In Search of Misha’al August 3, 2015
Author: Beach Combing | in : Contemporary , trackback
Misha’al bint Fahd al Saud was a princess who was, 15 July 1977, shot several times in the head in a carpark in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 1977: Misha’al was the granddaughter of Muhammad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the power behind the Saudi throne and one of the original Saudi playboys. Moments after Misha’al’s death her lover, Khallid Mahallal (aka Khaled al-Sha’er Mulhallal), was blindfolded and beheaded (kind of, even after five blows his head did not properly come off) . It is very difficult to add to that rather bold statement of facts for the simple reason that all other facts are contested: there would be serious doubts even about these points had there not been a British witness (Barry Milner or Millner spellings vary) who took photographs of the murder/execution/judicial murder and sold them to the Daily Express, January 1978. Misha’al’s death is most famous today because of a controversial but very watchable British documentary from 1980, Death of a Princess. If this was a serious blog there would now be some wise words about how the controversy tells us far more than the sordid events of 1980: but happily we can get to the juicy details… This post has been written as an attempt to establish some facts, not least because Wikipedia has not covered all the possibilities and problems that Misha’al’s death brings up. If anyone can help it would be great to get some definite answers. So let’s go:
Was she married? There had certainly been a marriage contract, though apparently Misha’al had not been happy with said contract and so the marriage had not been consummated? Here Beach lacks the necessary background in Islamic marriage law.
Where did Misha’al meet Khallid? Misha’al had been to London, to Lebanon and also, of course, had lived in Saudi Arabia. Death of a Princess alleges that Misha’al had sought Khallid in Saudi Arabia after seeing him on the television playing the guitar! Most other sources claim that they met in Lebanon.
Were they lovers? One of the reasons that Death of a Princess was so controversial was that it alleged that Saudi women went cruising in the desert for men: Misha’al is portrayed as being sexually sophisticated. Misha’al had decided that she wanted to be with Khallid and they were caught fleeing the country together, they had lived (apparently) in a hotel for several days before this. They were certainly ‘courting’, we can perhaps presume rather more than this.
Was their execution a court decision? There are two views on this. One claims that before the court Misha’al herself announced herself to be an adulteress, even though her grandfather, the powerful Prince Mohammed urged her not to do so: there were not the necessary witnesses for her to be condemned independently. The second view claims that Mohammed had simply decided that she and Khallid must die as a question of tribal honour even though, again according to some sources, she was his favourite granddaughter.
Who did the killing? Much is made of two points here. First, the killing took place in a carpark, not in the normal place of execution. Second, the executioner was not practiced or dressed as a normal executioner. Both these points have been used to suggest that it was Prince Muhammad’s bodyguards who carried out ‘the execution’. Khallid received a blow on the left and on the right of the head with a short sword. Was there even an effort to make his death particularly gruesome?
Was Misha’al really killed? Conspiracy theories are always fun. Someone suggested to Antony Thomas, director of Death of a Princess, and this thought was subsequently put into the mouth of a British diplomat that Misha’al was not killed. She was schizophrenic and had been removed to a clinic. Conspricacy theories are almost always wrong but let’s just run with the ball. We see nothing of Misha’al’s body in the execution photos as she is covered in a hibab. From what Beach can see it could have been a man (rather than a woman) in there? Many sources claim that a firing squad dispatched her. This is incorrect. She was shot in the head. It is possible that the shooting was carried out with blanks and she or a proxy pretended to die.
Let’s finish with the picture that head the post. This is a still from the documentary of a magazine article carrying a picture of Misha’al dancing at a party: at four removes then, which just about says it all. Just possibly the picture is genuine: it seems, in any case, to catch how she is described by others; a fun-loving, rather shallow sort with strong passions, who took after her grandfather who either had her killed or allowed justice to take its course (in a country where justice has no real independence from the monarchy).
Any help: drbeachcombing At yahoo DOT com
