I’m from Australia
and have yet to see the show but I’ve read the ‘blogs.’ I was also brought up
in an Arabic culture and traditions, while living in Australia, confusing to say the
least. You’re brought up one way and society tells you that it different. As my
parent are Lebanese I do understand the culture, no matter how hard I try to
reject it, but I also instill many of the ethnical and moral discipline into my
own life. Such as dressing modestly, though I choose not to wear the hijab. I’m
also a divorced single mother, but I won’t have physical relationship outside
of marriage. This is how I was brought up, not to bring disrespect to my family. In a way I can see where Abdullah is
coming from, and no its not normal for a Muslim man to insult his wife, or
physically abuse his wife to even suggest it may be normal is ignorant and stereotypical.
Like any other relationship people say things in the heat of the moment they
regret later. In Abdullah defense his only way of communicating with Katherine
is in English, people who don’t speak English as a second language and like
autistic people finds it hard to understand slang, jargon, and colloquialism
and foal language. The bad language he has probably learnt is from western
movies and TV shows. So what he sees on American show’s he perceives as normal.
On the visa issue. If someone want to enter Australia on a spouse visa, its doesn’t take a
couple day, I’m guessing it’s the same in the US. They have to get many checks
i.e. criminal history, medical history etc, visa’s are not handed out on a
wimp. I know of people who have waited 6 months.
On Palestine,
how do we know their living in an area which is dangerous, not all arab area’s
are dangerous. Would they have been concerned if she went to Isreal or to Africa its just as dangerous. All I'm hearing is, it's a war torn country, but I haven't heard anything on the news of late, to be concerned.
Katherine is 18 and in her own admission she is an
individual and independent, yet I don’t see anywhere that she is employed and
looking after herself, and didn’t I read somewhere that Abdullah’s family paid
for her ticket. She must have been desperate to see him, not once but twice, so
he can’t be that bad. Yes I will be the first one to say not to trust him, his
probably using her to get to America,
but she used him just as much as he used her. Teenagers
get away with hell in our countries, in Arab countries such behavior is unheard
of. I was raised in Australian and no one in my family as teenagers said a bad
word to our parent or other adults. Let alone hoped on a plane without consent, even though she didn't have too and didn't, she should have, its common sense.
In Arab culture it’s disrespectful not to try and respect
your partners parents. Yes he could have taken Katherine away from her family
and denied her access to her family, but he didn’t. The whole Arab/ Muslim culture
is about family. I for one put the needs of my family ahead of mine. If Katherine was raised in an Muslim
country and did what she did there she would be hung out to dry. Having said
that Abdullah and his family as Muslims should have known better than to fly
Katherine over without the company of an adult and without her parent permission.
As far as I know even though Katherine is not Muslim, they still need the
permission of her parent to let her get married, it may not be law, but it’s
custom. And just because she is not muslim doesn't give them the right to treat her any differently than a young muslim girl.
Most of the blame if not all of it
should go to Katherine. If she thinks she is an independant adult than
she should own up to her mistake and sorry doesn't cut it.
