Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life

Queen Noor of Jordan

………

MIRAMAX, 2003

(available in paperback from Miramax, 2005)

IN JUNE 1978, a twenty-six-year-old American, Lisa Halaby, married Jordan’s King Hussein, a man sixteen years her senior. America was captivated. How had this young Californian, whose father’s family originally came from Syria, met the King of Jordan? What would her life be like? How would a member of the first class of women to graduate from Princeton University adjust to life as a queen? Would the Jordanian people accept her?

Twenty-five years later, in Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life, Halaby, who changed her name to Noor Al Hussein (“Light of Hussein”) after her marriage, tells her remarkable life story, from an American childhood to the Jordanian throne. The pages of Leap of Faith reflect Queen Noor’s deep love for her husband and respect for the values that shaped his political goals, her devotion to the people of Jordan and to Islam, and her commitment to advancing the causes of social justice, peace, and economic opportunity.

After studying architecture and urban planning at Princeton, Halaby spent several years working on urban planning projects in Australia and Iran. She then traveled to Jordan to visit and work with her father, Najeeb Halaby, a former airline executive and head of the Federal Aviation Administration, who was in Amman, laying the groundwork for a pan-Arab aviation university. It was on an Amman airport runway that Halaby first met King Hussein, and she continued to have chance meetings with him at the airport in the course of her work for the university. These meetings led to invitations to the royal palace for dinner and movies, and finally to a proposal of marriage.

As King Hussein’s fourth wife, Queen Noor immediately became the stepmother of eight children, three of whom were still living at home. (She later had four children of her own.) She embraced Islam wholeheartedly, attracted to its simplicity and emphasis on social justice and tolerance. And she slowly adjusted to the demands of public life, with its scarce private moments.

Although shy by nature, Queen Noor eventually warmed to her role as dignitary. As was frequently required, she participated in state visits and travel as a national emissary, tasks that often involved much pomp and ceremony, but substantive issues continued to engage her. Queen Noor was especially moved by the plight of the 800,000 Palestinian refugees in Jordan, displaced by the creation of the state of Israel. She devotes a good deal of her memoir to describing her perspective on events in the Middle East conflict and her husband’s efforts to find a peaceful resolution. After Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990, Queen Noor embarked on a public relations campaign to defend her husband’s neutral stance. She also plunged herself into causes inside Jordan, including child welfare reforms, creation of parks and open spaces, preservation of Jordan’s architectural heritage, economic development and empowerment for women, and removal of land mines along Jordan’s borders.

Just as she embraced other aspects of Jordanian culture, Queen Noor relished the foods of her adopted country. On her brief first visit to Jordan in 1976 with her father, she listened intently and asked many questions as dinner conversation veered to politics “over the mezzah, an assortment of appetizers including tabbouleh, hummus, and marinated vegetables.” Later, when she returned to Jordan for a more extended stay, she met Jordanian friends who welcomed her into their homes. One friend’s mother, a good cook, taught the future queen how to prepare her favorite dishes: bamieh, or okra; foul, or fava beans; and fasoulieh, “green beans in tomato sauce, which I would go home and prepare in my little apartment.” Her food memories are some of her earliest, most pleasant impressions of a land she would come to love.

After ascending the throne, Queen Noor enjoyed lavish state dinners with leaders from around the world. Still, the foods she savored continued to be Middle Eastern. When she traveled she would bring “emergency supplies” of date brownies and granola bars from Amman. While she was living at Al Nadwa Palace, ordering falafel from a downtown Amman restaurant was a “special treat.” When she hosted official iftars—evening meals to break the daily fasts during Ramadan—Queen Noor would serve qamareddin, “a delicious drink made out of apricot paste that I had loved since childhood.”

Perhaps part of the appeal of Middle Eastern food for Queen Noor lay in its health benefits. The vegetable and grain dishes were full of nutrients and fiber. She noted that her paternal grandmother influenced her philosophy that “the right attitude, together with eating properly and keeping physically active, could dramatically contribute to well-being and longevity.”

Queen Noor hints of her attraction to healthy eating in Leap of Faith, and another account from the time confirms this assessment. In the early 1990s, after Iraq invaded Kuwait, the American reporter Geraldine Brooks dined several times with the king and queen at the palace in Amman. In Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women (see p. 292), Brooks describes the battery of small dishes that would be brought out for Queen Noor’s meal, “always including the light, healthy things she liked, such as seaweed soup, grilled fish or spiced lentils with yogurt. The king rarely ate any of what he jokingly disparaged as Noor’s health food.”

Queen Noor graciously agreed to contribute some of her current favorite recipes for The Book Club Cookbook. Her Majesty’s choices reflect her continued enjoyment of Middle Eastern food and her lifelong devotion to good health.

HER MAJESTY’S MUJADARA (LENTILS AND RICE) WITH CUCUMBER YOGURT

This warming lentil and rice dish, considered an everyday food in Jordan, is generally eaten in the winter. It is served as a main course, often accompanied by Cucumber Yogurt (see below) or salad.

2 cups uncooked short-grain rice, preferably Egyptian or Spanish varieties 1 cup brown lentils 2 large onions 3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon ground cumin 1½ teaspoons salt ½ teaspoon white pepper ½ teaspoon allspice 2 tablespoons cornstarch Vegetable oil for deep-frying

1. Soak the rice for about 30 minutes. Rinse and drain several times until the rice water is clear.

2. While the rice is soaking, pick over the lentils and wash them well. Place in a pot and cover with 5 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until lentils are partially cooked, about 12–15 minutes. Drain lentils, reserving cooking liquid.

3. Slice 1 onion crosswise in ¼-inch slices. Separate the rings and set aside. Dice the other onion. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven. Add the diced onion and sauté until very soft and golden. Add the rice and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the lentils, cumin, salt, white pepper, allspice, and 3 cups of reserved lentil stock. Bring to a boil for 2 minutes, reduce heat, and cover. Let the mixture cook until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is cooked, about 20 minutes.

4. While the mujadara is simmering, prepare the onion garnish. Place the onion rings into a plastic bag and add the cornstarch. Close the bag and shake to coat the onions well. Heat 1 inch of vegetable oil to very hot (375°F) in a pan for deep frying. Add the onion rings in batches and fry until brown and crisp, about 2 minutes. Watch onions closely to prevent burning. Gently stir once or twice while frying to keep them from sticking together. Drain on brown paper or paper towels and coarsely chop.

5. Arrange the hot mujadara on a serving platter and sprinkle with fried onions. Serve with the Cucumber Yogurt on the side.

Yield: 6 servings

CUCUMBER YOGURT

3 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and diced 1 clove garlic, minced 2 cups plain yogurt

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves Salt

In a bowl, combine cucumbers, garlic, yogurt, and mint. Salt to taste. Refrigerate, covered, for several hours, to allow flavors to develop.

Yield: About 4 cups

HER MAJESTY’S SPINACH BÖREK (PASTRY)

These triangular spinach-filled pastries are traditionally served as part of a mezzah, or banquet of appetizers. The filling gets its special flavor from sumac, or Sicilian sumac (Rhus coriaria), a spice made from dried, powdered berries. Although largely unknown in America, sumac, which imparts a sour flavor, is used commonly in Middle Eastern cooking.

For the dough
1 teaspoon active dry yeast 1 teaspoon sugar ½ cup warm water	1¾ cups all-purpose flour Dash of salt 2 tablespoons olive oil
For the filling
1½ pounds fresh spinach, or 1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed 3 tablespoons olive oil 2 medium onions, diced 1 egg yolk ¼ cup milk	1 teaspoon salt ¾ teaspoon ground white pepper 1½ tablespoons sumac

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. To make the dough: Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water. Let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes.

3. Mix the flour and salt. Add the olive oil and the yeast mixture and knead until a soft ball forms. Cover the dough with a cloth and let it rest for 15 minutes.

4. To make the filling: If you are using fresh spinach, cook it in boiling salted water for 2 minutes. Drain fresh or frozen spinach well by pressing in a colander, squeezing out excess moisture by hand, and finally rolling in paper towels or a clean dish towel and wringing dry. After drying, chop fresh spinach coarsely.

5. Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet. Sauté the onions until soft and translucent, 8–10 minutes. Add the chopped spinach, salt, white pepper, and sumac. Cook for 5 minutes, then remove from heat. Drain off any liquid (there shouldn’t be any if you’ve dried the spinach), and allow to cool.

6. To make the pastries: Cut the dough into 5 equal parts and roll into balls. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough balls to ¼- to -inch thickness. Place of the filling in the center of each. Lift the 3 sides of the round dough and seal together on top to form a triangle (the finished pastries should be about 4 inches across).

7. Make an egg wash by lightly beating the egg yolk into the milk.

8. Arrange the pastries on a greased baking tray. Brush the top of each with egg wash and bake until the crust is lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Yield: 5 servings

   NOVEL THOUGHTS

Sharon Bloomstran’s close-knit St. Louis–based book club incorporates food and fun, but the focus of group discussion remains on the book. “We don’t just use meetings to vent about our families and jobs,” says Bloomstran. “We do socialize, which is important, but the literary reactions are just as important.”

The women expressed a range of reactions to Leap of Faith, which generated lively discussion ranging from the nature of memoir and marriage to perspectives on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Although some group members did not agree with Queen Noor’s views, they welcomed her perspective on Middle East politics. “We live in a country allied with Israel, so we Americans are used to hearing the Israeli perspective. This gave the Palestinian view, which was interesting and thought-provoking,” says Bloomstran.

More Food for Thought

“Leap of Faith seemed like a logical book to pair with a thematic meal,” says Amy Miller of the first book that inspired her Needham, Massachusetts, book club to prepare food related to the book being discussed. Until then, members of the club had served pizza, lasagna, soup, bread, brownies, and wine, but nothing related to the books. “Everyone thought that serving related foods was a lot of fun,” says Miller.

Miller’s Leap of Faith menu included falafel, tahini, hummus, stuffed grape leaves, a platter of crudités and pita triangles, chicken and veggie kabobs, couscous, Greek salad, and wine. Miller’s book group colleague Lita Young topped the meal with home-baked baklava, a delicacy found throughout the Arab world. This sweet, gooey pastry of phyllo dough is spread with a sugary nut mixture and covered with syrup.

Having lived in Libya for a year in the 1960s, Marlene Davis of the Friends of the Fort Worth Public Library Book Forum in Fort Worth, Texas, had firsthand experience with Middle Eastern food. “When I went to big feasts, there was often a roast lamb as a centerpiece, surrounded by lots of little dishes, the mezzah, that you could sample,” says Davis. For her book club’s Leap of Faith feast, she left out the lamb but prepared baba ghanoush, couscous, and hummus.