Shocking story on the BBC...apparently the girl was so scared afterwards she fled back to her parents. I know other cultures exist etc and we all need to be tolerant but this is really sad in my view.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20936800

There is nothing cultural about dirty old men.. they exist everywhere.

True, but in some cultures they're not allowed to marry 15 year olds.

Here's an example,

He has money. For some women thats a good enough reason to marry someone

I would imagine it was her choice and she was sensible enough to make her own decision.

Why is there a problem?

Muhammad married his third wife Aisha bint Abu Bakr when he was 53 and she was only 9 years old.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhamma...n.29_to_Medina

I think it was the families decision and not hers. My eldest daughter will be 17 next month. I don't think it would be responsible of me to marry her off to a 90 year old man even if he was rich. I know it is a different culture etc, but really?

There is the problem. If she was your 9 year old daughter would you be so blase about it?

I am sure the parents that do this are very blasé about it when the money they get for it hits their bank accounts.

No matter what country, religion, beliefs etc etc its child trafficking simple as that. The difference is some countries it is accepted.

Not really...I am little tired of people using word expressions to umbrella everything around it. It blurs the meaning of say "child trafficking." Or a post I saw on Facebook today...






It used to be a terrible connotation if one was referred to a Nazi in anyway. Not it's used so much in trending culture, it loses it's meaning.

More on point...
The fact is this kind of thing has been going on since the beginning of time. So has a lot of terrible things. I am glad it doesn't happen here, I don't think. But what is going on 10,000kms away will hardly change by how shocked I get about it. People locally have to change their attitudes if they want things different, and if it is culturally acceptable there, as it has been in Europe before when the most of the continent was ruled by class or hierarchy system, then it isn't going to change.

which of them married the dog?

Im not talking about the OP. Im talking about the playboy wedding

it is their biological child!

Sure, but then she's not 15, and wasn't sold off by her parents...

Heff has always been a dawg.

I was being sarcastic, the old Saudi man is probably a Muslim, following Muhammads teachings.

Woooo, les nerfs pompon!

Following Muhammad's teaching doesn't mean marrying under age girls. Beside that, look up the average marrying age in Europe 600 years ago, you'll be surprised and less keen to put this on a single religion.

Using Mohammad as an example on marrying young girls is lame from those who does it and those who attack Islam based on this. Back then, it wasn't rare nor abnormal, today, there is no excuse to do so.

Er no, because since then European religions have developed and all but maybe some lunatics on the fringe would no longer accept such interpretations, just as the overwhelming majority no longer accept the burning of witches or many other things. In Saudi, the people who justify such incidents are not insignificant minority lunatics but mainstream thumpers with the blessing of the Saudi royal family and ruling class, and that in a country where dissidents are tortured and freedom of speech is severely restricted. Of course there are many countries that interpret Islam differently, but in this case that's not the point.

The life expectancy of a 6th century Arab was at most 50 years. And given the lack of schooling, university, shopping malls etc.. kids didn't really transition through what we now call 'teens', you were an adult as soon as you could fend for yourself, which was pretty young back then.

Its very lazy, and more importantly pointless to try and transpose 21 century values onto those that lived in medieval times.