JEDDAH, 6 November 2004 — A Saudi father from Makkah surprised his son-in-law by threatening to kidnap his daughter from the latter’s house if he failed to pay the remaining amount of dowry as agreed upon in the marriage contract, Al-Madinah reported yesterday. The young man married his cousin last month after reaching an agreement with the bride’s father, his uncle. The agreement included payment of SR5,000, the balance from a total dowry of SR15,000, by the end of Ramadan. The groom thought that his father-in-law would write it off after considering his economic situation. The man had the shock of his life when his father-in-law took the extreme step of threatening to kidnap his daughter if the amount was not paid on time.
