PASADENA, Calif. — The story of a famous — even infamous — Mormon-Muslim marriage is about to be played out on network television. It's the story of an LDS serviceman and a member of the royal family of Bahrain, which will be dramatized in the NBC movie "The Princess & the Marine," set to air in February.
Jason Johnson and Meriam Al-Khalifa Johnson made international news after he smuggled her out of Bahrain over the objections of her father, who is the cousin of the Bahraini head of state. Johnson, who served an LDS mission to Texas before joining the Marines, and Al-Khalifa married in Las Vegas after she was released from jail, where she was detained because she entered the United States illegally
She has applied for political asylum and faces a fifth hearing before the Immigration and Naturalization Service — and possible deportation — next month; he was court-martialed and demoted by the Marines and has since been given an honorable, "humanitarian" discharge because of the situation with his wife.
While he acknowledges that "from a legal standpoint, what I did was wrong," Johnson rejects the notion that he broke faith with the Marines. "I still love the Marine Corps very much and believe in what it stands for," he said. But he was forced to take action when his superiors rejected his pleas for help.
"Morally, it was right to do what I did," said Johnson, who believes he chose the greater of two "rights."
"The greater of the two was more concern for the well-being of another human being. (It outweighed) living by some honor code that is gone after your enlistment (ends). Family is eternal. Family is forever. So she is more important to me."
The young couple — she's 19, he's 25 — met at a mall in Bahrain, a small country on a group of islands in the Persian Gulf, while he was stationed there.
"Our relationship at the time was based solely on friendship," Johnson said. "We had no intention of dating or being together," Al-Khalifa Johnson added. But they learned they had much in common and began dating.
Her parents disapproved and forbade her from seeing him. They saw each other only three times in six months, communicating through surreptitious letters, until he provided her with a forged military I.D., fake orders and a baggy uniform and took her on a commercial flight to America.
On the advice of their attorneys, they didn't want to talk about specifics of the case. But Johnson did say, "I'm sure that her being from the Bahrain royal family . . . has a lot to do with it, because of the naval bases we have in Bahrain."
The Johnsons are the picture of young love. During a press conference Wednesday, he had his arm around her shoulder, she had her hand on his leg and they often leaned in to whisper to one another while questions were directed at the two actors who are playing them in the movie (Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Marisol Nichols).
For the time being at least, they seem to be putting the question of their religious differences aside — he remains LDS (albeit not active at the moment); she remains Muslim.
"I have no intention of changing that," Al-Khalifa Johnson said. "And he has no intention of becoming Muslim. We're different when it comes to our religions, but I learned about his and he learned about mine. It's something that would help us understand each other's point of view."
"There are also a lot of things between the two religions that are exactly the same," added Johnson, including some dietary restrictions — a ban on alcohol, tea and coffee — and a belief in chastity outside the bounds of marriage. "The major concerns between Mormonism and Islam would be our standing on Christ. They see Christ as a prophet, and we believe he's the son of God. But that isn't a big deal that should affect our marriage or affect the way that we feel about each other, so there is no problem on the basis of religion. We're not going to let something like religion destroy something that we have."
And the couple said they've had nothing but support from local church leaders.
"The LDS Church has been so supportive and kind to us, despite the fact that she's Muslim," Johnson said. "We've had bishops come over to the house and bring us furniture. They have been such a great help during this whole thing.
"We know that the Marine Corps is (ticked) off and they hate me, the Arabs want to kill me, despite what INS thinks. There are still a few individuals that you can vent and cry on their shoulder if you need to. And they're not going to pass judgment."
Johnson seemed unconcerned about how, being married to a Muslim, his marriage cannot be solemnized in an LDS temple.
"But you also know that in the Mormon religion, if somebody doesn't accept (its teachings) here, they can accept them later," he said, referring specifically to the LDS belief in baptism for the dead. "We know that if she's a good person . . . God will give her a chance to accept it.
"We're not going to push the issue because we know that by her (becoming LDS) it could have detrimental effects on her well-being and safety."
While he didn't want to get specific, Johnson is obviously concerned that his wife is in danger because she fled Bahrain with him and that she would be in more danger still if she converted from Islam. The pair are trailed by bodyguards.
"It's because of different security issues that have come up," Johnson said, issues that include possible threats from the Middle East as well as some members of the media who have proved to be intrusive and disruptive. He said he couldn't afford to let his guard down because "the next thing I know I've got a bullet in my head because of what I did and because I wasn't cautious."
So, why do a TV movie about their experiences? Johnson admits part of the thinking is to rally public opinion.
"The media didn't find us. We chose to go to them because we knew that the American press would be a great influence in determining the outcome of Meriam's case," he said.
It's something they've done before. The couple left Bahrain in November 1999, but the story didn't make the news until just before his court-martial in June 2000. "We felt like I was going to be sacrificed to appease Bahrain's anger," said Johnson, but the penalty turned out to be much lighter than he expected. And they're hoping the movie will further their cause.
Johnson said they're "very confident" that their lawyers will prevail in the INS hearing. And he said he hopes the movie helps inspire others in difficult situations, including women who might be in abusive relationships.
"She feels that she can stand out, even though she's only 19, and help women who are in situations where they're being abused by their husbands — where their children are being abused physically and mentally — and say, 'Hey, I deserve better than what I'm getting. My children deserve better than what they're getting,' " Johnson said.
E-MAIL: pierce@desnews.com