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Fatwa: Living with a death threat Kindle Edition

4.6 out of 5 stars 605 ratings

Jacky was twenty-three when she arrived in Egypt for a holiday with her boyfriend, Dave. Little did she know that an innocent holiday would result in a horror beyond her imagination. Separated from Dave in a bustling street, Jacky fell and twisted her ankle, only to be swept up by a handsome, chivalrous Egyptian called Omar. It was love at first sight. Jacky spent those ten days living with the family - sharing a bed with Omar's sister - irresistibly attracted to Omar. Swept away by her infatuation she married him and converted to Islam before returning to England to her parents.

Returning to Cairo against her parents' advice but full of hopes and plans, Jacky's dream turned into a nightmare. As a blue-eyed blonde she was never going to fit in with life in a poor suburb where the women walked at all times with their heads bowed. During the next eight years she suffered non-stop physical and emotional abuse. She had to escape with her two little girls but how? This tense story never quite ends. Even now, Jacky is living in the shadow of a death threat. A fatwa is issued legitimately under Islamic law to a Muslim woman who leaves her husband. Jacky to protect herself and her daughters minute by minute, day by day, never quite sure what may be around the corner...

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00GU2RB90
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hodder & Stoughton
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 12, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 623 KB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 322 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1444753158
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 605 ratings

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4.6 out of 5 stars
605 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2013
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I loved this book very much. Another book about the shockingly unfair life of a woman in a patriarchal society. It is an eye opening real story. Physical abuse is as obvious in this world as having dinner every day. Child abuse also. The book tells the story of a girl who visits Egypt with her boyfriend and destiny makes them lose each other in Cairo. In the midst of looking for each other Jacky meets Omar and they get married after knowing each other less than 2 weeks. Jacky goes home as a married woman where her parents try to convince her not to return in Egypt. But she does. Honeymoon is over very fast when she realizes that she is stuck in Egypt and soon it is very obvious that physical and emotional terror is part of her marriage. She tries to adopt to her life in Egypt. No matter how hard she tries Omar is not satisfied beating her every day. After realizing that her own and her kids life is in danger too and she can't do anything about it she decides to escape from Egypt through Israel and from there back to England. Read the book to find out what happened to her and her kids. :)
    Harmat
  • Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2009
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    The minute I picked this book up I was hooked! I stayed up late into the night reading and would have stayed up all night if I didn't have kids to get up for school. This is one of the best books I have read in a while.
    In the begining I was a little judgmental toward Jacky's decisions. She married someone she hardly knows, left behind everything familiar to her, and went to live in a culture she knew nothing about. After a while though I began to understand why she had agreed to marry him. I could understand her not wanting to live her life asking, "what if"?
    This is a really good book that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat with your eyes flying across the page to see how Jacky will overcome all the obstacles and make it out of Egypt with both of her daughters.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2017
    I first read this book many years ago and have read it 10+ times since. An amazing story I can never get sick of hearing!
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2014
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    I could not put this book down!! This is a true-life story of a very naive girl who visits Egypt with her boyfriend. Due to over-crowded conditions on a bus, they quickly lose each other in Cairo. Jacky hurts her foot and an Egyptian family rescues her and helps her look for her boyfriend. Jacky falls in love with one member of this family, Omar and they get married after knowing each other for only 2 or three weeks. The honeymoon ends quickly and over time, Omar's true colors are revealed. She tries to adapt to her life in Egypt but no matter how hard she tries Omar is not satisfied. When his brutality starts affecting their two children, she decides to try to escape from Egypt. Facinating story.
  • Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2015
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    I read this book in pretty much one sitting. It is amazing to me how some cultures can be so brutal.
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2019
    great story about survival
  • Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2014
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    What a remarkable story!
  • Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2013
    When Jacky marries an Egyptian in Cairo after knowing him for just 10 days she has no idea that the handsome would-be librarian conceals a monster who beats her senseless - even kicking her in the stomach and aborting the child she carries after she tells him she has been raped by his own brother.

    After the birth of two girls, she realizes that she has to escape and manages to acquire a passport with the names of her daughters included. She learns Arabic, converts to Islam - all part of her plan - and it takes her a year to save $50 - a dollar a week that she hides away. One morning while her husband sleeps, veiled in black, she sets out to cross the desert to Israel knowing, as she has been told by the Ambassador, that if she is caught, her husband's family will kill her.

    This brilliantly written book reads like a novel, all the better to reveal a warning to young women who fall in love and marry the wrong man.

Top reviews from other countries

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  • June Messmer
    5.0 out of 5 stars A woman's strength!
    Reviewed in Canada on November 27, 2015
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    This is another testament of the strength and courage of women and lengths that women will go to to protect their children
  • Northfield
    5.0 out of 5 stars 国際結婚の裏側で
    Reviewed in Japan on May 14, 2007
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    本のタイトルと表紙の写真がなんとも衝撃的で、思わず購入していた。バケーションでの甘いロマンスから結婚という、どこにでもありがちなストーリー展開から文化、習慣の違い、夫の暴力・・・・息をのむような場面に何度も遭遇した。二人の子供をつれての逃避行がどれだけ厳しいものであったのか。帰国後もトラウマと闘いつつ生きるJackyと子供たちの幸せを祈りたい。Jackyの本がどれだけ同じ境遇の女性たちに勇気を持つことを教えてくれたことだろう。
    Report
  • Marion
    5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT
    Reviewed in Germany on March 31, 2025
    A VERY GOOD READ , LETS YOU SEE HOW THE OTHERS LIVE BEHIND CLOSED DOORS.
  • Donna moyse
    5.0 out of 5 stars Need book as good
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 25, 2025
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    This book was fab thanku for brilliant read
  • Kate
    5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant book.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 18, 2024
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I read this book years ago. I have been looking for it for years to read again. I came across it on Amazon while looking for another similar book (not without my daughter) which I have also brought after watching the film on prime.
    I read living with a death threat first. OMG I had forgotten just how amazing this book was. Less than 24hrs it’s finished and going to my mum for her to read again.
    Such a brave woman in how Jacky managed to escape her terrible life. Absolutely gripping story. I would a million percent recommend reading. Brilliantly told and written.

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