Her majesty Queen Noor Al Hussein of Jordan toured Brooklyn’s largest Arab community yesterday, where she spoke at a local Arab support center.
“You don’t know how much this means to us,” beamed Emira Habiby Browne, executive director of the Arab-American Family Support Center on Court Street as she hugged the queen.
“Having you here makes all the difference in the world.”
The queen expressed her concern that local Arab-American residents not become victims of displaced hostility.
“Most of what went into the planning [of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks] wasn’t planned in the U.S.,” said the American-born queen, widow of Jordan’s King Hussein. “It wasn’t out of this community, and this community should not become victims a second time around.”
Thanks at least in part to a heavy police presence along Atlantic Avenue on the southern border of Brooklyn Heights since the attacks, bias incidents against local Arab-Americans – a bustling patchwork of Pakistanis, Afghanis, Lebanese and Yemeni merchants – have been few.
“We are one,” veteran local merchant Charlie Sahadi told the queen when she stopped by his gourmet food shop to inquire about the mood in the neighborhood. “This has brought so many people together.”
“I’m encouraged by your solidarity,” the queen replied.
“Together – we’ll get there,” Sahadi said.
At the support center, Queen Noor urged local Arab-Americans to seize the opportunity to share with America the rich, diverse cultures of the Middle East.