(MENAFN- Jordan Times) It is sad that it was the death of Lt. Muath Kasasbeh that has drawn the attention of the world to Jordan, just as it was sad that it took the death of a poor young man to draw attention to Tunisia.
These two young and previously unknown men, by their deaths in similar horrific circumstances, do not demand revenge but honour: The honour of bringing the world's attention to their countries' destiny.
Jordan, like Tunisia, is a small country with a small population, but its history, its geographical position and its people give it a role of special significance.
To millions of Jews, Christians and Muslims around the world, Jordan is part of the sacred Holy Land.
Its borders touch Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq and Syria, while its natural borders with Palestine are temporarily frozen. It, therefore, shares in all the problems, crises and conflicts of its neighbours, and has a key role to play in the resolutions of these problems.
We should honour Muath because he has given us not only the opportunity but also the obligation to fulfil that role.
Up till now, the players in the global game of nations considered Jordan marginal to their interests, and some Jordanians have come to see themselves in the same way.
Now it is evident to all that Jordan is also faced with a major crisis that all the countries of the Middle East face: There is a conflict, open in some parts, underground in others, between two divergent concepts of the legitimacy of power.
The one bases just government on the sanctity of human equality, irrespective of gender, race and creed, the other claims legitimacy on the bases of belief in one creed to the exclusion of those who belong to another.
In the wars now taking place in Iraq and Syria between national governments and a challenging claim to power, Jordan is part of the international coalition combating that claim, and though small, it is significant because its government, unlike some of its other members, is firmly founded on the first basis.
In the conflict which opposes the Palestinian people to the government of Israel, Jordan's role is crucial, not only because a large and perhaps major part of its population are Palestinians but also because its leadership recognises and legalises the sanctity of human equality.
Thus, it should and can be the strongest bulwark against those forces now at work on the other side of the River Jordan to legitimise the concept of a Jewish State in which there would be no place for the Palestinians.
Now that the world's attention is momentarily focused on Jordan, it is the occasion, and the moment, to claim Jordan's place as a key player in the conflicts both in Syria and Iraq, with whose people and economies it is intimately connected, and in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, where its participation in any serious effort to find a solution is essential and urgent.
This should be our tribute to Muath.
The writer, former professor at AUB, is a self-employed writer and an observer of Middle East events. He contributed this article to The Jordan Times.
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