Princess Sultana's Circle

revealing. Loud,
abusive accusations are thrown into her face if she should dare
speak to another man.
    What few non-Arabs realize
is that every Arab man is accustomed to getting his way in every
family situation. There will be no peace at home until he is
recognized as the undisputed ruler, a fact that many non-Arab wives
do not realize until it is too late.
    I had seen this over and
over, for a number of my cousins had married women from Europe and
America. These Saudi cousins would profess to love everything about
their foreign wives before they were married, but, after marriage,
they would suddenly seem to detest everything that they had
previously claimed to love.
    When the couple begin to
have children, the husband will invariably insist that the children
be raised solely as Muslims. The mother’s religious heritage is
considered of no importance.
    If divorce results, the
woman is in serious danger of losing custody of her children.
Islamic law says that mothers may only keep their sons until they
are seven, and that although daughters may remain with their
mothers until puberty, in Muslim countries the age of puberty for
females is often as young as eight years old. And, if a Saudi
Arabian man should claim custody of his sons, or daughters, at any
age, the mother has no legal recourse. If the children live in
another country, Arab fathers later often steal their children and
bring them back to their country. Few Arab governments will
interfere on the mother’s behalf when an Arab man has custody of
his own children.
    Anne’s story interrupted my
thoughts, “Margaret had a daughter, Heidi, by Abdulbaset, but the
couple divorced soon after the child’s birth.
    “ Although Abdulbaset often
made threats that he would never allow his daughter to be raised in
America, he was still attending school in this country. Therefore,
temporarily, Heidi was safe. Or so Margaret thought.
    “ Then, just a few months
ago, Abdulbaset took Heidi on his weekend visitation. When the
weekend passed, he failed to return his daughter to her mother. The
distraught mother has not seen her child since that time. A week or
so afterward, Margaret received a telephone call from Abdulbaset,
and he claimed to have Heidi with him in Saudi Arabia.”
    “ Poor, poor woman,” I
murmured, wondering how any mother could bear such a terrible
loss.
    Anne’s voice lowered,
“Sultana, Heidi is Margaret’s youngest child. Her other two
children, by her first marriage, are much older than Heidi. The
whole family is heartsick at this loss. I have never felt so sorry
for anyone in my life.”
    “ My own heart is breaking
at the thought of her misery,” I whispered.
    “ Isn’t there anything that
you can do? Poor Margaret can think of nothing else.”
    My thoughts were racing.
What could I do? What help could I possibly offer? Truthfully, I
could think of nothing. Finally I asked, “What about your own
government? This woman should take her story to your
President.”
    Anne laughed. “Sultana! No
ordinary American citizen would be allowed to speak personally to
the President about such a thing!”
    “ Oh?” I answered in
surprise. “In Saudi Arabia, the simplest of men can approach our
King. It is not unusual for many small problems involving Saudi
citizens to be resolved by the King, himself. Actually, our King
regularly travels around the country visiting various tribes so
that people can approach him more easily.” How could it be more
difficult to see a President than a King?
    “ No, Sultana. That is not
our way here. America is too big. Of course, Margaret has contacted
the U.S. State Department. But there is little our government can
do when the situation involves another country’s
sovereignty.”
    “ I do not understand. An
American child has been taken from its mother. Why does your
government not intervene in such a situation?”
    From what I had seen of
American soldiers in Saudi Arabia, I could envision their raiding
this Abdulbaset Al'Omary’s home and simply returning this child to
her mother. What good is a government if it cannot perform a simple
act such as returning a child to its mother?
    “ No…no. Apparently, if the
child is in Saudi Arabia, it is under Saudi law. It would be up to
your government alone to return Heidi.” Anne hesitated, “But, the
Saudis will not, of course.”
    I feared poor Margaret
would never get her child back.
    “ What do you know of this
Abdulbaset Al'Omary?” I asked. “Where