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atthefederallevel,butwhichconsistsofsevenemirates—anaspectthatis
oftenforgotten—whicharetraditionalmonarchieswithabsoluterulers.3
Thedistinctionbetweenconstitutionalandabsolutemonarchies—
importantinWesternlegalculture—isoftenseenintheArabworldas
amatterofsecondaryimportance.Thisiswell-illustratedbythehistoryof
Jordan’smonarchy,which—justasMorocco—seeminglyhasmanyfeatures
ofaconstitutionalkingdom,includingaparliament,regularelections,and
western-stylecabinets.Thewidepowersofthekingaredefinedinlinewith
theWesternmodel—atleastintheEnglishandFrench-languageversionsof
theconstitution.Therulerheadstheexecutivebranchofgovernment,andcan
belikenedtoEuropeanmonarchs(albeitthoseofthe19thcenturyratherthan
thecontemporarySwedishorDanishroyals).Atleastintheory,thenotions
ofthepeopleandtheirsovereignrightsareaccepted.IntheArabic-language
versionoftheconstitution,though,andinpractice,theprerogativesofthe
rulersofbothMoroccoandJordanaremuchwiderandlessclearlydefined.
Theauthorityofthekingandtherulinghouseisjustifiedinatraditionalway.
TheMoroccanroyalfamilyoftheAlaouitesandtheJordaniandynastyof
theHashemitestracetheirlineagestothefamilyoftheprophetMuhammad,
whichmeans,underIslamiclaw,thattheyhavespecialrightstogovern.In
termsofpoliticalpractice,thepartlyWesternisedkingdomsofMoroccoand
JordanarenotdramaticallyfarfromtheostensiblytraditionalSaudiArabian
monarchy.4
Thequestionoflegitimacyisalsoworthconsidering.TheArab
monarchiesadheretotheage-oldideaofempowermentbythegraceofGod.
Withinthisgeneralapproach,threewaysoflegitimisingtherulingindividual
orfamilycanbediscerned—traditional,genealogicalandIslamic,allciting
Islamiclawandtheopinionsofmuftisofthepast.Genealogicallegitimacy,
whichisthemosttraditionalmanneroflegitimisingmonarchicrule,and
onethatisbestunderstoodinthelightofhistoricalprecedents,derivesfrom
claimsofkinshipwiththeprophetMohammad.AncientIslamic(Sunni)
juristsproducedalistofconditionsnecessaryforapersontobearthetitleof
caliph.Alongwithpersonaltraits(suchasgoodphysicalandmentalhealth),
thelistincludesmembershipoftheQurayshtribe,intowhichMuhammad
wasborn.QurayshancestryisclaimedbytherulingdynastiesinMorocco
3
M.M.Dziekan(ed.),Arabowie:słownikencyklopedyczny,WydawnictwoNaukowePWN,
2001,p.365.
4
A.George,Jordan:LivingintheCrossfire,ZedBooks,2005,pp.XI-XII.
10
ThePolishQuarterlyofInternationalAffairs,2016,no.4
