This week’s column reflects on yet another heart-wrenching story about a family being torn apart through no fault of their own. This one is about a young Saudi lady who opted to marry a foreigner. She relates some of the suffering that followed.

“I am a 32-year-old Saudi woman married to a non-Saudi. I met my husband in March 2007. It was a Tuesday and my memory clearly recollects all the wonderful details of that day. Last June, he and I celebrated our first marriage anniversary in his homeland in a western country. Why? Because I am denied the rights to get him a residency permit (iqama) so we could both live in Jeddah where we got married and where my work and life is.

“We have complied with all the procedures required by the Ministry of Interior of Saudis marrying non-Saudis and we obtained a marriage permit and formalized the marriage contract in a court in Jeddah. But my husband has never lived or worked in Saudi Arabia, as he owns his own company. He was here only on a business visit when we met.

“I applied at the Interior Ministry, I hired an agent, those people called ‘mo’akibs ‘ in Jeddah, and I asked those I know and related to for help. I did everything you could imagine just to get my God-given simple right of having an iqama for my hubby so he could live with his wife in her country. Nothing yet. I had to fly to his homeland last June after he was kicked out of Jeddah due to some complications on his business visa. Just imagine Mr. Tariq! We were having our usual dinner when we received a phone call from the mo’akib saying that my husband had to leave within a few hours. It was so humiliating and stressful. I cried my eyes out that day.

“What hurts me the most is to see the huge number of expatriates working and living in Saudi Arabia and having the right to bring their family members to live with them and I can’t have a residency for my husband. Why? Because I’m a Saudi ‘woman’ and I chose to marry a non-Saudi man!

“We are a country that rules according to Qur’an and Sunnah. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim, which belongs to a fellow-Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustice to yourselves.”

“The Prophet also said, “If a suitor approaches whose religion and character pleases you, then let him marry. Otherwise, there will be a lot of immorality and corruption in the world.’

“There is no mention of nationalities or race. Why am I being forcefully separated from my husband? Why am I given the choice of either leaving my country or living in constant instability and insecurity?

“I believe that everything happens for a reason. I keep hoping that something good will come out of this eventually, Insha Allah. But for now, I am despairing, separated and alone against my choice.”

What more can I append to this lady’s words to convey the extent of despondency she must be going through during this spiritual month, other than to add my plea to the bureaucrats at the Ministry of Interior to expedite a favorable resolution to her case and to many others like her in order for them to live in normalcy? Let us all be guided by the spirit of the moment and do the right thing.