November 13, 2007, - 1:43 pm
Dr. Phil v. Katherine Lester, This Week: Girl Who Fled Small-Town Michigan for Sharia Islam & Palestinian Psycho
By Debbie Schlussel
Readers of this site are familiar with the story of Katherine Lester, about which I’ve written a great deal. She’s the young small-town Michigan girl who met “Abdullah Psycho” a/k/a Abdullah Jimzawi a/k/a Abdullah Jinzawi on MySpace. At 16, she ran away from home to convert to Islam, wear a hijab, and marry this Palestinian (who lied about his age online) in Jericho, Israel. She was stopped by the FBI in Jordan. But now she’s 18, and in September, she went back to be with Mr. Al-Psycho.
As I noted, Dr. Phil did a show on this, and it runs this week. It’s actually a two-parter airing tomorrow (Wednesday) and Thursday. Although I’m no fan of the follicularly-challenged know-it-all or Bride of Phil a/k/a Mrs. Phil, from the trailer (click on Wednesday), it looks as though the slant on this story is finally the right one (ie., that she’s in danger there and needs some sense knocked into her, which she didn’t get from her father and stepmother, who encouraged and glamorized this dumb relationship). The other media outlets–from “Good Morning America” to Seventeen Magazine–all portrayed it as a tender Romeo and Juliet love story.
Still, from the summaries the Dr. Phil show is sending out, that he’s still kinda clueless (thanks to reader Debra for sending these). For starters, she’s in Jericho, which is in Israel (some say, it’s the “West Bank”), NOT Gaza. Abdullah is at least 25, NOT 20, and claimed he was much younger on his MySpace page. And her father and stepmother encouraged the online relationship for two years, so it didn’t “continue secretly”:
Wednesday – November 14, 2007
Daughter in Danger?
When Shawn’s daughter, Katherine, was only 16 years old, she made international headlines when she ran away to the Middle East to be with 20-year-old Abdullah, whom she met on MySpace — a man she never met in person but was convinced she was in love with. The FBI intercepted her in Jordan and escorted her back to the United States. Unbeknownst to her family, Katherine secretly continued a relationship with Abdullah via the phone and the computer for two years. After turning 18, Katherine said goodbye to her family and left to be with Abdullah in the war-torn Gaza Strip. Katherine’s family is terrified that she’s never going to return. They think Abdullah is lying to Katherine and possibly even brainwashing her. They say when she calls, something doesn’t sound right. Is she afraid for her life, but unable to tell them? Is she being held against her will? Dr. Phil talks with Katherine via satellite from Palestine, and has some hard questions for Abdullah about his real intentions with Katherine.
Thursday – November 15, 2007
A Daughter in Danger? Part 2
Dr. Phil continues the story of a young woman who made international headlines when she ran away to Palestine to be with a man she met on the Internet when she was just 16. Katherine was stopped by the FBI and brought back home, but two years later and now an adult, she’s left the United States again to be with Abdullah, the man she says she loves and wants to marry. Katherine’s terrified family thinks she is being brainwashed, and may never be allowed to return home. They say they’ve witnessed Abdullah’s violent temper when he’s verbally abused her over the phone. Now, in an exclusive interview via satellite, Dr. Phil speaks with Katherine and Abdullah together. Is Abdullah lying about letting Katherine return home? Is this couple already married? If you are a parent with a child who has access to the Internet, you can’t afford to miss this show!
A Palestinian Muslim boyfriend has a “violent temper” and is “verbally abus[ive]”? Shocker.
I will watch and give you the scoop, if there’s any to be had. But I think I’ve pretty much covered this story, on this site.
Still, I think the line in the trailer in which Katherine’s mother talks about her daughter sums it up:
She’s so stupid.
Yup, stupid and stuck in Greater Islamia, which knows no borders.
Sadly, in the last two years, Katherine Lester was not in the custody of her mother, Shawn, and her sister. Instead, she was in the custody of her father, Terry, and stepmother, Krista, who pimped her out and encouraged this horrific relationship.
Could this be your daughter? If you read this site, probably not. You know how to be a parent, especially in the face of Islam.
My previous writing about Katherine Lester, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Tags: Abdullah Psycho, Al-Psycho, Debbie Schlussel Readers, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Gaza Strip, Israel, Jericho, Jordan, Juliet, Katherine Lester, Krista, media outlets, Michigan, Middle East, online relationship, Palestine, Phil Meets Katherine Lester, Romeo, Shawn, Terry, United States, West Bank
Debbie: Jericho is not unfortunately in Israel. It is under control of the so called Palestinian Authority. It it were in Israel then Abdullah Psycho would be an Israeli Arab (a citizen of Israel). Yeah I know all about Eretz Israel but lets face facts – Israelis left Jericho in 1993 to the tender mercies of Yasser Arafat.
[R: I’M AWARE THAT IT IS UNDER PA RULE AND CONTROLLED BY THE BARBARIANS. BUT IT IS STILL PART OF ISRAEL, REGARDLESS OF WHAT THEY BELIEVE. THERE IS NO PALESTINE. AND IT IS NOT PART OF JORDAN. FYI, FEW ISRAELI ARABS IDENTIFY AS SUCH ANYMORE. MOST CALL THEMSELVES PALESTINIANS AND IDENTIFY WITH THEM. ALTHOUGH, THERE IS THAT SMALL SEGMENT THAT STILL OPENLY SAYS THEY ARE ISRAELI ARABS, IF ONLY B/C THEY DON’T WANT TO BE UNDER BARBARIC PALESTINIAN RULE. BUT, THESE DAYS, THAT’S THE MINORITY. DS]
Ripper on November 13, 2007 at 5:02 pm