AMMAN, Jordan, Nov. 13 - At a cultural festival last year, Sameer al-Qudah recited a poem of his depicting Arab rulers as a notch below pirates and highwaymen on the scale of honorable professions. Within days, Jordan's intelligence police summoned him.
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James Hill for The New York Times
A portrait of King Abdullah in Ajloun, about 30 miles north of Amman. Reformers see the king, in power since 1999, as ambivalent about political openness.
STIRRINGS IN THE DESERT
This article is the third of a series examining the prospects for democracy in the Middle East.
This article is the third of a series examining the prospects for democracy in the Middle East.
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