Dalia was a young, beautiful Arabian Muslim living with her family in Amman, Jordan. At the age of twenty-five, she unexpectedly fell in love with Michael, a major in the Royal Army, and a Catholic. For a Muslim woman, any relationship with a Catholic man is forbidden and Dalia was only too aware that flouting this rule could cost her life.
But they were deeply in love and with the help of Daila’s lifelong friend, Norma, with whom she ran a hairdressing salon, they went to extraordinary lengths to find ways to meet in secret. On only a handful of occasions were Dalia and Michael able to be alone and their relationship remained entirely chaste. Although they covered their tracks meticulously, when one of Dalia’s brothers became suspicious, she was suddenly gripped by the terrifying reality of what could happen to her.
Norma Khouri’s book is a gift to the memory of her friend. A powerful love story that ends in an appalling tragedy, it is also an attempt to bring to the world’s attention the continuing practice of honour killing in Jordan – an ancient tradition that encourages the murder of women considered to have dishonoured the family. It is a crime that effectively goes unpunished.
Shocking and dramatic, Forbidden Love will strike a chord with women everywhere and is a testimony to the courage and strength of women who are prepared to defy generations of male dominance.