Meriam Al Khalifa
| Shaikha Meriam bint Abdullah Al Khalifa | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1980 (age 37–38) Manama, Bahrain |
| Spouse | Jason Johnson (m. 1999; div. 2004) |
| House | House of Al-Khalifa |
| Father | Shaikh Abdullah bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
| House of Al Khalifa | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Parent house | `Anizzah → Bani Utbah |
| Country | Bahrain |
| Founded | 1766 |
| Founder | Khalifa bin Mohammed |
| Current head | Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa |
| Titles | King of Bahrain |
| Estate(s) | Bahrain |
Meriam bint Abdullah Al-Khalifa (born 1980) is a member of the Bahraini Royal House of Al-Khalifa. She is best known for fleeing her family and native Bahrain to the United States to elope with US Marine Lance Corporal Jason Johnson, who was, at the time, stationed in Bahrain as part of a counter-terrorism unit providing security for expatriate Americans. After she was smuggled into the United States with help from Lance Corporal Johnson and being threatened with deportation by United States Customs, she was permitted to stay and apply for asylum, claiming that she feared honor violence by her family in retaliation for fleeing her country and entertaining a romantic relationship with a non-Muslim. Her story was featured heavily in the American press, including The Oprah Winfrey Show, and was turned into a television movie.
Al Khalifa is one of five daughters of Shaikh Abdullah bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa a distant cousin of Bahrain's current king Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. Meriam is properly titled as "Shaikha", not "emira" or "princess", as even the sons of the Bahraini king are not styled that way.
In January 1999, she met Lance Corporal Jason Johnson, a United States Marine and a Mormon, at an "Americanized" shopping mall in Bahrain. They exchanged whispered phone calls and clandestine meetings until being spotted by a member of the Bahrain Royal Guard, who informed her mother of the illicit relationship. After being forced to end the relationship and forbidden to see Johnson, they continued their relationship by secretly exchanging letters through a jewelry store employee at the mall for eleven months, until Johnson's tour of duty was scheduled to end.
...
Wikipedia