JEDDAH, 13 June 2006 — The father of the bride at a wedding in Jeddah recently demanded his son-in-law’s friend, a poet, leave the wedding party after it transpired that the old man and the poet were bitter age-old enemies. “Poet or no poet, my foe shouldn’t be allowed to accompany the bridegroom to the wedding,” said the man. Considering it to be a personal insult the old man confronted the poet and angrily asked him to leave. The groom protested saying the man was a friend and a guest, something that in turn infuriated the old man who exploded by saying, “How could my son-in-law befriend my bitterest enemy?” And without flinching declared, “Decide between your friend and my daughter. The friend of my enemy is my enemy.” Embarrassed and humiliated, the poet left the hall bringing the incident to a rapid close, Okaz daily reported yesterday.
