Topic : 06/16 A Daughter in Danger?

First let me say that there is no excuse for a man to call a woman he loves (or any woman) a bitch and to place her in a dangerous situation. 

Having said that I also believe that there is a great ignorance of our country (I am an American citizen) of other countries.  If Abdallah is a good person (unfortunately the way he is treating Catherine does not show this) than for him it is common in his country to marry someone around the age of 16 and if it is pre arranged it would be completely normal never to have met his bride.

Perhaps if there was better understanding of his culture than Catherine's parents could have had a better relationship and communication with Abdallah and his parents; and could have arranged a better way for the two to be together.  It is clear to me that  Abdallah and Catherine are making decisions because they are afraid they are not understood or allowed to be together.  I do not agree that Catherine should have gone to Palestine given the danger; but the parents could have made arrangements for Abdallah to come to the US.  I do not know why Abdallah did not come to the US, but then again his country does not have a good foreign relation with our country.  Perahps getting a visa is very difficult.

Is it possible that if our our foreign policies were better these two young people could have avoided all this and be together in the US without having to go through these extremes?  Is it possible that all the pressure and misunderstanding have created so much stress on these two young people that their relationship has become strained and volatile (again no excuse for any man to treat a woman poorly).  But I think we can all agree that parents and parents in-laws can create problems in a relationship between a man and a woman.  And how many of us do not know how it feels to want to be with someone that our parents do not like?  Is it possible that parents can communicate better their feelings and concerns without making their children feel that the love they share is wrong?  Could Catherine's family have accepted this relationship better; instead of chasing their daughter away?

Dr. Phil, I believe your intentions are well, but I have a strong feeling that you have not taken any of the cultural differences between Abdallah's and Catherines's cultures into consideration.  You have forgotten than in many countries early and pre -arranged marriages are acceptable or even preferred. 

I hope that Abdallah and Catherine will be safe and can make a wise decision with the help of their parents and do not rush into a marriage because they fear of loosing each other.

The Koran can be interpreted different ways (much like the Bible).  The Islamic fundamentalists are the ones that abuse it to kill innocent people and justify genocide, such as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (leader of Iran), who wants to throw Israel into the sea, denies the Holocaust, and the existence of gays in Iran. 

"Muhammad (c. 570 July 6, 632) was an Arab religious, political, and military leader who founded the religion of Islam as a historical phenomenon. Muslims view him not as the creator of a new religion, but as the restorer of the original, uncorrupted monotheistic faith of Adam, Abraham and others. In Muslim tradition, Muhammad is viewed as the last and the greatest in a series of prophetsas the man closest to perfection, the possessor of all virtues.[33 For the last 23 years of his life, beginning at age 40, Muhammad reported receiving revelations from God. The content of these revelations, known as the Qur'an, was memorized and recorded by his companions

 Conflict with Medinan Jewish clans who opposed the Muslims led to their exile, enslavement or death, and the Jewish enclave of Khaybar was subdued. At the same time, Meccan trade routes were cut off as Muhammad brought surrounding desert tribes under his control.[35 By 629 Muhammad was victorious in the nearly bloodless Conquest of Mecca, and by the time of his death in 632 he ruled over the Arabian peninsula.[36"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam

To me, if Romeo over there cares so much for Katherine, then why would he drag her out into the middle of a war zone?  This guy seems like a misogynistic cretan, and women are dispensable to him.  I say that because of how he's treated both Katherine and the women in her family.   She should "whip his a**" for being so disrespectful, he needs it.