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 Latest Updates: No credible reports of threats toward Rifqa, FDLE says

Amy L. Edwards and Rene Stutzman

Sentinel Staff Writers


7:49 p.m. EDT, September 14, 2009



In an investigative report unsealed today, FDLE did not discover any threats toward Rifqa Bary or her family in Ohio.

Although officials in two states have yet to prove it, Fathima Rifqa Bary told investigators she would become the victim of an "honor killing" because of her conversion to Christianity.



The Ohio teen had planned locations thousands of miles away from her home -- known as "fire drills" -- where she could seek refuge. Orlando was her "primary planned sanctuary," and that's exactly where Rifqa ended up in July.


Those were among the details of a Florida Department of Law Enforcement report that said investigators found no credible reports of threats toward the 17-year-old runaway. The report was unsealed Monday. Rifqa's taped interview with investigators remains sealed.


" . . . FDLE's inquiry to date has failed to reveal any evidence of a conspiracy to commit, solicitation to commit, attempt or other efforts to commit any such action or other violence against her," the report said.


FDLE's seven-page investigative summary includes interviews with Ohio school officials; with Rifqa's father, who has denied threatening his daughter; and with Brian M. Williams, a 23-year-old with ties to Columbus and Kansas City, Mo.




Williams baptized Rifqa and helped her get to Florida, according to the report.


The Islamic community was not investigated. Investigators checked with local, state and federal authorities in Columbus and Orlando and "have not been made aware of any identifiable threat."


Rifqa made international headlines after she ran away from her home near Columbus, Ohio, in mid-July, took a Greyhound bus to Florida and sought shelter with an Orlando family.


Rifqa, 17, has said she left Ohio because she feared she would be hurt or killed by her Muslim family because she converted to Christianity. She stayed with longtime Central Florida pastors Blake and Beverly Lorenz for more than two weeks before a judge placed her in state foster care, where she remains.


Other than her father, Rifqa did not identify anyone who have verbally or physically threatened her with death, the report said.



Also in the report:


-- Rifqa told investigators she had been abused by her father throughout her childhood, but her parents and older brother denied such allegations or using any harsh punishment. An Ohio school official told investigators the district had no records of alleged abuse.


-- Rifqa told investigators a high school teacher offered to let her stay at her house if Rifqa "needed to escape repercussions from her family due to her Christian religious beliefs." Investigators questioned the teacher, Debbie Crump, who told them she wasn't aware of any danger toward Rifqa. The teacher said she made the offer to Rifqa because her brother was having parties at the house when the Barys were out of town and the teacher was concerned for Rifqa's safety in that environment.


-- Rifqa may not have hitchhiked to a bus station on July 20. That's what she told investigators, but Williams told them he picked her up from a residence and drove her to the station. Rifqa's bus ticket was purchased in Orlando under a fictitious name. The report does not say who purchased it.


Reached recently by the Sentinel, Williams said he couldn't talk because he was already overextended on his cell phone minutes. Williams has not responded to multiple e-mails, Internet or telephone messages seeking comment.


Meanwhile, the Lorenzes' spiritual journey has taken a new path in Orlando.



A schism in their evangelical congregation, Global Revolution Church, led to them being banned from meeting in the movie theater that had been the church home. They abandoned -- voluntarily, they said -- the church name.


On Sunday, the Lorenzes and about 60 adults worshiped in an unair-conditioned warehouse in south Orange County. One of their music leaders set her keyboard atop a sawhorse. An audio-visual team propped a projector on a 10-foot ladder, secured by a piece of wood and a C-clamp.


Still, the Lorenzes preached, and the congregation prayed, sang and praised Jesus together.


Amy L. Edwards can be reached at aledwards@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5735. Rene Stutzman can be reached at rstutzman@orlandosentinel.com or 407-650-6394.


Copyright © 2009, Orlando Sentinel

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

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 Part II: The fake apostate conspiracy By Davi Barker

September 3, 4:46 AMSF Muslim Examiner - Davi Barker

There is no might or power on earth or in Heaven greater than God.

WND located this photo of Tayee Adrian, Rifqa's liason with Xenos Cult.

I'm way out on a limb here, but I think I figured it out! Tell me if this makes sense... if you're just tuning in go back and read Rifqa Part I: The Xenos Cult

It's 2:44 am, and I haven't slept, but the trial is today and I don't have time to polish this, so here's some real gonzo journalism. I do this all for you, my dear reader.

The Franklin County Children Services in Ohio conducted a nearly month long investigation and concluded that the allegations against Muhammad Bary were unsubstantiated and it was safe for Rifqa to return home. Although they recommended therapy for the girl, and Muhammad agreed the whole family could use counseling.


That's bad for the anti-Muslim narrative, so John Stemberger filed a memorendum basically saying, "No it's not the Dad... it's the whole community!" Basically the Noor Islamic center is connected to Dr. Saqr, who's connected to Salah Soltan, who's connected to Al-Qaradawi, who's connected to Al Qaeda and Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood and all the evil people in the world. He actually said this is the memorendum. "The Muslim Brotherhood... an international organization responsible for birthing virtually every Islamic terrorist organization in the world!"

Therefore Ohio is not safe. Carry out that arguement all 10,000 Muslims at the Noor Islamic Center Community are terrorists by association. Let's just take away all their kids and give them to good evangelical families? I'll tell you one thing reader... if she's not safe in Ohio, she's not safe in Florida. All it took was a little creative Googling and I was able to determine the likely address where she's staying*... But I digress.

Oh my dear reader! I can play the association game. Check this out...

My contacts in Ohio on the case say that Xenos materials and a Flash drive containing the diary of Pastor Brian Williams were found in her bedroom and were turned over to police. They also confirm that I was right about the man in the room in the video as I described in Part I. That he was bald, had a goatee. They tell me he was also at the hearing on the 21st and addressed Muhammad Bary is "Brother" like a Muslim. But this guy was not a Muslim. He was interviewed after the trial in Florida twice by CBN:


This guy is Jamal Jivanjee.
Jamal Jivanjee claims to be a Muslim apostate from Columbus. He befriended Rifqa in Columbus long before she fled to Florida. He was also at the court house Friday August 21st. Bald guy with a goatee.


Ok... check this out.

If he's the coach in the first video, that means he went with Rifqa from Ohio to Florida. And that means that this is probably the guy that Lorenz is protecting when he says he doens't want to reveal who bought her the ticket.

"The pastor won't say who bought Rifqa's ticket. He is trying to protect the person" ~ Orlando Sentinal

I'd even bet (if I were a betting man) that there is no ticket and Jamal drove her the whole way.

But it get's better...
Jamal Jivanjee is on the board of directors of "illuminate" and on his bio he says he's a graduate of Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA where he studied Pastoral ministry. The President of the Liberty Theological Seminary and Professor of Apologetics at Liberty University is Ergun Mehmet Caner. Ergun Caner was interviewed by the Florida Baptist Witness early in the Rifqa contraversy but he dropped out of the frey.


Ergun claims to be another Christian convert from Islam from Columbus Ohio, and claims that he lives his life with a fatwa against his life from that community, which makes him uniquely qualified to speak about this case. This man is a complete charlatan! He is a fraud! He is a liar! A dajjal! I strongly suggest you take a look at this video. It's the first in an eight part series.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRDyOaCJ3t0&feature=player_embedded

Ergun Mehmet Caner is FAKE apostate. He and as his brothers are these Christians that go around claiming to be ex-Muslim preaching lies about how aweful being a Muslim is. If you didn't watch the series here's some highlights. He claims his father built that mosque, and that he was trained to be the muadhin, but he misprounounces it! In part 2 he says the Shahada is "bismillakh aman arakhim mukhamdu alham arakhman arakhim." In part 3 he says that Ramadan is 40 days, and he says, "Jesus strapped himself to a cross so I wouldn't have a stap a bomb to myself." And he's always careful to point out that apostates risked their culture, families and lives for Jesus by leaving Islam. This man was never a Muslim!


So we're dealing with liars. And what's worse, they train other fake apostates! This is the sourse. This is the propagandist. The brainwasher. Ergun trains anti-Muslim propagandists. Jamal is a student of Ergun. Rifqa is a "friend" of Jamal. These are the people who turned typical arguments between a completely westernized teenage cheerleader and her liberal parents into death threats and honor killing from Islamic jihadists in Rifqa's mind.

That's all I have for now. It's not proof yet, but I think this raises some serious questions about how all these people are connected. It's still just a theory. But I think it's a stronger chain of reasoning than "They're all TERRORISTS!" Hopfully it comes full circle in the trial today.

* Clarifiaction Added 09/14/09 - Apparently this has really upset the Anti-Muslim Brain Trust who think that I am stalking Rifqa Bary. I've gotten a number of hateful and threatening messages about this thanks to an article about me by Pamela Geller at Atlas Shrugs. Frankly, I'm more consumed with the final 10 days of Ramadan, which is more important to me than engaging with Pamela, but I feel compelled to make some response.



To be clear I did not seek out this address. I will not share it, and I don't believe she is in any real danger. I discovered it accidentally during my normal investigative process. My point was to demonstrate that the debate over her safety in Ohio or Florida is a red herring. I personally feel the motivation in fighting to keep the case in Florida, and not Ohio where the alleged crime, all the witnesses, and all the evidence is, is because the child protection laws are more in their favor in Florida. If a person is genuinely concerned for Rifqa’s safety, as I am, her safety in Florida no different than her safety in Ohio.


Further, if Pamela truly believed that my statement was dangerous why would she post it? She took the quote from a small time writer with an average of 200-300 hits per article out in California, and posted it on her site, which gets thousands of hits, specifically from people following the case in Ohio and Florida. It makes no sense. What she has done is revealed herself and her priorities. Clearly she is more concerned with her narrative about Islam and Muslims than the Truth, or the actual safety of the girl.


It never occurred to me that the statement might be dangerous, and I honestly don't think it is. I was making a point about security theater. I have taken a stance against the punishment for apostasy, in favor of Rifqa’s emancipation, against collective guilt, and for presumed innocence for all parties. If Pamela had done any investigation she would have discovered this instantly.


Some have asked me to edit the article, but I will not. I'm sure Pamela has already taken a screen shot, and if I remove it now she will just publish the screen shot, putting more eyes on this statement she deems so dangerous. But for now, I'm not sweating it. I will continue to espouse what I believe to be True, though they dislike it. I will not be intimidated by her, or the threats of her cronies.


I have decided that the best course of action is to collected the contact information for the relevant authorities which Pamela advises her readers to report me to, and inform them how and where I came across this address so they can remove it if they feel it compromises her security in any way. I leave it in the capable hand of those security agencies.


I'm relatively certain that when the gag order comes off the police reports this will all blow over. And if it doesn't, I will certainly eat my words, and stand on which ever side protects the well being of the girl.

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?

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

Christian attorney: Why I think Rifqa Bary's mother is in the right...

By Craig McCarthy, Special to the St. Petersburg Times

In Print: Sunday, September 20, 2009

Editor's note: Craig McCarthy, a private attorney in Orlando specializing in juvenile courts, was the court-appointed attorney for Rifqa Bary's mother from Aug. 10 until Sept. 3. Rifqa Bary, a 17-year-old Christian convert who fled Ohio for Orlando, has claimed she'll be killed if sent back to her Muslim parents. Last week, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement found no credible reason to believe that. At a Monday hearing, her parents' attorneys plan to argue that the case should be dismissed in Florida and sent back to Ohio.

Rifqa Bary smiles at supporters in the crowd in an Orlando courtroom earlier this month. She says she fears for her life if she is to be sent back home.

The objective facts of the Rifqa Bary case, viewed with a minimum of passion and maximum wisdom and discernment, should matter, to Christians in particular.


I am writing now because a report by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has been released addressing the claims of Rifqa Bary that her parents would allegedly kill her because she has converted from Islam to Christianity. The report provides additional documentation of things I have known for some weeks but have not until now been at liberty to say.


It will astonish many fellow conservatives as well as many on the left to learn that I, an evangelical Christian, have vigorously defended Rifqa Bary's mother in court. And I believe that my former client's cause is just.


From the beginning of this case until earlier this month, I was the attorney for Aysha Risana Bary, Rifqa's mother. I hope it comes across as nothing but a simple fact when I say this to you: I know more about what is really going on in this case than you do — and those of us who are Christians and conservatives ought to be interested in the facts behind controversial stories.


I found the Lord and became born again at the age of 5 and was raised in an evangelical tradition and environment. With the exception of my live appearance on Fox News Channel's Fox and Friends last month, I have made my faith as a Christian clear to every journalist who has interviewed me about this case.



I am an attorney who has been involved with probably close to a thousand cases involving child abuse and neglect, both on the side of the state and on the side of parents who have had the state dismantle their families. (A little aside: I almost lost my job way back for trying to save Terri Schiavo while I was a Department of Children and Families attorney — I was critical of Attorney General Charlie Crist in that case then and am critical of Gov. Charlie Crist in this case now.)


Bottom line, I am a Christian attorney who believes in working to advance the cause of Christ while I'm here in this fallen world.


And I also believe that many Christian conservatives have allowed themselves to adopt a narrative and thus reach conclusions about the Rifqa Bary case prematurely, just as we accuse the mainstream media of sticking to their preferred narratives instead of squaring their passions with reality.


Early on, I all but pleaded with Christians to hit the pause button and wait for more investigation and facts. The implications of getting this wrong have pained me greatly. Now to the facts.



On the morning of Aug. 10, I was working at the juvenile courthouse in Orange County. I observed people loudly making threats to bring in the media and the governor about some matter to be heard that day. Something immediately seemed "off" about some of the personalities in this case (and by that I do not mean the child herself).


Later that day, I was appointed to the case to defend Rifqa's mom. This was not purely by chance. As the person in my county who is routinely appointed to serve as an attorney ad litem to speak for children in foster care, I had been asked to stick around. It was anticipated that I might very well become Rifqa's attorney.


When the attorney who had at first entered an appearance on behalf of Pastor Blake Lorenz later changed her position and declared that she in fact represented the child Rifqa, however, I was given the task of representing one of the parents in the case. It's inside baseball for most readers, but I was immediately struck by the strangeness of Lorenz's attorney spontaneously declaring an attorney-client relationship with the child in open court that hadn't existed the moment before.


That sense of strangeness remains relevant given a recent motion to clarify the roles of Rifqa's four attorneys filed by DCF. In any event, I took the case on behalf of Rifqa's mom and started digging, knowing from the beginning that the case had implications for people of my Christian faith and being determined to get it right.


By Aug. 12, I already had solid documentation that at least one thing circulating in the media and on blogs was flat wrong: that the parents had not reported the child missing for 10 days. Not long after, I was able to nail down another misreported "fact," that the child's note left to her parents had not been given to police. Neither of those things are true.


Why are those relatively mundane facts important? They are important because the person reporting them couldn't possibly know those things, yet so-called adults surrounding Rifqa eagerly passed those things on to media without analysis, one imagines, because they served to paint the child's parents in a bad light.


Knowing that the key facts first presented in Orlando were just plain wrong, and almost inexplicably wrong given that neither claim could possibly be known to anyone in Florida, I continued with my sense that something was "off" here, and kept digging.


I was annoyed as a Christian, as an officer of the court and as a litigator (in that order) that many with whom I agree on many issues were so willing to disregard the notion that a parent has the right in this country to raise and influence a child without governmental interference, unless there is evidence of abuse or neglect that is credible and not based on stereotypes or based on the beliefs or actions of what people who are not the parents might think, feel or do.


Consider this: A minor goes missing; an Amber Alert is issued; law enforcement officials develop information; that information brings police to a lead; that lead actually has knowledge of where the child is; despite the fact that the lead initially denies his knowledge of where the child is, police are able to put that together with a call to the National Center for Missing and Endangered Children, and then they find the missing child. … Yet the response of certain people involved with this case is to be outraged that the police did their jobs. Something is "off."


Then came the FDLE report executive summary. It's out there now. It confirms things I already knew. When Mohamed Bary personally showed me photographs of his daughter in a cheerleader outfit when we met for the second time on Aug. 21 (he had driven from Ohio to Florida twice to attend court hearings), I knew that claims that he had no idea that his child was a Westernized and normal high school student were nonsense.


Reading the FDLE report, I now have confirmation of several things I'd developed information about. I am no longer involved with this case as an attorney. It would be improper by my writing to interfere with the Barys' new attorneys and how they want to proceed. Suffice it to say that a growing list of otherwise uninterested people would have to be lying in order for what you think is true about this case to be true.


To my Christian readers I say that most of you likely had a heartfelt desire to protect a new convert to our faith. I can't fault you there. Quite frankly I am happy that the child knows Jesus, but that is a personal feeling and not relevant to my previous job of defending these parents from the power of the state to take their family apart.


Please recognize that the Lord is not so powerless as to need people to hide information, to embellish facts, or to give false witness in order to advance Christ's kingdom. You homeschoolers in particular ought to pause and weigh the power of the state to take your child into foster care against your feelings on this case and whether or not you would wish to be afforded a competent defense should religious biases be used against you some day.


To any readers who may be of the People for the American Way variety who blog about the hypocrisy of Christians, I simply present myself, an evangelical Christian who believes in facts and law and has extended himself far out on a limb before his peers on behalf of Rifqa's mother.


To any readers who may be Muslim, do not allow your reading of certain blogs to taint your feelings toward your Christian neighbors.


And to Rifqa, one year younger than my older child, I say that as a father and as a Christian, and as your mother's former attorney, I care about you and have since Aug. 10. God bless you, and I believe that all things will work together for good.

Craig McCarthy, a graduate of West Point and Florida State Law School, was the court-appointed attorney for Rifqa Bary's mother for the first several weeks of this case.