Copyright 2009 Times Publishing Company - All Rights Reserved
St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
September 8, 2009 Tuesday
0 South Pinellas Edition
NATIONAL; Pg. 1A
As evangelicals spread their message via the Internet, they reach folks like Rifqa Bary.
She lived in Central Ohio, and she fled to Central Florida, but the story of Rifqa Bary didn't start in either place. It started on Facebook.
Bary, 17, ran away from home in July because she believes her Muslim family has to kill her because of her conversion to Christianity. She got on a bus and for 16 days lived in the home of evangelical pastors Blake and Beverly Lorenz of Global Revolution Church after she had gotten to know them through a Facebook prayer group.
The Internet has made meeting more people in more places faster and easier than ever before, and churches are taking advantage. A recent Georgetown University study said 87 percent of religious organizations use the Internet to attract new members. Evangelical Christians, experts say, are particularly good at using social networking sites as powerful tools to proselytize.
Global Revolution isless than a year old and meets in a movie theater in a mall, but it still can have a life-altering impact on a teenage girl and her family more than 1,000 miles away.
"Facebook," Beverly Lorenz said last month in an interview, "is part of my ministry."
"Facebook," Mohamed Bary, the girl's father, said last week, "that was the problem. Not Facebook, but the people who were on who influenced her."
"Evangelicals are aggressively pursuing souls online," said Lee Rainie, the director of the nonpartisan Pew Internet and American Life Project.
"This is pretty deeply embedded in the evangelical communities," he said. "They see it as their great cause: Go ye into all the world."
- - -
Beverly Lorenz, 51, exchanged "seven or eight" Facebook messages with Bary, 16 at the time, this spring and this summer. They had a wee-hours phone call in early July.
The girl showed up at their home late on July 21.
Beverly Lorenz is third generation in the church. Her father was a pastor. So was her grandfather.
She met Blake Lorenz at her father's church. They've been married almost 30 years.
Blake Lorenz, 53, bills himself as a former professional baseball player turned longtime pastor. He's a 1977 graduate of Rollins College in Winter Park and for a while was the school's career leader in pitching wins. He played one summer in the low minor leagues in the Chicago Cubs' organization. He pitched one inning, hit two home runs, and was released.
He felt low and lost until January 1980, he said, when he "met Jesus Christ" in his bedroom.
He was the pastor at Pine Castle United Methodist Church in Orlando for 24 years before he left last fall to start the Global Revolution Church across town. Global Revolution gets together in Theater 10 at the megaplex at Festival Bay. A recent Sunday morning service started with a booming movie-trailer voice: "Buckle up and hold on!"
"Revolution," says the church's Web site, globalrevolutionchurch.org, "means a sudden and radical change. We are about changing our culture."
- - -
The first call Blake Lorenz made to the Department of Children and Families was on July 29. He didn't give his name, and he didn't give Rifqa Bary's name, either, he said, because they told him the girl probably would be taken home.
Meanwhile, up in Columbus, the police were trying to find Bary. Her cell phone was off, so they couldn't track her signal - but her dad paid her bill, so he had access to her call log. He gave it to police.
That led to a name: Brian M. Williams. He's a 2008 Ohio State grad, an aspiring pastor, and was a Facebook friend of Bary and Blake Lorenz. He moved recently from Columbus to Kansas City, Mo., where he was interning at the International House of Prayer, a giant facility in a renovated strip center that the people there call the "missions base" of "a global worship movement."
Columbus police contacted Kansas City police. Kansas City police went to his address. Columbus police talked to Williams on the phone.
Blake Lorenz says he got a call from Williams on Aug. 5. They were here, Williams told Lorenz, looking for Bary.
On Aug. 9, the day before she was put in foster care with a different Christian family, Barywas at the Sunday service at Global Revolution. Blake Lorenz, calling her Anna, talked about her in his sermon.
"How should we live?" he asked his followers. "What choices are we going to make when we begin to get persecuted?
"Anna's been living this out. Anna is a wonderful young woman of God. ... She was a Muslim. Gave her life to Christ. Fell in love with Jesus. She fled for her life.
"The fear we live with," he continued, "is the police were going to show up, take us off, arrest us. ... Oh, that couldn't happen? It happened to the man who baptized her. The police showed up at his apartment in Kansas City, to arrest him, illegally searched his apartment and all the apartments there, looking for her, convinced she was there."
Initially, the sermon was posted on the church's Web site.
The next day the Florida Department of Children and Families decided the Lorenzes now were "not appropriate placement" for Bary.
"Home study," a supervisor wrote, "was approved prior to being informed that the pastor's family was involved with possibly helping the child run away from Ohio."
- - -
Helping.
That could mean a lot of things. Those Facebook messages she exchanged with Beverly Lorenz? The 4 a.m. phone call? The prayers they said together that night?
It could also mean a lot of people. The United States of Prayer, the Facebook group through which Bary met the Lorenzes, has hundreds of members from all over the country.
"The Internet," said Rainie, from the Pew Internet project, "has certainly scrambled the realities of distance and time. Legal authorities are having a new set of challenges. It's a very complicated and not at all settled element of the law now."
Where to look, and how? And who does the looking? Geographical jurisdiction has its limits in a world where geography hardly matters anymore.
Josh McKoy, 20, a Metro State college student in Denver, met Bary through his friend Brian M. Williams and messaged with her on Facebook.
"Brian's known her for a long time," McKoy said over the phone last month. "I don't know how they met but he was a huge help to her. Brian had bought her a Christian book.
"Oftentimes," McKoy said, "he was her transport to church and things like that."
Did Williams have something to do with her bus trip? Did Bary buy her ticket to Orlando?
"We can't confirm that," Columbus police Detective Jerry Cupp said.
Did the Lorenzes buy her bus ticket? They say no.
Who then? They won't say. They're concerned for that person's safety.
"A lot of people helped Rifqa," Blake Lorenz said.
Times news researcher Shirl Kennedy contributed to this report. Michael Kruse can be reached at mkruse@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8751.
Showing posts with label Religious Conversion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Religious Conversion. Show all posts
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Galle Fort and Ms Rifqa Bary - Sent by : Dr.Reffai
Posted on August 21st, 2009
Authored By Smiling – with roots in Galle Fort.
The controversy of Ms Rifqa Bary’s conversion from Islam to Christianity has been in the news in recent weeks.
To me, it started out as just another attack by the media on topics of a similar nature. With the passage of time, the hype died out, and it was probably going to be just another brick in the wall. Sure, I did wonder who she was; from where she hailed in Sri Lanka; and what was all this commotion about. Many have walked out of the fold of their birthright faiths, and thousands have converted through the years. So what’s the big deal about this girl’s decision to move on, if it was her own choice that is? She has to face her Creator one day, and He alone will judge if her intentions were right and whether her actions are justified, and whether she was coerced unethically by some unscrupulous missionary.
Confused
However, to a viewer such as me, and I am sure there are many who share this perspective, the incidents related by her do not make true sense. I gradually started noticing the inconsistencies in her statements which were blatantly apparent. She didn’t know the right context in using the word “Halaal.” It should have been that she was “Haraam” to her people.
Untruths
Rifqa tried portraying Sri Lanka as an Islamic nation, whereas it comprises of over 70% Buddhists! She was also untruthful in implying that in Sri Lanka honor killings, revenge and putting people into asylums at the drop of a hat, based on religious teachings, are the order of the day. The conniving media have portrayed our nation to be on par with countries or states which practice such atrocities thereby blinding the gullible public in that part of the globe to view things differently as they should. Why this incident has made a great impact on me is that an unassuming relative of mine recently announced that Rifqa Bary, who had her origins in my little home town, hailed from Galle Fort!
Galle Fort:
Galle Fort is a tiny fortress situated about 115-kilometers from Colombo along the Southern coastal belt. Built in the 18th Century by Dutch colonialists, it is a quaint little sleepy village surrounded by a fortress and its inhabitants used to be predominantly Muslim traders.
Muslims
The Fort and its lifestyle are unique and all houses abut each other, and the citizens of this enclosed village are very closely knit and united irrespective of ethnicity. Muslims hailing from Galle Fort are considered very liberated vis-à-vis those living in other townships of the island. The ladies used to be well dressed and fashionable, and most men were very well educated in Christian missionary schools, either academically, professionally, in business or in the many other ways of the world. Their lives always centered on the local community and the mosque, and I am sure no one in the history of the Muslims of Galle Fort, for whatever reason, has ever been subjected to an honor killing.
Womenfolk
Muslim womenfolk hailing from Galle Fort are also considered very liberated. Whilst we have our affiliations to Western culture and lifestyle we surely do not forget our Eastern roots. Most of us, unlike some of the Muslim women in Sri Lanka, do not adorn the veil, but that doesn’t deter us from being good human beings. Muslim women hailing from Galle Fort are, presently, scattered around the world and have stood up and made their names wherever they went. Sure, there have been those rebels who left the fold, both in religion and the Fort itself, and whilst in some cases they were reconciled, in other instances ostracized for life. However, it has not been recorded, in any known history of Galle, of any sort of barbaric behavior as stated by young Miss Bary, now in the U.S.
Traditions
The traditions and customs of the Muslims of Galle Fort have always been unique. Volumes could be written about the people. Their exceptional gourmet food is a culinary art by itself. The laid back lifestyle of the inhabitants coupled by their very broad outlook towards life, has enabled many of its citizens to reach the zenith of their careers and livelihoods both within and outside Sri Lanka. With this rich tapestry woven around us, it is so hard for me to digest the fact that anyone who has an iota of Galle Fort in one’s blood would ever accuse its people of such atrocities.
Miss Bary
You are very young Miss Bary. You do not know what you have accused people of; people whom you left about a decade ago when you were just a tiny tot. I guess you have read too many novels written by lopsided and biased authors in the West where they portray Muslim women as chattels and subjugated citizens.
You do not know what Sri Lanka is, and, in more particular the Galle Fort, where people are just normal human beings much liberated than the rest of the country, or, for that matter, across the South Asian Subcontinent. The people here basically mind their own business, and, of course, if something affects the community as a whole, they unite and stand by and support each other.
No one is going to touch you or hurt you, they will leave you to your own devices and let the Almighty judge you. Many have left Galle as you have; no one compelled them to come back; their families suffered the hurt and then went on about their lives. You, leaving the fold of Islam is your choice. You have to face your demons or your angels, someday. No one on the face of this earth has the right to judge what you have done is right or wrong. They can only comment in general as an opinion or even come forth and advice you according to their beliefs and thoughts. It is up to you to receive that advice objectively and with sincerity of purpose. That is what you have to live with for the rest of your life on the decision you have made, especially if you made it on your own freedom of thought without being subject to any unethical or devious coercion.
Young lady, do not accuse people of things that they have never done nor will ever do. Do not make up stories of things that never happened or didn’t exist in our quaint Galle Fort. My People of the Galle Fort are humane citizens not capable of anything you have accused them unilaterally. Sure, they may advice you to do what they think is right, yet, they will not force down on you what you don’t want to do. They will let you go and let you fly as you choose for yourself.
I cannot say whether you will be welcome back home with open arms or that you will have a smooth landing if you do decide to return. You are free to lead the life and faith you have chosen. That is your right and prerogative. The Muslims of Galle Fort are warm people, proud of their roots and their good human qualities and values, and you have breached that goodness and hurt an entire community in the process. You will have to live with that deed whether you choose to like it or not.
Authored By Smiling – with roots in Galle Fort.
Courtesy of http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2009/08/21/galle-fort-and-ms-rifqa-barrie/
Authored By Smiling – with roots in Galle Fort.
The controversy of Ms Rifqa Bary’s conversion from Islam to Christianity has been in the news in recent weeks.
To me, it started out as just another attack by the media on topics of a similar nature. With the passage of time, the hype died out, and it was probably going to be just another brick in the wall. Sure, I did wonder who she was; from where she hailed in Sri Lanka; and what was all this commotion about. Many have walked out of the fold of their birthright faiths, and thousands have converted through the years. So what’s the big deal about this girl’s decision to move on, if it was her own choice that is? She has to face her Creator one day, and He alone will judge if her intentions were right and whether her actions are justified, and whether she was coerced unethically by some unscrupulous missionary.
Confused
However, to a viewer such as me, and I am sure there are many who share this perspective, the incidents related by her do not make true sense. I gradually started noticing the inconsistencies in her statements which were blatantly apparent. She didn’t know the right context in using the word “Halaal.” It should have been that she was “Haraam” to her people.
Untruths
Rifqa tried portraying Sri Lanka as an Islamic nation, whereas it comprises of over 70% Buddhists! She was also untruthful in implying that in Sri Lanka honor killings, revenge and putting people into asylums at the drop of a hat, based on religious teachings, are the order of the day. The conniving media have portrayed our nation to be on par with countries or states which practice such atrocities thereby blinding the gullible public in that part of the globe to view things differently as they should. Why this incident has made a great impact on me is that an unassuming relative of mine recently announced that Rifqa Bary, who had her origins in my little home town, hailed from Galle Fort!
Galle Fort:
Galle Fort is a tiny fortress situated about 115-kilometers from Colombo along the Southern coastal belt. Built in the 18th Century by Dutch colonialists, it is a quaint little sleepy village surrounded by a fortress and its inhabitants used to be predominantly Muslim traders.
Muslims
The Fort and its lifestyle are unique and all houses abut each other, and the citizens of this enclosed village are very closely knit and united irrespective of ethnicity. Muslims hailing from Galle Fort are considered very liberated vis-à-vis those living in other townships of the island. The ladies used to be well dressed and fashionable, and most men were very well educated in Christian missionary schools, either academically, professionally, in business or in the many other ways of the world. Their lives always centered on the local community and the mosque, and I am sure no one in the history of the Muslims of Galle Fort, for whatever reason, has ever been subjected to an honor killing.
Womenfolk
Muslim womenfolk hailing from Galle Fort are also considered very liberated. Whilst we have our affiliations to Western culture and lifestyle we surely do not forget our Eastern roots. Most of us, unlike some of the Muslim women in Sri Lanka, do not adorn the veil, but that doesn’t deter us from being good human beings. Muslim women hailing from Galle Fort are, presently, scattered around the world and have stood up and made their names wherever they went. Sure, there have been those rebels who left the fold, both in religion and the Fort itself, and whilst in some cases they were reconciled, in other instances ostracized for life. However, it has not been recorded, in any known history of Galle, of any sort of barbaric behavior as stated by young Miss Bary, now in the U.S.
Traditions
The traditions and customs of the Muslims of Galle Fort have always been unique. Volumes could be written about the people. Their exceptional gourmet food is a culinary art by itself. The laid back lifestyle of the inhabitants coupled by their very broad outlook towards life, has enabled many of its citizens to reach the zenith of their careers and livelihoods both within and outside Sri Lanka. With this rich tapestry woven around us, it is so hard for me to digest the fact that anyone who has an iota of Galle Fort in one’s blood would ever accuse its people of such atrocities.
Miss Bary
You are very young Miss Bary. You do not know what you have accused people of; people whom you left about a decade ago when you were just a tiny tot. I guess you have read too many novels written by lopsided and biased authors in the West where they portray Muslim women as chattels and subjugated citizens.
You do not know what Sri Lanka is, and, in more particular the Galle Fort, where people are just normal human beings much liberated than the rest of the country, or, for that matter, across the South Asian Subcontinent. The people here basically mind their own business, and, of course, if something affects the community as a whole, they unite and stand by and support each other.
No one is going to touch you or hurt you, they will leave you to your own devices and let the Almighty judge you. Many have left Galle as you have; no one compelled them to come back; their families suffered the hurt and then went on about their lives. You, leaving the fold of Islam is your choice. You have to face your demons or your angels, someday. No one on the face of this earth has the right to judge what you have done is right or wrong. They can only comment in general as an opinion or even come forth and advice you according to their beliefs and thoughts. It is up to you to receive that advice objectively and with sincerity of purpose. That is what you have to live with for the rest of your life on the decision you have made, especially if you made it on your own freedom of thought without being subject to any unethical or devious coercion.
Young lady, do not accuse people of things that they have never done nor will ever do. Do not make up stories of things that never happened or didn’t exist in our quaint Galle Fort. My People of the Galle Fort are humane citizens not capable of anything you have accused them unilaterally. Sure, they may advice you to do what they think is right, yet, they will not force down on you what you don’t want to do. They will let you go and let you fly as you choose for yourself.
I cannot say whether you will be welcome back home with open arms or that you will have a smooth landing if you do decide to return. You are free to lead the life and faith you have chosen. That is your right and prerogative. The Muslims of Galle Fort are warm people, proud of their roots and their good human qualities and values, and you have breached that goodness and hurt an entire community in the process. You will have to live with that deed whether you choose to like it or not.
Authored By Smiling – with roots in Galle Fort.
Courtesy of http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2009/08/21/galle-fort-and-ms-rifqa-barrie/
Thursday, August 20, 2009
The Huffington Post - Rifqa, The Reverand and Apostasy
By Salam Al Marayati
Posted: August 18, 2009 12:43 PM
Fathima Rifqa Bary, who goes by Rifqa, is a 17-year-old from Columbus, Ohio who ran away from home -- not an uncommon occurrence for 17-year-olds. But the circumstances surrounding her story have opened a host of legal, cultural and theological issues.
Her Muslim parents moved the family to the U.S. from Sri Lanka in 2000, seeking medical attention for Rifqa, who had lost her right eye playing with a toy. Rifqa, who the Columbus Dispatch reports was a cheerleader at her high school, joined a Bible study group on Facebook earlier this year and was baptized at a local church.
See the story here.
Last month, she hopped on a bus to Orlando to meet with Rev. Blake Lorenz, who she met through a Facebook prayer group for the couple's non-denominational Global Revolution Church.
Her parents reported their daughter missing and local news covered her disappearance for a full two weeks before police were able to trace her to Lorenz's Orlando church.
Here's what happened when Rifqa was found: Lorenz decides to remain silent and displays Rifqa to a local television news station. She launches into an emotional plea to save her life from Islam. She claims that her parents "love God more than me" and therefore have to perform an honor killing on her. She argues "it's in the Quran". No it's not, sweet little Rifqa. It's not in the Quran. Whoever told you that is either ignorant or a liar. You should look it up yourself before claiming it's in the Quran.Rev. Lorenz is then quoted in a local television station report saying that if a Muslim leaves his religion and does not return to Islam in a couple of days, then he must be killed. He claims that someone showed him the verse. There is no such verse, Rev. Lorenz. In every faith, apostasy is shunned but ultimate judgment is left to God, not people.
Religious conflicts occur in some countries where there are volatile and tense relations between faith groups, particularly where war and ethnic conflicts occur (the Balkans, the Middle East, South Asia). The United States of America is different. Let's preserve the tradition of American religious pluralism and not fall into religious or cultural warfare.
The issue of apostasy is actually addressed in a controversial and oft-misunderstood law. Centuries ago, the apostasy law was actually a treason law, created to address what should happen when a soldier in a Muslim army converts to the other side and then fights against a Muslim country. That's the equivalent of an American working for the Soviet Union during the Cold War, or for the Nazis in World War II. Under U.S. law, treason is punishable by death. Now, state authorities in Florida and Ohio will have to clear up the mess and determine Rifqa's residence. Her father, Mohamed Bary, has a strong endorsement by Sgt. Jerry Cupp of the Columbus Police Department. Cupp told the Associated Press that Bary "comes across to me as a loving, caring, worried father about the whereabouts and the health of his daughter."
For his part, Bary told the Associated Press: "We love her, we want her back, she is free to practice her religion, whatever she believes in, that's OK. What these people are trying to do is not right -- I don't think any religion will teach to separate the kids from their parents."
Mohamed Bary allowed his daughter to become a cheerleader and says she can practice any faith she wants -- clearly, he is not a fundamentalist. He is a concerned father who believes his daughter was brainwashed and kidnapped. Let's see how this story unfolds.
Posted: August 18, 2009 12:43 PM
Fathima Rifqa Bary, who goes by Rifqa, is a 17-year-old from Columbus, Ohio who ran away from home -- not an uncommon occurrence for 17-year-olds. But the circumstances surrounding her story have opened a host of legal, cultural and theological issues.
Her Muslim parents moved the family to the U.S. from Sri Lanka in 2000, seeking medical attention for Rifqa, who had lost her right eye playing with a toy. Rifqa, who the Columbus Dispatch reports was a cheerleader at her high school, joined a Bible study group on Facebook earlier this year and was baptized at a local church.
See the story here.
Last month, she hopped on a bus to Orlando to meet with Rev. Blake Lorenz, who she met through a Facebook prayer group for the couple's non-denominational Global Revolution Church.
Her parents reported their daughter missing and local news covered her disappearance for a full two weeks before police were able to trace her to Lorenz's Orlando church.
Here's what happened when Rifqa was found: Lorenz decides to remain silent and displays Rifqa to a local television news station. She launches into an emotional plea to save her life from Islam. She claims that her parents "love God more than me" and therefore have to perform an honor killing on her. She argues "it's in the Quran". No it's not, sweet little Rifqa. It's not in the Quran. Whoever told you that is either ignorant or a liar. You should look it up yourself before claiming it's in the Quran.Rev. Lorenz is then quoted in a local television station report saying that if a Muslim leaves his religion and does not return to Islam in a couple of days, then he must be killed. He claims that someone showed him the verse. There is no such verse, Rev. Lorenz. In every faith, apostasy is shunned but ultimate judgment is left to God, not people.
Religious conflicts occur in some countries where there are volatile and tense relations between faith groups, particularly where war and ethnic conflicts occur (the Balkans, the Middle East, South Asia). The United States of America is different. Let's preserve the tradition of American religious pluralism and not fall into religious or cultural warfare.
The issue of apostasy is actually addressed in a controversial and oft-misunderstood law. Centuries ago, the apostasy law was actually a treason law, created to address what should happen when a soldier in a Muslim army converts to the other side and then fights against a Muslim country. That's the equivalent of an American working for the Soviet Union during the Cold War, or for the Nazis in World War II. Under U.S. law, treason is punishable by death. Now, state authorities in Florida and Ohio will have to clear up the mess and determine Rifqa's residence. Her father, Mohamed Bary, has a strong endorsement by Sgt. Jerry Cupp of the Columbus Police Department. Cupp told the Associated Press that Bary "comes across to me as a loving, caring, worried father about the whereabouts and the health of his daughter."
For his part, Bary told the Associated Press: "We love her, we want her back, she is free to practice her religion, whatever she believes in, that's OK. What these people are trying to do is not right -- I don't think any religion will teach to separate the kids from their parents."
Mohamed Bary allowed his daughter to become a cheerleader and says she can practice any faith she wants -- clearly, he is not a fundamentalist. He is a concerned father who believes his daughter was brainwashed and kidnapped. Let's see how this story unfolds.
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