Fathima Rifqa Bary conversion and custody controversy

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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

Rifqa Bary Part III: The FDLE report is a joke By Davi Barker

September 22, 4:58 PM, SF Muslim Examiner - Davi Barker

Dear reader, in light of all the recent evidence which has come to light I must humbly retract some of my previous speculations, specifically with regard to Jamal Jivanjee. In Rifqa Bar Part II I suggest that he is the one who helped Rifqa get from Ohio to Florida, and the recently released report from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement identifies Pastor Brian Williams as the one who drove her to the Grey Hound station. Who purchased the ticket is still in question. I further suggested that Jamal may be the off-camera coach I identified in Rifqa Bary Part I. This is still my best guess, although I have no definitive evidence, so this remains only deep speculation, and I spoke in haste presenting it as I did. I still stand by my statements that Jamal's connections with Liberty University, specifically Ergun Caner puts his authenticity into question in my mind, but for the time being I am taking him at his word. I stand by my statements that Ergun Caner is a liar and a fraud. But for now I'd like to decompress two pieces of evidence we now have, Rifqa's Affidavit and the FDLE report.



The Affidavit is completely concerned with connecting Mohamed Bary with the Noor Islamic Center, assuming that all members of the mosque are extremists because of the various speakers and scholars who have been there. Basically guilt by association. This is a dangerous precedent to set because if the court system accepts this arguement it means that every Muslim everywhere could have their children taken away by the courts without any evidence of wrong doing. For example, me. Named in the memorandum is Siraj Wahaj, who spoke at the Noor Islamic Center and is an "Unindicted co conspirator" in the 1993 WTC bombing. I have personally attended lectures with Siraj Wahaj. I've shaken his hand, and he seemed perfectly nice. I had no idea these allegations existed. By the logic of Rifqa's affidavit and her attorney's memorendum, I am an unfit parent. I could snap and kill my own children at any moment for whatever crazy reason they dig up. Ludicrous!


An unindicted co-conspirator is a person who is alleged to have engaged in conspiracy, but who is not charged in the indictment. Do you see? There's no conviction here. There are only allegations. The existance of allegations against one person is being used as evidence of the truth of allegations against another person. This is madness! We must not allow our court system to conduct itself this way, and if you don't see any problem with this I suggest you go read Pastor Martin Niemöller's poem.


I much anticipated the release of the FDLE investigation into Rifqa's allegations to settle the matter once and for all, forgetting of course that every government bureaucracy everywhere is embarrassingly incompetent, even when lives may hang in the balance. I was looking forward to transcripts of Facebook conversations, and excerpts from Rifqa's writings. You know... like a real investigation. Instead, most of the report read something like this:


"Investigation of this allegation indicated it occurred in the state of Ohio, for which the FDLE has no jurisdiction."


What a joke! This, if nothing else, demonstrates exactly why this case should be in Ohio where the alleged crime took place, where the evidence is, where the witnesses are, and where the law enforcement agencies actually have jurisdiction. Keep the girl in Florida if that's what she wants, but the case should absolutely be in Ohio.


The report was not without any fruit however.


In the affadavit Rifqa alleged that her father, Mohamed Bary, threatened to strike her with her laptop. In the FDLE report Mohamed admitted he grabbed the laptop, lifted it to throw it and then decided not to because it was so expensive. He denies any intention to hit her or threaten her, but he could have denied the whole thing and it would have been his word against hers. So, Mohamed has a temper. That's not condemnable on it's face, but it is significant. We cannot ignore allegations of physical abuse in good conscience. These allegations should be investigated in Ohio, not in Florida. To be just, we must condemn any abuse that comes to light.


Rifqa claimed a high school teacher offered to harbor her if she needed to escape violent repercussions from her family. When interviewed the teacher stated that she was not aware of any danger toward Rifqa, and that she made the offer because her brother Rilvan was having wild parties with alcohol while their parents were out of town. At the very least this implies that Rifqa takes some creative license with the facts. But it proves or disproves nothing.


Rifqa told authorities that her father had no idea what cheerleading was, which is why he allowed it. She stated she always covered around him, and her family had no photos of her in her cheer uniform. Mohamed said he'd never seen her perform, but he'd driven her to practice. FDLE said there were photographs of Rifqa in her cheerleading uniform displayed in the family living room. This one confuses me. If Rifqa's lying it's a bad lie, because it would be easily verifiable whether or not they had photographs. If it's not a lie, where did they get the photographs? If you watch the interview with the family you can see that the photos are nicely framed with the school logo from 2008. Even if they put the photographs after the fact, they at least had to know that the photographs existed.


Most interesting to me is that in her affadavit Rifqa says that she became Christian November 18th 2005 at the Korean United Methodist Church in Columbus, Ohio. Unfortunately their website is in Korean, so this is a dead end. What is interesting is that the Korean Church is literally right around the corner from the Xenos Headquarters I discussed in Part I. This is before she met Jamal Jivanjee or Brian Williams. The FDLE report Rifqa says she was baptised by Brian Williams in June 2009 at the House of Prayer. Some limited investigation suggests that the House of Prayer has some cultish tendancies similar to Xenos. Evidence continues to confirm my original thesis. More on that in my next article.


More or less the report is a wash. It complicates the overall picture, but it's just banter. They didn't thoroughly investigate anything. If anything, this report only reveals the strategy of Rifqa's attorney to muck up the legislative process until she turns 18. I still maintain that the custody battle is irrelevant. She should be emancipated and left to do as she wishes. Let her get a job and support herself. If she feels threatened, let her carry a gun. I recommend the Lady Smith .38 Special. Better that then entrust her safety to the incompetent agency that produced this report.

Rifqa Bary and the Xenos Cult By Davi Barker

September 1, 2:13 AM, SF Muslim Examiner - Davi Barker

Anyone watching the blogosphere now knows Rifqa Bary. Born Muslim, she converted to Christianity and fled her home in New Albany Ohio and went to Orlando Florida to the home of a pastor she met on Facebook. This video surfaced on August 10th, Rifqa's 17th birthday, which began the the cacophony.



There were immediately two competing narratives. Rifqa's attorney John Stemberger asserts that Rifqa suffered a history of physical and sexual abuse, and she is now fighting for her life. Anti-Muslim bloggers like Pamela Geller of Atlas Shrugs and Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch immediately jumped into the fray. In this narrative an extremely devout Muslim family from a radical Ohio mosque are trying to fly their apostate daughter back to Sri Lanka for an “honor killing.” The Bary family insists that they've never made any such threats, that the girl is free to practice any religion, and they just want their family whole again. In this narrative a cult of Evangelical Christians used the Internet to brainwash her into leaving her religion and her family and move the Florida.


On the Evangelical side this is an opportunity to dump on Islam, and the girl is the frosting that makes the guano palatable. On the Muslim side the focus is on defending Islam, and there's little regard for the details of the case. But I found serious problems with both narratives. Now, I think I've found something few others are talking about.


The first thing that was clear was the Rifqa learned about "honor killings" from Christians not from Muslims. Periodically in the video, when she's flustered, she looks over to someone off camera. This is a tell when someone has been coached. They seek visual confirmation by making eye contact. At the five minute mark she says, "It's in the Quran." Which it's not, but then she looks off camera and says, "You can, like, give them knowledge about it." She gestures, and a man answers unintelligibly. Then she says to the reporter, "He really will explain it and break it down. They have to do this!" Who ever that man is... he is the coach. And we know it's not the pastor because he's holding her, but I'm certain he had a hand in it. He's quoted as having said, "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." Do you see why it makes no sense? If this is her religion, her upbringing, her life... she would be fluent in it's details. She wouldn't need someone else to explain it for her.


But that's not enough. Blake Lorenz had only had her for a few weeks in Florida. That's time for coaching, but not for brainwashing. So, I looked to her church activity in Ohio. Only a few articles briefly mention that she attended Church called Xenos Christian Fellowship. A little Googling on this group immediately brings the whole picture into view. Message boards and articles about the Xenos Fellowship are filled with comments about the group's cultish tendencies, specifically it's manipulative efforts to isolate people from their friend's and family.


Xenos means "Alien" as in the members of the Church, called "Xenoids," should be aliens in this world, seeking only their home in Heaven. Ex-Xenoids speak of years of rigid social control and peer pressure before they could get out and ostracism once they left. Stories emerge of "Leaders" running a "Ministry House" where groups of older members live together and host "Home Church" to "Cell Groups" of high school and junior high aged members. The group takes 13 and 14 year old girls out on "Bible Study" camping retreats with college aged boys.


Ex-leaders describe a community where adults and youth are discouraged from socializing outside the fold without bringing another Xenoid along. Where leaders conspire to orchestrate the romantic relationships of members by pairing "workers" together and breaking off "fringe" members. Others describe losing loved ones to the Church, their siblings, or children or even spouses being so engrossed in the Church they abandon all other ties. They describe the Church as preying on confused teenagers, exploiting their weaknesses and then jumping in to "save" them. Even worse they have on staff an on call psychologist to keep people in line.


Annemarie Smith, creator of Parents Against Xenos calls the Church the "Xenos Cult", and their leader, "The Devil Man." At her blog she describes her son's history with the Xenos Cult, which is not at all unlike Rifqa's story. Her son Tom, like Rifqa, was an honor roll student. A charismatic over achiever. But like Rifqa he was relatively new to the area, and needed friends. Members seek out candidates with family problems, or who just don't fit in somehow. Just as Muhammad describes his daughter, Annemarie described Tom as,"speaking as if reading from a script." Like Rifqa he was baptised in his new religion. He told his family that he did not feel as connected to them as to his new Church, and he could not have relationships that were not centered around God. So complete was the group's control over Tom that he called to threaten her into shutting down her website. But she continues in good faith that her son will come around. The leader then accused her of carrying on a, "terror campaign" when she stood outside the Church's meetings with signs saying, "I want my son back." In her crusade against the Xenos Cult Annemarie has pulled many from the flock, but not Tom.



Let me be clear. I subscribe to a principle which is as Islamic as it is American, that the accused be considered innocent until proven guilty. I consider the father innocent of the allegations of abuse until I see evidence. Similarly, I consider the pastor innocent of the allegations of brainwashing until I see evidence. I believe that this is most likely what happened to Rifqa. The flavor is different, but the results are the same.


Rifqa and her attorney, John Stemberger describe her family as "extremely devout" and try to connect the family with terrorism in the community. The Muslim response has been that Muhammad is not very devout. His daughter was a cheerleader, and his son drinks beer and parties.

I don't think this is a good argument. What you do by making this argument is you concede that devout Muslims are violent, and you throw the Bary family under the bus to save Islam from controversy. If you want to jump to the defense of Islam, just link people to the hundreds of scholars who confirm that the death penalty for apostasy comes from a time in history when apostasy was synonymous with treason. It has no place in the modern world. There is no compulsion in religion. Islam is not on trial here. We are talking about a specific person. And specific people are capable of murder. Do not allow this to be an argument about Islam. Stand up for justice for the girl!



The family insists that they've never made any threats. Character witnesses from amongst the family's friends and neighbors confirm that they are not as they are being portrayed. Sgt. Jerry Cupp of the Columbus Police Department 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." , and police say they have found no evidense of abuse. But this does not support the allegation that Blake Lorenz brainwashed and kidnapped the girl into an Evangelical cult. Screenshots from Rifqa's Myspace show her proclaiming "JC" as her savior in 2007, long before she met Blake Lorenz. He may be a charlatan who's enjoying his moment in the spot light.
 

I believe the most likely culprit here is the Xenos Cult, a group that specifically emphasizes verses where Jesus tells the disciples to leave their family, disown their loved ones. Xenos tears families apart.

As Muslims I think we must suspend judgement, because if we deny the facts, and we bunker down in defense of Islam, and we're wrong, we will have lost all credibility. The Truth will out. A judge ordered the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate the abuse allegations, while Rifqa is staying with a temporary guardian in Florida until the next hearing scheduled for September 3rd. If any of these allegations are true the Facebook records will show it. We must stand in defense of the girl, because Rifqa is the victim in any scenario.

We must contend with the reality that she is a 17 year old woman who in all likelihood genuinely believes her life is in danger. Even if she's wrong, that fear is real. Can we in good conscience force her to return to a family she's terrified of?If you ask me she needs a psychiatrist who specializes in cult deprogramming. Who ever the culprit is, she's probably suffering from extreme emotional and psychological damage. I think that we must seriously consider advocating for her emancipation?