American mom, 32, forced to live in Saudi Arabia loses custody of her four-year-old daughter after a judge in the kingdom ruled she is 'too Western to raise the child' because she went to Burning Man and has social media accounts 'full of nudity'
A Washington mother, who moved to Saudi Arabia to teach at a university, lost custody of her husband after divorcing her husband because she was too Western to raise the child, according to a Saudi court.
Bethany Vierra, 32, lost custody of her daughter - four-year-old Zaina - in July after the court determined that the mother was too 'new to Islam.'
'The mother is new to Islam, is a foreigner in this country, and continues to definitively embrace the customs and traditions of her upbringing. We must avoid exposing (Zaina) to these customs and traditions, especially at this early age,' Judge Abdul-Ellah ibn Mohammed al-Tuwaijri said in his July ruling, according to CNN.
The 32-year-old student had moved to the Middle Eastern country in 2011 to teach at a local university.
Vierra's ex husband used her social media as evidence that she was allegedly living a non-Islamic lifestyle.
His lawyers used her trip to Burning Man in their argument, dubbing it 'the world's strangest festival' where attendees 'appear in crazy clothes and stay awake all night dancing and surrounded by people wearing only shoes made of fur, or drinking drugs (sic) or cold drinks.'
Her ex-husband's lawyers also contended that her social media was 'full of nudity, intermingling of the two sexes and a lot of things and actions contrary to our religion and customs and traditions.'
Vierra claimed that her ex-husband was verbally abusive and used drugs. Her husband denies those allegations.
'There was drug use and that became an issue,' her mother, Kathi Vierra, explained.
Custody was ultimately granted to the girl's Saudi grandmother, who lives with Zaina's father.
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A Washington mother, who moved to Saudi Arabia to teach at a university, lost custody of her husband after divorcing her husband because she was too Western to raise the child, according to a Saudi court.
Bethany Vierra, 32, lost custody of her daughter - four-year-old Zaina - in July after the court determined that the mother was too 'new to Islam.'
'The mother is new to Islam, is a foreigner in this country, and continues to definitively embrace the customs and traditions of her upbringing. We must avoid exposing (Zaina) to these customs and traditions, especially at this early age,' Judge Abdul-Ellah ibn Mohammed al-Tuwaijri said in his July ruling, according to CNN.
The 32-year-old student had moved to the Middle Eastern country in 2011 to teach at a local university.
Vierra's ex husband used her social media as evidence that she was allegedly living a non-Islamic lifestyle.
His lawyers used her trip to Burning Man in their argument, dubbing it 'the world's strangest festival' where attendees 'appear in crazy clothes and stay awake all night dancing and surrounded by people wearing only shoes made of fur, or drinking drugs (sic) or cold drinks.'
Her ex-husband's lawyers also contended that her social media was 'full of nudity, intermingling of the two sexes and a lot of things and actions contrary to our religion and customs and traditions.'
Vierra claimed that her ex-husband was verbally abusive and used drugs. Her husband denies those allegations.
'There was drug use and that became an issue,' her mother, Kathi Vierra, explained.
Custody was ultimately granted to the girl's Saudi grandmother, who lives with Zaina's father.
Continue Reading>>
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