Anti-Muslim bias obvious in Fathima Rifqa Bary case

Fathima Rifqa Bary ran away from her Muslim family in Ohio to Florida.

By Mike Thomas, COMMENTARY - August 23, 2009
 
Fathima Rifqa Bary is playing a familiar role in Florida's latest cultural clash, a symbol who personalizes a much broader conflict.

Claiming her Muslim father is going to kill her for converting to Christianity, Rifqa fled her Ohio home and was taken in initially by Blake and Beverly Lorenz, who head the Global Revolution Church. Blake has been quoted as saying Christians are at war with Islam and that Islam is evil. And those who share that view have embraced this case.

It brings back memories of Elián González, the Cuban boy whose arrival in Miami caused a furor as the exile community tried to block his father from bringing Elián back to the island. And then there was the right-to-life battle over Terri Schiavo, waged between her parents, who wanted to maintain her mindless body on a feeding tube, and her husband, who wanted the tube removed.

Rifqa, 17, is a symbol for those who believe we are fighting Round 2 of the Crusades. For them, the stereotype falls perfectly into place: Conniving Muslim extremist plans to murder his innocent daughter for turning to Jesus.

The case went to court last week. And in a rather surprising twist, rather than send Rifqa back to Ohio, Circuit Judge Daniel Dawson decided to investigate Ohio. And so the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is off to determine her survival chances there.

One assumes this had something to do with the intervention of Gov. Charlie Crist, who faces a conservative challenge from Marco Rubio in the Republican U.S. Senate primary. Not to be left out, Rubio promptly issued a statement in support of Rifqa and spammed it to the media.

Left unanswered is what business Florida has involving itself in this matter. The people best suited to determine the threat level to Rifqa are the cops and social workers in Ohio familiar with the Bary family and the Muslim community. It appeared they had worked out a good compromise plan, allowing Rifqa to go into foster care while they ensured her safety.

If there is evidence that the folks in Ohio are incompetent and need Florida's assistance, I would like to hear it.

I do not know the Bary family's dynamics.

From what I have read, Rifqa's father, Mohamed Bary, brought his family to America from Sri Lanka in 2000, at least in part to seek medical treatment for Rifqa after she lost the sight in one eye.

He sends her to a top high school, where she has excelled and where she is a cheerleader.

Somehow I can't imagine a Muslim extremist allowing his daughter to wear short skirts and shake pompoms in front of a crowd of infidels.

Bary is a middle-class jeweler with no documented history of abuse and no record of radical actions or beliefs. Whatever his disagreements with Rifqa — and what parent of a teen hasn't had his or her share? — he obviously had invested a lot in her care and upbringing.

Yet last month — long after learning she had become a Christian — he suddenly decided to kill her over it.

And Rifqa had to flee for her life to the Lorenz family, whom she first met on Facebook. By coincidence, her flight apparently followed a confrontation with her mother over her coming home late.

Not content to just be rid of their apostate daughter, the parents immediately contacted police to bring her back so Mohamed could carry through with killing her. Mom and dad put on a good act, fooling the investigators, who reported they were like any typical, concerned parents worried about their daughter.

Obviously, this murder wouldn't be a whodunit. So Bary would wind up on death row, leaving behind a wife, sons and life he worked hard to build for his family in America.

Nobody would possibly believe such a scenario if not for the fact Bary is a Muslim.

The anti-Muslim groups that have embraced Rifqa say his faith requires that he kill her, as if he has no say in the matter. As proof, they point to a passage in the Quran mandating death to Muslims who reject Islam. They back this up citing "honor killings" in Muslim countries.

Rifqa's father is not judged as an individual. He is judged by the actions of others and quotes in a religious text.

I could go through the Old Testament and cherry-pick any number of quotes demanding death for nonbelievers, nonvirgin brides and blasphemers. No Christian I know endorses that, yet it seems every Muslim abides by the darker writings in the faith.

Imagine if Rifqa fled a Christian family and wound up in the home of an anti-Christian imam in Florida. And like Blake Lorenz, he delayed notifying authorities about her arrival. She would be on the next flight back to Ohio.

Fortunately, we have a rule of law to protect individuals from the political passions and religious doctrine of others. It is what separates us from Iran and Saudi Arabia.

The rule of law blocked Gov. Jeb Bush from imposing his personal beliefs in the Terri Schiavo case.

The rule of law sent Elián González back to his father.

And ultimately, the rule of law will send Rifqa back to Ohio.