>> hinojosa: in 1978 she became the first american-born queen of an arab country. for the last three decades, she's been a world-famous advocate of cross-cultural dialogue and global peace. her majesty, queen noor of jordan. i'm maria hinojosa. this is one on one. your majesty queen noor, what an honor to have you here. >> oh, i'm delighted. thank you. >> hinojosa: there's something quite beautiful. you know, most people now, when i was telling people that i was going to interview you, and i'd say, "i'm interviewing queen noor," they'd say, "oh, we love here, we love queen noor," this feeling of love. but people around the world know

you as queen noor. >> mm-hmm. >> hinojosa: they don't know you as lisa halaby, the woman who you were. you were growing up as an american girl, and i think one of the things that people are fascinated by about you is the fact that you actually... you could make this decision to say, "i was lisa... i am, or was lisa halaby, an american girl, but i could also be this, i could also be royalty of someplace else." this ability to basically say, "i could be someone else," change your identity, is really quite extraordinary. >> well, first of all, it was my husband who changed the identity in the way you described it, with a title, et cetera. i grew up as a young girl in this country of arab heritage, and very interested in my arab roots through my father's side. but i grew up... he worked for president kennedy, for example, as his federal aviation

administrator, and actually reached the highest level of a minority, i believe, in the us government at that stage. and so i grew up wanting... infused by the spirit of the kennedy administration, of the civil rights movement, of the peace corps. my heroes were people like president kennedy, martin luther king, and i wanted to join the peace corps. i didn't... had no interest in royalty, or in thinking about changing myself. and in fact, to this day, i don't think i'm any different, except in what i have learned and experienced over time. i'm still the young woman who grew up in the united states, and whose life has evolved to encompass other cultures, other societies, and unimaginable responsibilities and love that as a young girl i wouldn't even have dreamt of. >> hinojosa: so you brought it up, love. there is something about your story which i think... people see the power of this love, and

when they see pictures of you with your husband, king hussein, this connection that you had... and i think that... i remember thinking when i was a kid, trying to kind of do the double culture thing, because i was mexican, but i was also american, and just seeing you, and i was like, "wow, she was able to do this. she was able to bridge these two cultures." but so much of it was based on the power of love. >> a great deal, and while many people don't realize my arab heritage, and that i had worked in the arab world, i had worked in iran, and i'd worked in australia before i married, but i at the time was working in the arab world from a base in jordan and traveling throughout, doing research throughout a great many arab countries. so i had something of an understanding of the region, and i had an instinctive interest and curiosity because of my heritage.

but it was my husband who had to persuade me through his faith in what we could be together, because i kept asking myself, "could i possibly be the right partner for him? i'm an independent young woman who has worked in many different parts of the world, and lived a very independent and unconventional life, and i am... i'm a relatively unconventional personality." and so it was his love and his faith that had to win over my confidence in... that i might be the right partner for him. because i cared and respected and admired his work for peace in the middle east, and i cared enough for him as a person at that moment that i didn't want to in any way be a liability. and the relations of the united states with the middle east have been very, very complex, very...

very difficult over generations now. and i didn't want to be a liability for him. so yes, his love had to win... win me... and his faith. it was his faith in us that won me over. >> hinojosa: and i was writing in my notes, i was like, "you know, oftentimes people in this country think of the arab world, and the muslim world, as a world that kind of pushes conformity." and you're an absolute nonconformist in so many ways. >> what we're seeing in the arab world today that is very exciting is not only that, for a variety of reasons, economic, political, and social, are the traditional centralized state power centers being diffused through different groups in society, but more importantly, we're seeing a self assertion of the youth.

we're seeing a whole new dynamic take place-- and i'm getting now to the question you asked me-- and it is about thinking outside the box. we're seeing youth empowered through technology and through changes that are taking place in society, and through sheer numbers. we have a youth bulge. it's doubled in the past 30 years, and our youth are 65 or more percent of our populations, on average. and those youth are not... they are not... while they... they're living in multiple sort of... their identities are part... are expressing themselves in a multiplicity of ways, both... there both is the conservative, traditional family role, but there is at the same time a much more empowered, engaged, and not so acquiescent as in the past role in terms of developing

networks, expressing themselves, expressing their aspirations, their grievances, and their... what they believe are their rights. and also, a new empowerment in terms of developing economic opportunities and an entrepreneurial way of thinking, an outside of the box way of thinking. so in fact, this generation is much more like, perhaps, i was when i was growing up, and when i first came to the region. they are bringing a new energy and dynamism which has great potential. it's a great opportunity for the region if we use it right. >> hinojosa: well, let me ask you, what do you think is the greatest challenge to bridge these two worlds? it's been your life's work, right, is to try to get americans to understand that, actually, you have a lot more similarities than you might think that you share with the arab people, with the arab

culture. and now, in a way, you were kind of way ahead of the game. >> well, over 30 years i've been trying to make that point. and yet today, at this point in time, because of political events, because of certain isolated but tragic in their consequences acts of terrorism, and because of the political process in this country, to some extent, there seems to be even more polarization that i remember at almost any other period of time. and it's of great concern. it's of great concern to muslims and to arabs, and i suspect to other communities around the world as well, to see the political system here so polarized, and to see the other, if you will, people or cultures or societies that aren't entirely familiar-- and that may

be true for latin americans as well-- become, what do you call it, political footballs. in other words, to become so highly part of a political... of polarized political process that no longer are the people and the realities, the social and cultural realities of our regions, of our societies, part of the understanding of the decision makers. policy is being developed on the basis of a very... a superficial, stereotypical and unreal image of people in countries that are critical to the united states in its future, and critical for policy makers to understand better... to understand their aspirations and what they're really looking for in order to identify that

common ground which means that together we can make solutions, whether they're latin american, northern american solutions, or they're that critical relationship between countries in the middle east and the united states. i don't know if i was very clear on that one. >> hinojosa: well, no, but i think what you're saying is that the human contact is so important, the understanding of humanity. and so, you know, again, you are such a symbol in so many ways, your majesty. so i'm sure that there are many people who would be surprised, or maybe have forgotten the fact that you became a muslim yourself. and so people are saying, "wait a second. the queen is a muslim, but she doesn't look like someone who i think, or have been told, or the image..." so for people who are wondering, well, what does a muslim in america like you, or in the world that you live in, all around the world, how do you live your life as a muslim on a daily basis? what does it mean? >> it's more than living it on a

daily basis. it's an approach to one's life in the short... today, in this moment, and for one's entire life. you don't really start the day thinking, "how am i living this day as a good muslim?" at least i start the day with... i mean, infused with a faith and a set of responsibilities that i believe are entirely consistent with the judeo-christian values that i grew up with in this country. and the same values that are so fundamental to christianity and judaism are the values of islam-- tolerance, and the

emphasis on charity, on accountability before god, on living a life that is of service to others. >> hinojosa: that's not... >> that's not the perception that people have. >> hinojosa: that's not the image. >> many muslims, as many christians and many jews, have many different ways of expressing their faith that can have to do with their dress, that can have to do with the times of day that we pray, or the way that we pray, or the feast days that we celebrate, many of which are related. and so what appears in the american media, for the most part... a little less so in the rest of the world, where the media is more nuanced, there is not such a sound bite and narrow... and it is in part a reflection of domestic politics in this country as it concerns the middle east. but here there is a very stereotypical view of the arab

world, and it does tend to focus on terrorists and politics and perhaps the oil riches and the oil interests of certain states in the arab world. it doesn't focus, as i said earlier, on the people, on the facts of our societies, on the actual realities of our societies, what we have accomplished to date. it doesn't even focus on what extraordinary contributions were made to civilization that are part of everyday life for all of us today during the golden age of islam, between the seventh and the 13th centuries. >> hinojosa: how can one person, i mean, one person... when you... >> it's not... it's encouraging people to seek out knowledge and understanding. and there is access to that now. the technology offers us access. so anyone who's genuinely interested in islam or islamic history or the arab world or

arab history can go to a variety of sources and find out more. but what we do need to do and ensure is that there is more material on these subjects available in the educational system. whether in this country or even in our region, our educational systems are failing our young people, especially in terms of understanding other cultures and societies of importance to us. >> hinojosa: so people feel this sense of communion with you because you have been so incredibly honest about your life. in your book, leap of faith, you reveal so much. and i was wondering, i was like, "you know what? the queen does not need to be doing this, does not..." >> well, i'm a shy person by nature, and i did not want... i wanted... i wrote that book. the publishers seemed to have in mind a one-year bestseller, in other words, you know, a...

"write it in a year, or have someone write it for you in a year, and it'll come out, and how many queens have written books? and, you know, we'll market it off of that." and i said, "well, no, i actually have no interest in writing a book that is not going to inform and have some meaning for people, especially considering how much information is absent from people's... from the educational system and from the media about the middle east, and how little is understood about what actually has happened in the search for peace in the region. so for me it was both trying to put my husband's work in an honest, objective way on paper, and some of the realities of our region, and the politics that people find so confusing about our region. and that was the purpose of the book. now, i was told, of course, if you want get that across, you've got to put in the personal to hang it on, or no one will read the book.

or at least very few people will read the book. and i wanted to book to reach as many people as possible-- different kinds of people. and so the book is... >> hinojosa: is really inside. >> it's very personal, and it also... i've been very gratified by the people who have come and told me thank you, people... you know, jewish americans, and arab americans, and americans from the midwest, and throughout the country, and all the other countries that it's been published in, "thank you for helping us to understand a little bit more." and as you said, i hope, and it seems, that it has come across as something authentic and not as a piece of political propaganda or personal propaganda. >> hinojosa: now, i do want to ask you another kind of personal question, which is, you are someone who, because of how you ended up living your life, married to king hussein, your own role, your majesty, you have

learned how to live with fear. your husband was... there were assassination attempts. and from a very personal place, how did you do that? and then you lost your husband to cancer. how have you reconciled that? give us some words of someone who people look and say, "she has been through so much, where does she go, where does she find the strength to battle the fear, to battle the loneliness?" >> through me, in the first months and maybe years of my marriage, i remember feeling extremely protective of my husband. and i kind of acted as... when we were together, i acted almost like another member of his security. i was always... >> hinojosa: i was shocked to read that, honestly. i was like, "oh, my gosh, she's standing in front of him?" >> it was just an instinctive...

it was just instinctive, because... and this is where the answer to your question comes in. because he represented not only the love of my life and the father of my children and my partner and so much that was important to me in terms of my work, but he represented so much in terms of the hope and prospects for peace in our region, because of the example he set, and because of his constant 24-7 efforts to achieve that. i can attest to that, because he was working to achieve peace in his dreams. i heard it at night. and that is... so that was the reason that i felt so protective of him, because he was something so much bigger than the two of us, or me, or even just an individual man. he actually... his role in what he was doing was important to

the lives and futures of millions of people, which is why it was such a tragedy that we lost him at such a young age. and i have just... i've carried... what i... how i've dealt with that loss is by just continuing to work, and trying to be a mother for our children that... you know, a loving and supportive and hopefully in whatever ways i'm capable, exemplary mother for our children. by exemplary i mean i think the best way to have any kind of influence in life is through personal example, whether on the political level or on the most personal. and then continuing the work in jordan, the development work focused on human security primarily, and also internationally taking many of

those lessons and many of those best practices models that we developed there into other arab countries, and focusing on peace building in other parts of the world. >> hinojosa: which i guess is an interesting segue, because i brought up the issue of fear, and how one lives with fear, and yet you again have put yourself front and center. you created global zero to basically say, around the world, zero nuclear weapons around the world. why take on yet another huge challenge when you could be raising your children, your grandchildren? >> well, i try to do that, because that gives me the greatest joy in life. and at the same time, if their future... if i can contribute to improving the prospects for their future and that of their generation and others to come... you have to look at life... and i learned this with my... in those early years with my husband, and that trying to come to terms with the fact that he had been subjected to so many assassination attempts.

you have to live each day, you know, as if it is your last on earth, and you have to work each day as if you are going to live forever. you have to be looking to the long term. and i... the issue of nuclear weapons is one that is critical to the future security of everyone anywhere in the world today. >> hinojosa: and you actually say that right now, in terms of nuclear power, we are more unsafe than we were at the height of the nuclear power scare. >> the cold war, the mutually assured destruction. there was a balance of power, so to speak, and a conviction on... i think a misplaced conviction. i think the early scientists who developed the nuclear bomb, they were right-- it should have stopped there. the technology should have been shared with the russians, and

both sides should have agreed, "this can go no further, because it will only lead us into an abyss." and that's, of course, what has happened. what makes it more dangerous today is that there are now nine nuclear weapon states, some of which have very... their nuclear weapons are not in a secured, stable environment, and there are enough... there's enough highly enriched uranium out there to make perhaps 100,000 nuclear bombs. >> hinojosa: this is where i'm just like... >> we've come down from a cold war high of 70,000 nuclear weapons to about 23,000. in other words, we've demonstrated that progress can be made in reducing arsenals. and the new start treaty that president obama and medvedev of russia have signed is a very important step towards reducing our nuclear arsenals down to

zero. because the us and russia have about 90-odd percent of the nuclear weapons in the world today. if they continue to make severe cuts in their arsenals, which leaves them, by the way, with more than enough weapons to destroy the world over, so they're not cutting back in this new start treaty in any way that will make this country less secure. and that is what all the military experts say. they all support this new start treaty. the military leadership of this country supports the new start treaty, because it will take the us and russia closer to bringing together the other nuclear states when they see that the us and russia really are serious, and don't intend to keep weapons while telling everyone else they can't have them. then you will find all countries, including countries like iran... if they feel that everyone is being treated the same way, and held to the same standards, you will find that is

the root to dealing with the nuclear arsenals that are preventing... that are creating so much danger, because it's the nuclear materials that can slip out of those arsenals into the hands of terrorists that could destroy a city like this like that. >> hinojosa: but you still believe, again, i guess, profoundly motivated by your humanity, that in a world of distrust, that... you still believe that countries can actually come to an agreement and say, "zero nuclear weapons." >> i do believe that the reality of the dangers is so much more evident today than ever before. it isn't necessarily to people on the street. that's why we produced this film, countdown to zero, which makes this issue very real, very understandable, and it traces the history of nuclear weapons to the dangers that are posed by nuclear terrorism today. but on the level of heads of state and experts in the military field, our global zero

initiative in fact is comprised of former heads of state, former national security advisors, defense... military commanders, as well as faith leaders and students and people representing all sectors of society. but the original architects of nuclear programs in many of the... for example, the developed countries, as well as, we've heard, from the indians and the pakistanis, all agree that nuclear weapons pose far more danger to all of us today than can protect any country. in fact, the nuclear states, the developed countries that have nuclear weapons, a country like the united states, is more in danger, is more a target today of loose nuclear materials than it can protect itself, because it can't protect itself with nuclear weapons from nuclear terrorists. >> hinojosa: your majesty queen noor, for all of that work, for informing us, for being such a humanitarian and such an honest, wonderful woman, thank you so

much for joining us. >> thank you, maria. >> hinojosa: continue the conversation at wgbh.org/oneonone.

steves: pause at any street corner to enjoy a vivid slice of neapolitan life. and don't forget to look up. with no yards, families make full use of their tiny balconies.

this is basso living. basso living. what does that mean? it can mean "low." so, literally, low? this is like a small apartment -- two, three bedrooms for five, six, seven, eight, nine people to a family. the traditional, sort of romantic life in the streets. life in the streets, yeah. many people might have money to go away from here, but they still stay here. steves: no taste of naples is complete without a pizza. antica pizzeria da michele is a favorite. baking in just the right combination of fresh dough, mozzarella, and tomatoes in traditional woodburning ovens, this restaurant is considered by many the birthplace of pizza.

they brag it takes several years of practice to get the dough just right. catering to pizza purists, the menu is brief -- just two kinds. marinara comes with tomato sauce, oregano, and garlic -- no cheese. margarita celebrates the unification of italy. named after the first italian queen, it comes with the colors of the italian flag -- red tomatoes, white mozzarella cheese, and a garnish of green basil. italians who come to the states are not impressed by thick and fancy pizzas. judging from the enthusiasm of those munching these hot and tasty pies, what really matters is not the quantity of ingredients, but the quality.

i wonder about religious belief. i've sought it; i've had it; i've questioned it; i've rejected it; i've studied it. and i'm still puzzled by it. all-the-while i wonder what causes belief in god. one answer, obviously, is that god exists and because god intends our belief, god enables our belief.