rebuild historical and linguistic consciousness on the basis of solid evidence—from the Qur'anic text to field inscriptions and scientific analysis—rather than relying on inherited biblical tales authored in eras of political and religious captivity. It is worth noting that 'The Nabataean Kingdom of Jordan' stands as one of the most significant intellectual publications of the past decade. It masterfully bridges Jordanian national identity with its deep linguistic and civilizational roots, restoring dignity to long-neglected local civilizations—from Thamud to the Nabataeans, from Ammon to Petra—and challenging dominant global narratives that have historically marginalized the true Arab contributions to human heritage.
