The dighead who tried to steal a nice, young American girl to Islam is in Anguish - Page 3

chagrin · 06-20-2006, 11:33 AM

Feel his pain - There are so many parts of this that piss me off, but whatever.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060619/...yspace_mideast

By MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH and STEVEN GUTKIN, Associated Press Writers
Mon Jun 19, 4:17 PM ET

JERICHO, West Bank - The Palestinian man who had an Internet romance with a 16-year-old Michigan girl is a music-loving computer buff who says he loves the teen and is heartbroken she was sent home.

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Abdullah Jimzawi, a 20-year-old high school dropout who lives with his parents in Jericho, said he and Katherine Lester had planned to marry and she intended to convert to Islam.

Lester was en route to Tel Aviv airport when she was intercepted in Amman, Jordan, by U.S. authorities who seized her passport and put her on a flight back to the United States.

The couple still speak to each other at least five hours a day via Internet phone calls, said Jimzawi, a shy soft-spoken young man with close-cropped hair and a two-day beard.

"We love the same things, the same songs and we have similar dreams. I fell in love with her because she is innocent and goodhearted. We found ourselves to be soul mates," he told The Associated Press in an interview in Jericho, a town of 17,000 that is largely immune from the violence plaguing the rest of the West Bank.

Jimzawi and Lester met through MySpace.com, a social networking Web site whose popularity with teenagers has raised concerns among U.S. authorities, with scattered accounts of sexual predators targeting minors on the site.

Jimzawi, who works in his father's business delivering goods to minimarkets, said his love for Lester is pure. Had she made it to Jericho, he said, she would have shared his sister's bedroom.

The couple would have walked together through the tree-lined streets of Jericho, he said, and he and Lester would have celebrated her 17th birthday Wednesday.

"When I realized she wasn't coming, I felt my whole world collapse," he said in the interview Sunday at his family's home. "My tears didn't stop and I couldn't sleep for three days."

Lester, who boarded a flight to Israel after slipping out of her mother's house in Gilford, Mich., has not spoken to reporters since returning to the United States on June 9. She has taken refuge at an undisclosed location with her father to escape the media frenzy.

Lester's older sister, Mary, said Monday she believes Jimzawi loves her sister and wanted to marry her. But, she said, she can't understand why he arranged for the teen to travel to the Middle East.

"If you love this girl like you say you do, then why don't you come up here?" Mary Lester asked.

She said her sister also denied promising to convert to Islam, saying that was a lie made up by the media. (no mention if it was forced upon the 16 year old girl)

"I don't think she realizes how serious this is," Mary Lester said. "We've all tried talking to her, but talking to a 16-year-old is like trying to bend steel."

Jimzawi was initially reluctant to talk to the media because of what he said was unfair treatment following Lester's ill-fated trip. However, he eventually agreed to be photographed in shorts and sandals, showing AP reporters the computer on which he said he met Lester eight months ago.

Chickens roamed the front yard outside his middle-class home, which has a small swimming pool, a large porch with a table and many nearby date palms.

In a sitting room with pink curtains, Jimzawi clicked his computer mouse to play a song from Staind, one of his favorite heavy metal bands. Six framed posters of Quranic verses and Islamic prayers adorned the walls, including one depicting the 99 names of God.

Jimzawi, the second of five children, said he explained to Lester that she should convert to Islam to marry him.

"She said, 'No problem because I love you and I love your religion,'" he said.

Jimzawi's mother, Sana, said Lester intended to sign a marriage contract in Jericho. Jimzawi said the couple planned to wait for Lester to turn 18 before getting married.

Jimzawi said he had little interest in going to the U.S. However, 19-year-old Tarek Ali, who said he was Jimzawi's friend, said Jimzawi "wanted to take the SAT exam and study computer engineering in the U.S. That is his dream."

Mahmoud Bali, the owner of a Jericho Internet cafe where Jimzawi once worked, said the young man spent 10 hours a day in Internet chat rooms or listening to music on the Web.

"I can describe him as a dreamer and romantic person," Bali said. "He loves songs and to chat with people outside of the country and doesn't like to talk to people here."

"Most of the young people who come to my Net cafe, like Abdullah, are people obsessed with Western life and the opportunities there. They like freedom, dancing, listening to music, those things that you can't do here in Palestine, particularly in Jericho."

Jimzawi said his next step will be to apply for a visa to visit Lester.

His mother said she was sorry about the pain Lester's mother must have gone through when her daughter left. "She had the right to be worried," she said.

But she insisted she and Abdullah had the girl's best interests at heart.
I wonder if that included clipping off her clit.

"He met a lot of girls on the Internet, but he loves her and he made everyone in the family love her," she said.

chagrin · 06-20-2006, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Metrolike

Now, the real issue is people blaming the dude when he did nothing wrong. The people you should be pissed at are the parents who raised a dumbshit daughter and let this whole thing slip.

Dude, I am, I think they should be educated on how to take care. He does have to take some blame though, even though rxrider wrote it 100,000 freaking times I agree that soliciting a 16 year old is wrong, even if you're 20. But like I say, I'm old fashioned.

I'm sorry, but when I read shit like "a 16 year old girl leaving the country without her parents knowledge...converting to Islam and signing a marriage contract..." really sets me off.

That's what pissed me off. I mean really, I have no problem with someone being in love for pete's sake.

**Saulbadguy** · 06-20-2006, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chagrin

Because I guess I am one of the few who don't give a 16 year old the credibility, to make life decisions like this - via a computer on top of it.

So in 2 years, she will all of a sudden gain this credibility? She's in love, and she made a poor decision, but yet all of a sudden the guy is to blame? I doubt he lured her there with promises of riches, support, or gifts. He is a 20 year old living in his parents basement. Sounds like they were actually in love, or they thought they were.

**Saulbadguy** · 06-20-2006, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chagrin

Dude, I am, I think they should be educated on how to take care. He does have to take some blame though, even though rxrider wrote it 100,000 freaking times I agree that soliciting a 16 year old is wrong, even if you're 20. But like I say, I'm old fashioned.

I'm sorry, but when I read shit like "a 16 year old girl leaving the country without her parents knowledge...converting to Islam and signing a marriage contract..." really sets me off.

That's what pissed me off. I mean really, I have no problem with someone being in love for pete's sake.

My mother did all that (sans leaving the country part) when she married my Father. Why is it such a big deal?

chagrin · 06-20-2006, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saulbadguy

So in 2 years, she will all of a sudden gain this credibility? She's in love, and she made a poor decision, but yet all of a sudden the guy is to blame? I doubt he lured her there with promises of riches, support, or gifts. He is a 20 year old living in his parents basement. Sounds like they were actually in love, or they thought they were.

Hold on now, I never said at 18 she gains credibility, I simply don't believe that this little kid who lives in a small area in the thumb of Michigan (I know the area - it is very isolated) knew what she was doing.

To you, the story obviously smells like "love" to me it smells like shit, I don't believe it and I fear for her welfare being over there - that's how I see it.

chagrin · 06-20-2006, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saulbadguy

My mother did all that (sans leaving the country part) when she married my Father. Why is it such a big deal?

Saul, I am not trying to insult your family, but I have to be able to exoress my diagreement when I feel it, wouldn't you agree?

**Saulbadguy** · 06-20-2006, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chagrin

Hold on now, I never said at 18 she gains credibility, I simply don't believe that this little kid who lives in a small area in the thumb of Michigan (I know the area - it is very isolated) knew what she was doing.

To you, the story obviously smells like "love" to me it smells like shit, I don't believe it and I fear for her welfare being over there - that's how I see it.

Why else would he want her over there if he did not love her?

I don't fear for her welfare "over there" - I don't know her.

**Saulbadguy** · 06-20-2006, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chagrin

Saul, I am not trying to insult your family, but I have to be able to exoress my diagreement when I feel it, wouldn't you agree?

That's fine and dandy.

chagrin · 06-20-2006, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saulbadguy

Why else would he want her over there if he did not love her?

I don't fear for her welfare "over there" - I don't know her.

I wrote "over there" because I was blanking out on the ciry in Israel where she was going, geesh.

The answer I have for your question is this:

Dude, why do control freaks bring chicks over here from Russia and abuse them? Figure it out and you might have your answer.

**Saulbadguy** · 06-20-2006, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chagrin

I wrote "over there" because I was blanking out on the ciry in Israel where she was going, geesh.

The answer I have for your question is this:

Dude, why do control freaks bring chicks over here from Russia and abuse them? Figure it out and you might have your answer.

Does that happen? I was not aware of that.

**DaneMcCloud** · 06-20-2006, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Metrolike

Well, you're a f***ing moron and should be put to sleep. For society's sake.

Then how would we ever remember that Rush existed?

**Lzen** · 06-20-2006, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mlyonsd

Funny thing is she tricked her parents into getting a passport.

Parents, "What do you need a passport for?"

Girl, "Cause all the kids at the mall have one."

Parents, "Oh, OK."

Now that was damn funny.

**Lzen** · 06-20-2006, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chagrin

But she insisted she and Abdullah had the girl's best interests at heart.
I wonder if that included clipping off her clit.

"He met a lot of girls on the Internet, but he loves her and he made everyone in the family love her," she said.

Ok, WTF? I don't think that was part of the yahoo article.

Now why would they do that? Is that part of their culture?

chagrin · 06-20-2006, 02:00 PM

I don't know for sure, I'vre heard it was done in some cultures yes - but I was just being a prick

jspchief · 06-20-2006, 02:06 PM

I don't think you'll find many parents that would be too excited about their 16 yr old child taking off to a different country with a vastly different culture in the name of love.

I don't doubt that both the girl and the boy felt that they were truly in love, but I also recognize that young relationships fail more often than they succeed.

If it really is love, they can stay in touch for the next two years until she's an adult. Two years is a small chunk of "the rest of your life".

06-20-2006, 11:33 AM
chagrin Giggitty! Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Missoula, Mt Casino cash: $9894905	The dighead who tried to steal a nice, young American girl to Islam is in Anguish Feel his pain - There are so many parts of this that piss me off, but whatever. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060619/...yspace_mideast By MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH and STEVEN GUTKIN, Associated Press Writers Mon Jun 19, 4:17 PM ET JERICHO, West Bank - The Palestinian man who had an Internet romance with a 16-year-old Michigan girl is a music-loving computer buff who says he loves the teen and is heartbroken she was sent home. ADVERTISEMENT Abdullah Jimzawi, a 20-year-old high school dropout who lives with his parents in Jericho, said he and Katherine Lester had planned to marry and she intended to convert to Islam. Lester was en route to Tel Aviv airport when she was intercepted in Amman, Jordan, by U.S. authorities who seized her passport and put her on a flight back to the United States. The couple still speak to each other at least five hours a day via Internet phone calls, said Jimzawi, a shy soft-spoken young man with close-cropped hair and a two-day beard. "We love the same things, the same songs and we have similar dreams. I fell in love with her because she is innocent and goodhearted. We found ourselves to be soul mates," he told The Associated Press in an interview in Jericho, a town of 17,000 that is largely immune from the violence plaguing the rest of the West Bank. Jimzawi and Lester met through MySpace.com, a social networking Web site whose popularity with teenagers has raised concerns among U.S. authorities, with scattered accounts of sexual predators targeting minors on the site. Jimzawi, who works in his father's business delivering goods to minimarkets, said his love for Lester is pure. Had she made it to Jericho, he said, she would have shared his sister's bedroom. The couple would have walked together through the tree-lined streets of Jericho, he said, and he and Lester would have celebrated her 17th birthday Wednesday. "When I realized she wasn't coming, I felt my whole world collapse," he said in the interview Sunday at his family's home. "My tears didn't stop and I couldn't sleep for three days." Lester, who boarded a flight to Israel after slipping out of her mother's house in Gilford, Mich., has not spoken to reporters since returning to the United States on June 9. She has taken refuge at an undisclosed location with her father to escape the media frenzy. Lester's older sister, Mary, said Monday she believes Jimzawi loves her sister and wanted to marry her. But, she said, she can't understand why he arranged for the teen to travel to the Middle East. "If you love this girl like you say you do, then why don't you come up here?" Mary Lester asked. She said her sister also denied promising to convert to Islam, saying that was a lie made up by the media. (no mention if it was forced upon the 16 year old girl) "I don't think she realizes how serious this is," Mary Lester said. "We've all tried talking to her, but talking to a 16-year-old is like trying to bend steel." Jimzawi was initially reluctant to talk to the media because of what he said was unfair treatment following Lester's ill-fated trip. However, he eventually agreed to be photographed in shorts and sandals, showing AP reporters the computer on which he said he met Lester eight months ago. Chickens roamed the front yard outside his middle-class home, which has a small swimming pool, a large porch with a table and many nearby date palms. In a sitting room with pink curtains, Jimzawi clicked his computer mouse to play a song from Staind, one of his favorite heavy metal bands. Six framed posters of Quranic verses and Islamic prayers adorned the walls, including one depicting the 99 names of God. Jimzawi, the second of five children, said he explained to Lester that she should convert to Islam to marry him. "She said, 'No problem because I love you and I love your religion,'" he said. Jimzawi's mother, Sana, said Lester intended to sign a marriage contract in Jericho. Jimzawi said the couple planned to wait for Lester to turn 18 before getting married. Jimzawi said he had little interest in going to the U.S. However, 19-year-old Tarek Ali, who said he was Jimzawi's friend, said Jimzawi "wanted to take the SAT exam and study computer engineering in the U.S. That is his dream." Mahmoud Bali, the owner of a Jericho Internet cafe where Jimzawi once worked, said the young man spent 10 hours a day in Internet chat rooms or listening to music on the Web. "I can describe him as a dreamer and romantic person," Bali said. "He loves songs and to chat with people outside of the country and doesn't like to talk to people here." "Most of the young people who come to my Net cafe, like Abdullah, are people obsessed with Western life and the opportunities there. They like freedom, dancing, listening to music, those things that you can't do here in Palestine, particularly in Jericho." Jimzawi said his next step will be to apply for a visa to visit Lester. His mother said she was sorry about the pain Lester's mother must have gone through when her daughter left. "She had the right to be worried," she said. But she insisted she and Abdullah had the girl's best interests at heart. I wonder if that included clipping off her clit. "He met a lot of girls on the Internet, but he loves her and he made everyone in the family love her," she said.
Posts: 13,395

06-20-2006, 02:00 PM	#43
chagrin Giggitty! Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Missoula, Mt Casino cash: $9894905	I don't know for sure, I'vre heard it was done in some cultures yes - but I was just being a prick __________________ Times have changed, so have I, things are better now.
Posts: 13,395

06-20-2006, 02:06 PM	#44
jspchief BAMF Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Your Face Casino cash: $9998710	I don't think you'll find many parents that would be too excited about their 16 yr old child taking off to a different country with a vastly different culture in the name of love. I don't doubt that both the girl and the boy felt that they were truly in love, but I also recognize that young relationships fail more often than they succeed. If it really is love, they can stay in touch for the next two years until she's an adult. Two years is a small chunk of "the rest of your life". __________________ Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all.
Posts: 27,207