If a rose is called sh*t, would it still smell as sweet?
Those of use who studied R&J for O-level literature would probably remember the quotable:
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet""
Juliet was lamenting that Romeo's family name was the only reason why they could not be together.
Now, I think that Jane Felix-Browne would probably wish her husband's family name had been Montague, or even Capulet, it wouldn't have mattered.
As long as it's not Osama bin Laden.
The 52-year-old British woman made headlines in 2007 when she married 26-year-old Omar Osama bin Laden, one of the 19 kids fathered by the founder of Al-Qaeda terror network.
They couldn't live happily ever after in her expensive home in Cheshire, as the British Home Office denied him a spousal immigration visa. And on Tuesday, his application for political asylum in Spain was denied by the Spanish Interior Ministry.
The romantic in me weeps for them, for after all, his only apparent fault seems to be his family name.
I was again reminded by another R&J quote when Juliet asked, "Wherefore art thou Romeo?"
If Romeo were not a Montague (the enemies of the Capulets), they probably could have lived together happily ever after.
But, then, the realist in me wonders: Could anyone blame the British and Spanish authorities?
If he had applied for residency in Singapore, would the local authorities grant his application? Even if he promises to inject millions of dollars into the economy?
Unlike the story of R&J, the story of O&J carries greater significance beyond their families and themselves. I think while it's unfortunate that Omar shares a name linked to the world's most wanted terrorist, I don't think his visa and asylum applications were rejected on the basis of his family name alone.
It has been reported that Omar had asked his father to abandon terrorism. But, it has also been reported that he had trained at an Al-Qaeda camp in Afghanistan, and his views on 9/11 and his father seem ambivalent, at best.
The carnage caused by his father's Al-Qaeda terror network's "war" against the modern world makes the Montague-Capulet family feud read like a nursery rhyme.
So, would anyone dare to take a chance on him by allowing him to sink roots in their backyard?
I feel sorry for Omar and Jane, I really do. But, the harsh realities of today's security climate cannot be ignored.
After all, with their combined family wealth, I am very sure that Omar and Jane - unlike Romeo and Juliet - could live happily ever after … anywhere … elsewhere.