George Clooney’s Lebanese father-in-law said on Sunday that his daughter Amal Alamuddin’s wedding to the Hollywood heartthrob was “very good news” for the turmoil-ridden Middle East.
Clooney and his Lebanese-British lawyer bride married on Saturday at a star-studded private wedding, although they are expected to officially tie the knot on Monday.
Ramzi Alamuddin said the wedding was a “grand” but “simple” affair, with close friends and relatives attending an event he described as “good news”.
“It is very good news among the bad news we are living now,” he said.
The celebrity nuptials come as unrest grips much of the Middle East, where a US-led coalition is staging air strikes on the jihadist Islamic State group in Lebanon’s neighbour Syria and in Iraq.
Saturday’s ceremony also coincided with Al-Qaeda’s Syria franchise, Al-Nusra Front, threatening reprisals against the coalition which includes several Arab allies.
Other Lebanese agreed that the wedding was the only good news to have emerged from their problem-riddled Mediterranean nation.
“The roads in the country are blocked, we don’t have a president, parliament is paralysed, (Prime Minister Tammam) Salam is busy with the issue of the soldiers (kidnapped by jihadists), and the country is on the verge of collapse,” said one Twitter user, using the hashtag #congratulations.
“But thank God, Clooney has become the son of Lebanon,” he added.
Parliament in Beirut has tried but failed several times since June to elect a new president, but a vote has been delayed again and again by political wrangling.
The Syria war has also stoked existing tensions, particularly between Sunnis who tend to back the uprising and Shiites, including the powerful Hezbollah group, who generally support the Damascus regime.
Last month, Lebanese troops battled jihadists who crossed the border from Syria, and around 30 Lebanese soldiers and policemen are still being held hostage since the clashes.
Al-Nusra Front killed one hostage and rival jihadists of the Islamic State group beheaded two more.
But far from the turmoil, Clooney, Alamuddin and their close friends and relatives danced until dawn on Sunday at one of the most eagerly awaited celebrity marriages in years.
“It was grand simple and perfect. The couple really do match,” said the actor’s new father-in-law.
“The couple was very happy about how they were welcomed in Venice,” he said.
Granted, the father of the bride would be excited and guilty of hyperbole. And I can even understand the Lebanese getting a bit carried away.
But the AFP? Notice how they contrast the strife going on in this region with the nuptials, as if treating seriously the contention that this really is good news for the Middle East.
A law school graduate, David Lange transitioned from work in the oil and hi-tech industries into fulltime Israel advocacy. He is a respected commentator and Middle East analyst who has often been cited by the mainstream media
A law school graduate, David Lange transitioned from work in the oil and hi-tech industries into fulltime Israel advocacy. He is a respected commentator and Middle East analyst who has often been cited by the mainstream media
