- Meriam Al Khalifa
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Meriam Al Khalifa 
Screenshot of Al Khalifa on CBS Television Spouse Jason Johnson (m. 1999; div. 2004) House Al Khalifa Father Abdullah bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa Born 1980
Manama, BahrainReligion Sunni Islam Sheikha Meriam Al Khalifa (born 1980) is a distant member of the Bahraini royal House of Al-Khalifa. She became famous after she met a US Marine and eloped with him to the United States. Her story was covered in the media – she was featured in highly popular TV shows such as The Oprah Winfrey Show, and a made for television movie was made about her.
Contents
Background
Al Khalifa is one of five daughters of Sheik Abdullah bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, a relative of Bahrain's present king, Sheik Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.[1]
She became known in the US media in 1999 after she met Jason Johnson, a United States Marine and a Mormon, in a shopping mall in Bahrain and fell in love with him.[2] She escaped to the United States in November 1999 using forged documents and abandoned her life as a Bahraini royal, opting to marry Johnson[3] and live as a housewife in Nevada.
Application for asylum in the US
Al Khalifa faced charges of illegally entering the United States and deportation proceedings. The princess applied for political asylum, citing that she faced harm, which would have included death, for her marriage to a non-Muslim and her exit from the country. This action caused embarrassment to the royal family. Johnson and Al Khalifa said in an interview with CBS News that if she returned to Bahrain, she would be "lashed, executed, stoned, killed, shot".[4] Johnson later also told the press that there was constant tension with her family, and at one point the FBI told him they had intercepted a Syrian national who said he'd been paid $500,000 to assassinate her.[5] Al Khalifa was allowed to stay in the country in May 2001.[6]
Media depictions
In 2001, film and television producer Mary L. Aloe transitioned their story into a made-for-TV movie The Princess and the Marine,[7] telling the tale of their relationship. It stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar as LCpl. Jason Johnson and Marisol Nichols as Meriam. The IMDB plot summary of the movie says,
- Based on a true story, American Marine Jason Johnson (Goselaar) is sent on assignment to the Emirate [sic] of Bahrain. While there, he meets and falls in love with a spirited, lovely young woman, Meriam (Nichols), without realizing she is really a member of the Bahraini Royal Family. Meriam, who does not wish to consent to an arranged marriage, knows her love affair with Jason is dangerous, as he is a Mormon Christian and she a Muslim. Her parents would never consent to their match, and so Meriam and Jason race against time to escape Bahrain and make it to the United States, where they can marry. If Meriam is sent back, however, her life may be in jeopardy.[8]
The movie was heavily promoted. Reportedly,
- The movie created a buzz, not only because the story has gripped U.S. audiences since it was first reported, but also because, according to Hollywood insiders, it caused one of the biggest bidding wars for packaged rights in the history of television movies. Some even go as far as to say that it was the biggest, estimated at more than $500,000.[9]
Return to Bahrain in 2001
In May 2001, the US Immigration and Naturalization Service granted her Permanent Residency status, popularly known as the Green Card.[10]
In June 2001, she resumed communication with her family, according to her attorney.[citation needed]
Despite her earlier claims — she had asked for political asylum in the USA, saying that she faced death in her own country for marrying a non-Muslim, an assertion that she had repeated in public interviews — Meriam Al-Khalifa returned to Bahrain in September 2001, after the 9/11 attacks. According to the Los Angeles Times
- She told friends last week [Sept 30, 2001] that she and her husband are considering divorce and that her family was concerned for her safety because of violence aimed at people of Middle Eastern descent since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon.[11]
Divorce from Jason Johnson
The couple filed for divorce on November 17, 2004 (one day after their fifth wedding anniversary) in Las Vegas, Nevada, citing "incompatible in marriage" as the reason.[12] According to Jason Johnson, Meriam left him about one year earlier, and he claimed that she had plunged heavily into the Las Vegas night life, and had become estranged from him. She had been pressing him for divorce for some time – reportedly, the couple had been considering divorce in 2001.[11]
Titles and names
- Sheikha Meriam Al Khalifa (1980–1999, 2004–present)
- Meriam Johnson (1999–2004)
Notes
- ^ Made-for-TV marriage of Bahraini princess and former Marine ends in Las Vegas - website North County Times
- ^ Princess and ex-marine to divorce, 1 December 2004, BBC News
- ^ Princess-Marine marriage irrevocably over after 5 years, Dec. 1, 2004, Deseret News
- ^ Love Crosses Borders, October 18, 2000, CBS News
- ^ Bahraini princess and US marine end 5-year bond, 2004-12-02, China Daily
- ^ Runaway princess told she can live in America, By Simon Davis in Los Angeles, 26 May 2001, The Telegraph
- ^ The Princess & the Marine (TV 2001) - IMDb
- ^ The Princess and the Marine, IMDB plot summary.
- ^ Hispanic Online article, March 2001; by Katharine A. Diaz.
- ^ National Briefing - West - Nevada - Bahraini Royal Gains Green Card, By Todd S. Purdum (NYT), Published: May 26, 2001, NYTimes.com
- ^ a b Marriage on rocks, Bahraini princess who fled to wed Marine goes home, Los Angeles Times, By Tony Perry and Phil Willon, Seattle Times reprint of LA Times story, September 30, 2001
- ^ Princess and the Marine Marriage Crumbles, By Stephen M. Silverman, December 01, 2004, People
External links
- The Great Escape - People, July 31, 2000, Vol 54., No. 5
- Love Crosses Borders
- Bahraini Princess Who Wed Marine Goes Home - Yahoo News, 29 September 2001
- Unhappy Ending To Modern Fairytale, CBS News, 30 November 2004
Categories:- 1980 births
- House of Khalifa
- Living people
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