Ohio runaway says she fears for life after converting to Christianity

By Michael Kruse, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Friday, August 21, 2009
 

Mohamed Bary and his wife, Aysha, with their son Rilvan, say they don't want to kill their daughter for converting to Christianity. "It's completely false," Mohamed Bary said.

ORLANDO — The thin girl looked into the TV camera on Aug. 10. It was her 17th birthday. She said she had fled from her family in Ohio. Now she was in a pastor's arms in the pastor's home here in Florida.



"Um, well, I, I'm a Christian," Rifqa Bary began, "and my parents are Muslim, they're extremely devout, and they can't know about my faith — well, um, they do now, but, um, they've threatened to kill me."


Some saw a new believer in Jesus Christ pleading for her life. Others saw a brainwashed teen parroting radical evangelicals.


Before the interview, this was a story of a missing person, of great interest to her family, her friends and the authorities looking for her. After the interview, though, Rifqa Bary became much more than that: a contested prize in a culture war.


The pastor's name is Blake Lorenz, he's the leader of a new church called Global Revolution, and here's what he said this week:


"These are the last days, these are the end times, and this conflict between Islam and Christianity is going to grow greater. This conflict between good and evil is going to grow greater."


Craig McCarthy, the court-appointed attorney for Rifqa's mother, sat the other day in the courthouse where this afternoon there will be a hearing in which a judge will decide what to do with Rifqa. He shook his head.


"This case," he said, "is about this family."


Rifqa's parents say they don't want to kill her. "It is completely false," Mohamed Bary said in a brief TV interview.


They're stressed, McCarthy said, and they have many questions — but one more than any other:



"How does their daughter end up halfway across the country in some preacher's arms?"


Mohamed and Aysha Bary saw their daughter, an honor student and a cheerleader, in the wee hours of July 19. She was gone in the morning. Her father called the Columbus Police Department later in the day to report her missing.


The police put out a national alert. They sent a picture of Rifqa to local papers and TV stations. They tried to monitor her computer and cell phone activity. Nothing.


It was that way for a week. Then two.


"It was as if she disappeared completely," Columbus detective Jerry Cupp said this week.


Down here, though, at least one group of people knew exactly where she was. Inside the four-bedroom home at 3825 Crescent Park Blvd., where Blake and Beverly Lorenz live with their three kids, who are 20, 24 and 25, Rifqa was staying up late to pray, sleeping into the early afternoons and eating Chick-fil-A.


Blake and Beverly met in church in Winter Park and married nearly 30 years ago. They co-pastor Global Revolution.



The congregation meets on Sunday mornings in Theater 10 in a movie megaplex not far from the Magic Kingdom. The language of last Sunday's service was of "prayer warriors" engaged in a struggle. Two words kept popping up: "the enemy."


Beverly Lorenz heard about Rifqa months ago from friends on Facebook who gathered at a group called the United States of Prayer. Rifqa was known as the girl from Ohio who converted to Christianity and was having a hard time with her parents.


In the spring and early summer, Beverly Lorenz sent Rifqa "seven or eight" Facebook messages, she said, telling the girl that she was praying for her.


In early July, she got up in the middle of the night to pray, she said, and saw Rifqa online, and sent her a message. She got a message back: Call me. They talked for 15 minutes.
"I was quoting Scripture," Beverly Lorenz said this week, "and just really speaking the word to her."



The next time Beverly Lorenz heard from Rifqa she was on a bus. She was coming to Orlando. It was July 21.


The Lorenzes sent some friends to pick her up at the bus station. Sitting in the family room, she looked like "a timid, scared little rabbit," Beverly Lorenz said.


Rifqa said that at home she had to read her Bible under the covers and that her dad had threatened to kill her to preserve the family's honor.


"The Koran does state that if somebody leaves their religion they will be killed," Beverly Lorenz said.


The Koran is like the Bible, or the Torah, or any other ancient, important religious text: Different passages are interpreted differently for different purposes.


But its "overarching principle," said M. Cherif Bassiouni, an Islamic scholar at DePaul University, comes in Chapter 2: "There can be no compulsion in religion."



Still, according to a United Nations estimate, there are as many as 5,000 "honor killings" a year worldwide. But killings in this country that some have called honor killings are prosecuted as what they are: murders.


"She really believes she'll be killed," Blake Lorenz said, "and we do, too."


He said he thinks he asked Rifqa if she wanted to call her parents. He said she said no.


The first time Blake Lorenz called the state Department of Children and Families was July 29 at 3:02 p.m. He says he asked them what would happen in a situation like this and that he was told she probably would be taken back home.


DCF says he was given numbers for the Orlando police. He says they asked him for his name and address and that he gave it. DCF says he did not. They agree on this, though: They asked him for the name of the girl, and he didn't give it.


On July 31 a story ran on TV in Ohio. Rifqa Bary: still missing.


Six days passed until DCF got a second call about Rifqa. Blake Lorenz says it was him.


He made allegations of child abuse in Ohio and said the girl was a runaway. This led to a chain of phone calls from Orlando to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to the Columbus police and back to the Orlando police. They went to the house on Aug. 7.


The officer took Rifqa to the Juvenile Assessment Center. He asked her questions. She refused to answer them.


The next morning, a Saturday, there was an emergency shelter hearing. A judge scheduled a full hearing for Monday morning — Aug. 10 — and ordered that until then Rifqa be put in a DCF shelter after a positive home study with a "suitable relative."


For some reason, a home study was done at the Lorenzes' house and she was left there.


DCF spokeswoman Carrie Hoeppner called it a "mistake" and said the investigator was "confused."


Two days later DCF reversed course. A supervisor wrote a note: "Home study was approved prior to being informed that the pastor's family was involved with possibly helping the child run away from Ohio."


The Lorenzes, the note said, "are not appropriate placement."



"We did not lure her down," Blake Lorenz said.


The hearing on the morning of Aug. 10 was postponed until that afternoon. In between those two times is when the local TV station came to the Lorenzes' home and taped the seven-minute interview with Rifqa. Blake Lorenz says his attorney told him to call TV.


This is how Rifqa ended up on TV, and then on YouTube, and then all over the world, saying her father was going to kill her.


Blake and Beverly Lorenz pray the judge keeps her in Florida.


But the case most likely will go back to Ohio. Rifqa's parents have already agreed for her to go to a foster home in Ohio for at least 30 days.


Family court is sometimes a clumsy way to fix messy situations, but the goal in cases like this is constant: to put families back together, as long as it's safe.


Times researcher Shirl Kennedy contributed to this report. Michael Kruse can be reached at mkruse@sptimes.com or (727)893-8751.

Rifqa Bary to stay in Florida; family files complaint against Orlando pastors

Amy L. Edwards and Sarah Lundy

Sentinel Staff Writers


8:19 p.m. EDT, September 21, 2009


The legal battle over teen runaway Fathima Rifqa Bary will continue Tuesday in an Ohio courtroom after an Orlando hearing Monday brought more questions than resolutions.



Orange Circuit Judge Daniel Dawson did nothing to change the custody of the 17-year-old who is living with a foster family near Orlando and said he planned to talk to an Ohio judge to find out if there is a legitimate custody action in that state.


If so, Dawson would need to determine if and how long Florida's emergency jurisdiction should remain.


Meanwhile, Rifqa's father stepped up a strategy to bring his daughter back to Ohio. Mohamed Bary filed a criminal complaint against the Orlando pastors who helped shelter Rifqa for more than two weeks before the state intervened.


Lawyer Shayan Elahi told the Orange County court that Rifqa's parents, Mohamed and Aysha Bary filed a complaint about Blake and Beverly Lorenz with law enforcement officials.


A letter sent to Orlando police by Mohamed Bary claimed Rifqa was "indoctrinated and coerced" by representatives of Global Revolution Church and "was hidden" by the Lorenzes. Orlando police said they are not investigating.


An FDLE spokeswoman confirmed the agency received a complaint against the Lorenzes, but she could not comment further.


Rifqa made national headlines when she ran away from her home near Columbus, Ohio, took a bus to Central Florida and sought shelter with the Lorenzes in July. She spent more than two weeks with the family until Aug. 10 when she was placed into state foster care, where she remains.


The teen said she feared her Muslim family would harm or kill her because of her conversion to Christianity.


Rifqa's family has denied any wrongdoing, and investigators in Ohio and Florida have not found evidence supporting Rifqa's claims.


The pastors, who have served in the ministry in Central Florida for more than 25 years, met Rifqa through a prayer group on the Internet social networking site Facebook.


A Florida statute makes it unlawful to shelter an unmarried minor for more than 24 hours without the consent of their parent or guardian, or without notifying a law-enforcement officer of the child's name. A violation of that law is a misdemeanor.


Mat Staver, the Lorenzes lawyer and longtime friend, said there is "no solid basis for the complaint" filed against them.



He said the Lorenzes did what any person would do given the circumstances. Staver said the Lorenzes took multiple steps to notify authorities.


The Lorenzes were questioned as part of FDLE's earlier inquiry into the alleged threats made against Rifqa by her family, Staver said. They have not been questioned since.


The pastors were already forbidden from visiting Rifqa in foster care. Dawson added their adult children to the ban in light of any criminal inquiry.


Rifqa used Monday's hearing to peruse a Bible. Other than stating her name, she did not speak.


Her parents listened to the hearing by phone.


In recent weeks, the Barys launched a new strategy to get their daughter back to their home near Columbus and placed in Ohio's foster care system. Mohamed Bary's filing, asking a judge to declare his daughter incorrigible for repeatedly being disobedient, is one case there.


Another hearing is scheduled in juvenile court this morning in Columbus, Ohio, to address the issue. Criminal attorney Kort Gatterdam, who is representing Rifqa in Ohio, said he will respond to the complaint and plans to file something in court in the morning. He wouldn't give details about what he's going to file.


Rifqa's Guardian Ad Litem, Krista Bartholomew, said in court today that she has "grave concerns" that the Ohio case would be dismissed as soon as Rifqa is sent back there.


The Barys also filed a dependency petition against themselves in juvenile court in Ohio, Elahi said. The next hearing in that case is Oct. 27. Roger Weeden, the attorney for Aysha Bary, said the Ohio court has accepted jurisdiction and argued that all of the witnesses in Rifqa's case, from relatives to teachers, are there.



Rifqa's Florida case is set for mediation Oct. 9. Another proceeding in juvenile court is Oct. 13.


Also today, Dawson kept sealed FDLE's interview of Rifqa. The judge said he wanted to read a transcript of the interview before deciding to remove the seal.


Amy L. Edwards can be reached at aledwards@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5735. Sarah Lundy can be reached at slundy@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-6218.

Copyright © 2009, Orlando Sentinel

Fathima Rifqa Bary conversion and custody controversy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fathima Rifqa Bary is an American teenager of Sri Lankan descent who drew international attention in 2009 when she ran away from home and claimed that her Muslim parents might kill her for having converted to Christianity. Two independent investigations in Ohio and Florida found no credible evidence that her life was in danger. [1][2][3] A relatively minor issue on the face of it, Ms. Bary's case has become a focal point in a culture clash between Evangelical Christians and Muslim Americans. Muslim sources say it is motivated by Islamophobia, Christian sources say they fear for Bary's life because they believe Islamic Sharia law mandates honor killing for apostasy.



History

Fathima Rifqa Bary is the 17 year old daughter of Mohamed and Aysha Bary, Muslim immigrants from Sri Lanka. She grew up in Columbus, Ohio. the family attended the Noor Islamic Cultural Center near Columbus, Ohio.[4]



According to Time Magazine, Rifqa ran away from home in July 2009 to the home of a Christian pastor in Florida whose wife she had met on Facebook. She had been with Reverend Blake Lorenz and his wife Mrs. Beverly Lorenz for three weeks before they contacted child welfare authorities. Her case drew attention when she appeared on television and declared that her father "said he would kill me or send me back to Sri Lanka," describing herself as the intended victim of an honor killing.[5] A friend from the House of Prayer in Columbus, Ohio, drove her to a bus station where she purchased a ticket under an assumed name for her bus ride to Orlando.[6]


Her parents say they have never threatened to harm her.[7] Her father, a jeweler, told a reporter that "Honestly, we didn't know why she left." And that as to the death threat described by his daughter, "She doesn't know what she's talking about," and "I want her to come back home. I love my daughter whether she's Christian or anything else. I want my daughter back."[8]


Law enforcement investigations


Bary was taken into custody by Florida child welfare authorities while an investigation proceeded. On September 14, 2009 a Florida court ruled that it found no credible evidence that Bary's life or well-being had been threatened by her family.[1][2][3] The FDLE report states with respect to the allegations of physical and verbal abuse that they found no credible evidence of such abuse.[3] In the report Mr. Bary states that he did pick up Rifqa's Laptop to throw it but did not throw it due to the cost of the laptop.[3] For these items they relied on the authorities in Ohio.[3] The FDLE report also listed several statements by Rifqa Bary which were not supported by evidence.[3] Rifqa Bary stated to them that her father did not know about the true nature of her cheerleading, the FDLE report states that pictures of her in uniform were prominently displayed in the Bary home. Furthermore Mr. Bary gave permission when Mrs. Bary would not.[3] Rifqa Bary stated that a teacher offered her refuge due to the abuse she suffered. The FDLE report states that the teacher was unaware of any abuse, and was concerned about parties, with alcohol consumption, which were thrown by Rilvan Bary (Rifqa's older brother) when the parents were away.[3] The FDLE report also stated that they did not investigate anyone in the larger Ohio Muslim community.[3] The FDLE report has been criticized by John Guandolo, an Ex FBI agent writing for the Center for Security Policy who alleges that Islamic Law requires that apostasy is a capital offense.[3][9] The FDLE responds that "FLDE conducted a thorough investigation of this situation."[9]



Public debate


The case "made international headlines."[10] According to the Columbus Dispatch, the story became a flashpoint of hostility between some members of the Christian and Muslim communities after a "cacophony of blogs, cable TV news reports and Facebook pages populated by strangers who assert—assuredly—anything they want to about her faith and her family and what they think should happen to her."[11] Time Magazine calls Bary's case a "cause célèbre." Stating that "Conservative websites often accused of anti-Muslim agendas, such as the Jawa Report, Atlas Shrugs and WorldNetDaily, have been lighting up over the Rifqa fight."[12]



Imam Muhammad Musri of the Islamic Society of Central Florida told the press that the controversy "has been sponsored by far-right religious groups who are intent on demonizing Islam and Muslims and painting the Columbus, Ohio, community with being all extreme and fundamentalist and they're out to kill this poor girl," and that he had "great doubts that any father, especially a Muslim father, would harm his little girl."[11] Harry Coverston, who is a former public defender, an Episcopalian priest, and a professor of religion at the University of Central Florida told a journalist that some people "need an enemy" that will be seen as "demonic and fierce and threatening."[11] Dr. Hany Saqr of the Noor Islamic Cultural Center stated, “These Islamophobes are not only paranoiac but are so manipulative. Their method of guilt by association is comical in a way and dangerous in another."[13] [13]


Apostasy in Islam

Claims on the punishment of apostasy have been central to the debate on the custody of Fathima Rifqa Bary. For example John Guandolo, former FBI agent, criticized the FDLE report based in part on his understanding that Sharia mandates honor killing for apostasy.[9] He also states his belief that the parents attornies, provided by CAIR, are really members of the Muslim Brotherhood.


Modern Islamic scholars hold that apostasy in Sharia was used as a political-religious tool to punish treason against the state and is no longer valid under modern conditions, where no state is based solely on common Muslim faith. Under traditional Islamic law[14], however, an apostate may be given up to three days while in incarceration to repent and accept Islam again, and if not the apostate is to be killed without any reservations. In the period of the early Islamic Caliphate, apostasy was considered treason, and was accordingly treated as a capital offense; death penalties were carried out under the authority of the Caliph.


Sharia law is ultimately based on what Muslims belive are the teachings of God as found in the Qur'an, hadith and sunnah.[15] On the issue of apostasy the Hadith are in agreement, in one Muhamad says "'Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him.'"[16], another says "The blood of a Muslim, who confesses that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that I am His Apostle, cannot be shed except in three cases,".[17] He lists adultery, fighting (militarily) against the Muslim community, and murder.[17]. This however can easily bee seen as not extending to apostates, since they no longer confess "that none has the right to be worshiped but Allah and that [Muhamad is] His Apostle". In the Quran "Verily, We sent down to you [O Muhammad] the Book [Qur'an] for mankind in truth. So, whosoever goes astray, he goes astray to his own loss. And you [O Muhammad] are not a guardian over them. (The Quran, Az-Zumar 39:41) This would mean, at least, that the apostate is no longet protected by the Islamic community, he could then be killed in any of the lawful ways under Sharia.


Medieval Muslim scholars (eg Sufyan al-Thawri) and modern (eg Hasan at-Turabi), have argued that the hadith used to justify execution of apostates should be taken to apply only to political betrayal of the Muslim community, rather than to apostasy in general.[18] These scholars argue for the freedom to convert to and from Islam without legal penalty, and consider the aforementioned Hadith quote as insufficient confirmation of harsh punishment; they regard apostasy as a serious crime, but undeserving of the death penalty. Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, an Islamic scholar, writes that punishment for apostasy was part of Divine punishment for only those who denied the truth even after clarification in its ultimate form by Muhammad (see Itmaam-i-hujjat), hence, he considers it a time-bound command and no longer punishable.[19] Jamal Badwi a professor of religion at St Mary's University quoting Dr. Yusuf Al-Qaradawi "The benefit of doubt must be given and only those in legitimate authority and knowledge may deal with such situation as no one is allowed to take the law in their own hands."[20]


The 2006 case of Abdul Rahman is an example of how apostasy is treated by the most radical of muslim states. He was tried and sentenced to death by a court in Afganistan for conversion to Christianity in Afganistan 16 years prior.[21] He was released from jail and was granted asylum in Italy in 2007.[22][23]


References

1. ^ a b Fla. police: No credible threat to runaway convert, AP, NOv. 14, 2009 [1]
2. ^ a b Fathima Rifqa Bary: No credible reports of threats toward Rifqa, FDLE says; In an investigative report unsealed today, Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) did not discover any threats toward Rifqa Bary or her family in Ohio, Amy L. Edwards , Orlando Sentinel, Sept. 14, 2009 [2]
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Florida Department of Law Enforcement Investigative Summary OR-73-1741 Accessed September 15th 2009
4. ^ Attorney Targets Alleged Terror Ties in Case of Runaway Girl, Fox News, Aug. 31, 2009 [3]
5. ^ A Florida Culture-War Circus Over Rifqa Bary, Time Magazine, Tim Padgett, Aug. 24, 2009 [4]
6. ^ Fla. police: No credible threat to runaway convert, AP, Nov. 14, 2009 [5]
7. ^ Runaway convert to stay in Fla. pending hearing, (AP) Aug 21, 2009 [6]
8. ^ Runaway teen convert: Judge may decide next chapter for Rifqa Bary,17-year-old convert Orlando judge expected to decide today between keeping Rifqa Bary in Florida foster care or sending her back to Columbus, Amy L. Edwards and Rene Stutzman, Orlando Sun Sentinel , Aug. 21, 2009 [7]
9. ^ a b c Couple who sheltered Rifqa Bary speak Updated: Friday, 18 Sep 2009, 12:13 AM EDT Published : Thursday, 17 Sep 2009, 10:07 PM EDT TRACY JACIM
10. FOX 35 News
11. ^ Fathima Rifqa Bary: No credible reports of threats toward Rifqa, FDLE says; In an investigative report unsealed today, FDLE did not discover any threats toward Rifqa Bary or her family in Ohio, Amy L. Edwards , Orlando Sentinel, Sept. 14, 2009 [8]
12. ^ a b c Amid a holy war, National debate over a Columbus teen's faith exposes hostility between some Christians and Muslims, September 14 Meredith Heagney, [9]
13. ^ A Florida Culture-War Circus Over Rifqa Bary, Time Magazine, Tim Padgett, Aug. 24, 2009 [10]
14. ^ a b Institutional Islamophobia and the politics of a minor’s choice by Abukar Arman, Yemen Times (English), Issue: (1294), Volume 16 , From 14 September 2009 to 16 September 2009, Friday September 18, 2009
15. ^ according to Abdurrahmani'l-Djaziri's Kitabul'l-fiqh 'ala'l-madhahibi'l-'arba'a i.e. Apostasy in Islam according to the Four Schools of Islamic Law (Vol. 5, pp. 422-440) First English Edition (Villach): 1997
16. ^ Coulson, Noel James. A history of Islamic law (Islamic surveys). Oxford: University Press, 1964.
17. ^ Sahih al BukariVolume 9, Book 84, Number 57 via Center for Muslim Jewish Engagement
18. ^ a b Sunan Abu Dawud, book 31 Kitab al Hudud, (Prescribed Punishments)
19. ^ "Islam & Pluralism - A Contemporary Approach". Islam Online. http://www.islamonline.net/english/Contemporary/2003/05/Article01a.shtml. Retrieved 2006-03-23.
20. ^ Javed Ahmad Ghamidi. The Punishment for Apostasy,Renaissance,Al-Mawrid Institute, 6(11), November, 1996
21. ^ Is Apostasy a Capital Crime in Islam? Dr Jamal Badwi
22. ^ Afghan convert 'would be killed'Last Updated: Friday, 31 March 2006, 08:46 GMT 09:46 UK BBC
23. ^ Christian Convert Released From Prison, Amir Shah, AP, 28 March 2006
24. ^ Afghan convert 'arrives in Italy', BBC, 29 March 2006, 17:07 GMT

Ohio judge will address two Rifqa Bary cases in late October

An Ohio judge will address two cases involving teen runaway Fathima Rifqa Bary at a hearing in late October, Rifqa's Ohio lawyer told the Orlando Sentinel today.



A court in Columbus was supposed to take up one of the matters involving Rifqa today, but a magistrate judge decided Monday to set both cases -- a criminal case and a dependency case -- for a hearing Oct. 27, said Ohio lawyer Kort W. Gatterdam.


Gatterdam is representing Rifqa in the criminal matter. That case was prompted by a filing by Rifqa's father, Mohamed Bary, asking a judge to declare his daughter incorrigible for repeatedly being disobedient.


Gatterdam said he filed a motion to dismiss that case this morning.


In the mean time, Rifqa, 17, remains in Florida.


A hearing in Orange County juvenile court Monday brought more questions about her case than resolutions.


Orange Circuit Judge Daniel Dawson did nothing to change the custody of the teen, who has been living with a foster family in Central Florida since August.


In lieu of the Ohio legal developments, Dawson said he planned to talk to an Ohio judge to find out if there is a legitimate custody action in that state.


If so, Dawson would need to determine if and how long Florida's emergency jurisdiction should remain.


Rifqa made national headlines when she ran away from her home near Columbus, Ohio, took a bus to Central Florida and sought shelter with pastors Blake and Beverly Lorenz in July. She spent more than two weeks with the family until Aug. 10 when she was placed into state foster care, where she remains.


The teen said she feared her Muslim family would harm or kill her because of her conversion to Christianity.


Rifqa's family has denied any wrongdoing, and investigators in Ohio and Florida have not found evidence supporting Rifqa's claims.


In Orange County court Monday, Rifqa's Guardian Ad Litem, Krista Bartholomew, said she has "grave concerns" that the Ohio case would be dismissed as soon as Rifqa is sent back there.


Roger Weeden, the attorney for Aysha Bary, said the Ohio court has accepted jurisdiction and argued that all of the witnesses in Rifqa's case, from relatives to teachers, are there.
 
Rifqa's Florida case is set for mediation Oct. 9. Another proceeding in juvenile court is Oct. 13.



Amy L. Edwards can be reached at aledwards@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5735. Sarah Lundy can be reached at slundy@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-6218.


Copyright © 2009, Orlando Sentinel