Court Expected to Send Runaway Teen Home Despite Muslim Honor Killing Fears

Despite a very emotional video interview by 17 year-old Rifqa Bary in which she states that her father is going to kill her for leaving Islam, she most likely will be returned to him. A hearing is set for this afternoon. Please say a prayer for her.

Court Expected to Send Runaway Teen Home Despite Muslim Honor Killing Fears
Friday, August 21, 2009
By Joshua Rhett Miller

A 17-year-old girl who fled to Florida after converting from Islam to Christianity will almost certainly be forced to return home to Ohio, experts say, despite her fears that she will become the victim of an honor killing for abandoning her parents' faith.

Rifqa Bary, who hitchhiked to an Ohio bus station earlier this month and took a charter bus to Orlando, remains in protective custody with Florida's Department of Children and Families. A judge is expected to rule Friday on the jurisdiction of the case, but several legal experts contacted by FOXNews.com say the girl is bound to be sent back to Ohio.

"She'll be returned to the original jurisdiction," said Katherine Hunt Federle, professor of law and director of the Justice for Children Project at Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law.

"She probably doesn't have a lot of options other than to return home."

Bary, a native of Sri Lanka who turned 17 earlier this month, is neither a U.S. citizen nor a resident of Florida, so if her parents want her returned to their home in New Albany, Ohio, that likely will occur, experts said.

"She's living and residing in Ohio," Federle said. "Typically, what happens is, if a child runs away and goes to another jurisdiction, she'll be returned to the original jurisdiction."

If she is sent back to Ohio, Bary will not be allowed to live on her own, since the state does not have an emancipation statute.

Florida has such a statute, but it requires parental consent, according to Fred Silberberg, a family law expert based in California who is familiar with the case.

Given that legal hurdle, Bary likely will be returned to Ohio, where authorities could intervene if they believe there is a threat or a basis to act, Silberberg said.

SNIP

"Anyone who converts from Islam is considered an apostate, and apostasy is a capital crime," Chesler wrote FOXNews.com. "If she is returned to her family, if she is lucky, they will isolate her, beat her, threaten her, and if she is not 'persuaded' to return to Islam, they will kill her. They have no choice."

Chesler, who wrote "Are Honor Killings Simply Domestic Violence?" for Middle East Quarterly, said the tradition of such slayings is not fully understood by most Americans, including those in law enforcement.

"She escaped from her family's brutal tyranny and shamed her family further through public exposure," Chesler said. "Muslim girls and women are killed for far less."

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Sharia Board of America

Need to govern your life by Sharia Law, confused about Sharia rulings? Today is your lucky day as The Sharia Board of America is here to guide you. Just submit your questions online, and wait for the reply. Or if you are in the Chicago area, just drop by.

Does anyone still believe that we are not heading down the same road as the UK in regards to Islam? If so you are only kidding yourself.




Dars-e-Quran by Mufti Navalur Rahman will be held Inshallah on every Friday after Maghrib prayer at Rahmat-e-Alam Foundation.

Separate sitting area is available for women.

Rahmat-e-Alam Foundation moved in 2007 to a 2800 sq.ft building at 7045 N Western Ave. Chicago, IL. This move has enabled us to consolidate the service programes in one location.

The new location is conveniently accessible by walk, public transportation within 2 miles radius of a densely populated Muslim community on the North side of Chicago. The following programs serve the Muslim Ummah through out the US and world wide.

Shariah Board of America

Over 15000 Fatwas have been issued to Muslim Community
Provide several hundred of marriage and business counseling services
Supervision and guidance for Shara'ee Zabiha
Conducted various seminars
Opened Islamic reference library
11 staff members including highly qualified Ulemas (Scholars)



Here are some of the questions submitted to the Sharia Board of America. The answers are given in an audio response, but they are not in English.


Question 1.

Is it permissible (i.e. halal, haram, makrooh) to watch cartoons for children? 2. Is it permissible (i.e. halal, haram, makrooh) to teach children with cartoons? 3. Are clothes with catoons on it permissible (i.e. halal, haram, makrooh) for children (under 2-3yrs specially)? Now-a-days almost every cloth of samll babies are full of cartoons, even other accessories also e.g. shampoos, feeders, small toys like cars and train etc. all are filled with cartoons. What should we do if these are not permissible? Also tell me about stuffed toys of animals like dogs, cats, lions etc. Are they permissible for children play? 4.
What about playing with dolls? As you know in our society children (girls) are very fond of dolls, almost every body give present of doll to girl baby. What should we do about it? 5. If someone give gift of a doll or stuffed toy of dog, cat etc. Should we accept it or not? 6. Now-a-days celebrating birthdays are very common, whats ruling of shariah about it? Specially for children, is it ok to hv a very simple family gathering with cake cuting on this day of babies?

Question 2.

my husband abandoned me on the saying of his parents went back to pakistan and
divorced me by writing three words on a piece of paper and throwing it away in front of his family. is it three divorces or one. because now he is very remorseful and says that he wants to do an islamic nikah with me

SNIP

please advise because he keeps saying he wants to marry me and is aware of the fact that it was his fault. i dont want to do anything against islam.

Question 3.

Assalam u alaikum, I have Airport Transportation and Taxi Service business. I am trying to established my account to offer my service to Hotels guest for Airport Transportation. In order to get business and also established good business relationship with the Hotels staff and management some Hotels staff expect Money (10% to 25%) from my company as “Commission” for every call I get from them.
My question is it permissible to give money/ gift to hotel staff to get business from them.Jazakallah


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Former Pink Floyd Frontman Blasts Israel Wall

Here we have another celebrity getting involved in something that he obviously knows little about. My advice to Roger Waters to do some research on Hamas. A good place to start would be with their charter.

"Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it." (The Martyr, Imam Hassan al-Banna, of blessed memory).

"The Islamic Resistance Movement believes that the land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf consecrated for future Muslim generations until Judgement Day. It, or any part of it, should not be squandered: it, or any part of it, should not be given up. "

"There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors."

UN Documents Separation Wall Crimes

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM – The United Nations has premier a documentary on the plight of Palestinians living in the shadow of Israel's separation wall built on their lands in the occupied West Bank.

"The reason for walls is always fear, whether the personal walls that we build around ourselves or walls like this that frightened governments build around themselves," says former Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters, the film narrator.

"They are always expressions of a deep-seated insecurity."

The 15-minute documentary, “Walled Horizons”, opens with a wide shot of Waters walking along a towering concrete segment of the controversial barrier beneath the painted silhouette of a giant lying on its back.

The filmmakers interview a Palestinian farmer who has lost several hectares of land to the Israeli wall and a family caught in the 'seam line' between the wall and the 1967 Green Line separating Israel from the West Bank.

The documentary concludes with a shot of scores of Palestinians packed into a fenced-in corridor waiting to pass through an Israeli checkpoint.

The 700km-long Israeli separation barrier is a mix of electronic fences, concrete walls, trenches, and closed military roads.

According to UN figures, Israel has so far completed 413 kilometers of the barrier.

"It fills me with horror, the thought of living in a giant prison," said Waters as he spray-paints "We don't need no thought control" on the wall.

Waters is an English rock musician best known as the bassist player and one of the main songwriters and lead singers in the Pink Floyd from 1964 to 1985.

He is known with his progressive rock music, philosophical lyrics, and humanitarian interests.

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Father Wants Public Caning for Malay Woman Over Beer

Yesterday I posted an article about the woman in Malaysia who is going to be caned for drinking alcohol. She is more than willing to accept the punish in order to educate Muslims.

"I accept the punishment," she said. "I am not afraid because I was ready to be punished from day one. [The authorities] hope to use my case as a way to educate Muslims. So go ahead. I want to move on with my life."

Today we learn that her father not only agrees with her getting caned, but he wants it done in a public display. What a guy.

Father Wants Public Caning for Malay Woman Over Beer
By Ranjeetha Pakiam

Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) -- The caning of a Malaysian mother for drinking a beer should be conducted in public if it is meant to set an example to fellow Muslims, her father said, days before the punishment is set to be carried out in a closed prison.

Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, 32, faces six strokes of the cane after a Shariah court found the former model guilty of breaking a law that forbids all Muslims, including foreign visitors, from drinking alcohol. After deciding not to appeal, she may become the first woman to be caned in Malaysia.

The Shariah court in the eastern state of Pahang Kartika fixed Aug. 24 to 30 for the Prisons Department to conduct the sentence, said Mohamad Isa Abd Ralip, president of the Syariah Lawyers Association of Malaysia. Kartika will be held for a week at the women’s prison in Kajang outside Kuala Lumpur, a decision that has puzzled her father, Shukarno Abdul Muttalib.

“As a Muslim, I agree with her punishment, but I don’t agree that it should be done in jail, she is not a prisoner,” Shukarno, 60, told Bloomberg in an interview. “If the authorities want to use this as an example, then the caning should be done in public in Pahang.”

The businessman said it was embarrassing for his daughter to be brought to prison where criminals are held. If there was no alternative, Shukarno said he would ask the authorities to allow him and the media to attend the caning to ensure transparency.

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Death Fatwa Against Egyptian Priest for Seeking to Open Prayer Hall

As we continue to fund the Islamic world, the persecution of Christians continues without our government saying a word. How about you President Obama, will you say anything about this on your next trip to Cairo? Of course you wouldn't. Because you just don't care.

Death Fatwa Against Egyptian Priest for Seeking to Open Prayer Hall
8-18-2009

Muslim village elders in Minia Governorate in Egypt have issued a death fatwa (ruling) against a Coptic priest Father Estefanos Shehata for requesting them to allow converting part of his family home to a prayer hall.

United Copts of Great Britain (UCGB) reported on Sunday that Father Estefanos Shehata had sent an urgent plea to Middle East Christian Association (MECA) on 14 August as the village elders issued a death fatwa (ruling) against him and has banned him from entering village Ezbet Dawood Youssef, which comes under Samalut, Minia Governorate.

He said that the village Muslim's reaction was absolute anger at his request to convert a space in his family's home to be used for conducting funeral services and for marriage ceremonies. "I know we are not allowed to have a proper church in Egypt, but until now I pray for the dead and hold marriage ceremonies in the street." Father Estefanos told Waguih Yacoub of MECA in an audio recording.

"I appeal to President Hosny Mubarak, Interior Minister, State Security and the human rights organizations, that we are Egyptian citizens and we have the right like everyone else to place our dead in a dignified place," said Rev. Estefanos.

He said that it took him nearly two years to prepare this 100 square meter room to be used for these rites, before approaching the state security for the necessary licenses to start using it.

"I went to the state security to get the necessary licenses for using this space in my family home, but they told me I need first to obtain the 'permission' of the village Muslims, as they (state security) want no problems in the village," said Father Estefanos. "I told them that there would be no problems in getting this permission as we have always had good relations with the village Muslims and we love and consider them as our brothers." Father Estefanos has been brought up in Ezbet Dawood Youssef.

When Reverend Stefanos told the villager Muslim elders what he was intending to do, they called for a meeting with the elders of the neighbouring villages. "They were extremely angry at my proposal and instead a death Fatwa was issued against me!"

"They told the Copts in the village to make me change my mind, and that it only takes a bullet to get rid of me since there is no 'blood money' for killing a Christian", Father Estephanos said. "I am banned from entering my village for over a month now, I cannot even go to see my mother," he said.

He said that he has not informed state security with this fatwa as they already know everything. "The Muslims understand very well that if the government requires their approval, so they are in a good position of being able to withhold it." he commented. "I would just like to know whether the Government governs the people, or the people govern the Government."

"I have not opened a church, it is only a hall. Were is the problem that I pray on the dead withing four walls; where is the problem that I conduct a wedding ceremony for a bride and bridegroom in a clean room, where is the crime in that?" Father Stefanos told MECA.

Commenting bitterly, he said: "Muslim said I have to give up using this hall for praying for the dead. Last year I conducted prayers for my deceased uncle in the street, and they know that very well. I pray in the street."

"Can't they see that as Egyptian citizens we have the right to show some respect to our dead and conduct pray on their bodies in a clean place instead of the street?" he asked.

"But I assume that if the state security gives them this authority, then they use it. I really am at a loss, who gives permissions now, is it the state security or the Muslim villagers?"

The village of Ezbet Dawood Youssef not far from the famed River Nile lies in Samalut, Minia Governorate and has a congregation of 800 Copts but no church. It has a big mosque and another one is in the process of being built.

"The Muslim elders also said that it is through a grace on their part that we are allowed to go to the neighbouring village to pray there." Rev. Estefanos explained that the next village is El-Tayebah which is a 5-kilometer walk away, and the children refuse to walk such a long way.

Egyptian Christians known as the Copts onumber about 12 million and are representing approximately 15 percent of Egypt's population of 80 million; yet, they have been neglected and marginalized and most commonly are targeted for systematic discrimination and persecution, according to a press statement made by U.S. Coptic Christians this week.

U.S. Coptic Christians in a letter sent to President Obama said Peace in the Middle East is inseparable to peace of Coptic Christians in Egypt ahead of President Mubarak's visit to the White House this week.

Yesterday, the Coptic panel, which included representatives from Voice of the Copts, National American Coptic Assembly, and Young People, held a press conference at National Press Club in Washington D.C. They decried Eyptian President over the grave human rights situation in the predominantly Muslim country and denounced his visit to the United States.

However, the letter sent by Coalition of Coptic Organizations to President Obama specially requested the U.S. President to speak to the Egyptian President to restore restore the human rights and give justice equally to all the citizens of Egypt.

UCGB said the question now which begs an answer: "Has the Muslim mobs taken over from the government when it comes to dealing with the Christian Copts' rights to exercise their religious rites, or is this a new policy on the part of the Egyptian State Security to delegate to the mobs the carrying out of their devious and illegal undertakings?"

The Coalition hopes that President Obama will do justice during his meeting with President Mubarak for the sake of the suffering Copts in Egypt.

Robert Williams
Christian Post

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Model who Drank Beer to be First Woman Caned in Malaysia

In approximately one week a woman in Malaysia will be caned for drinking a lousy beer. So this makes me curious. Is this part of the "moderate" Islamic movement that the world is so desperately waiting for? Or how about the nine Christians that were recently arrested in Malaysia for allegedly trying to convert Muslims?

Please face the reality guys, "moderate" Islam is not coming to the rescue.

Model who drank beer to be first woman caned in Malaysia
Muslim model Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno has become the first woman in Malaysia to be sentenced to a caning after being caught drinking beer in a beach resort.
By Ian MacKinnon in Bangkok

The 32-year-old will receive six lashes at a woman's prison next week in what is being viewed as an example of the growing influence of Islamic hardliners on the country.

The mother-of-two who lives in Singapore with her husband, paid a fine of £860, but declined to lodge an appeal so she could get the punishment over with and put the episode behind her.

The harsh sentence has provoked anger among women's rights groups who fear it is another sign of the creeping influence of conservative Islam on Malaysian society.

In the northern backwater state of Kalentan ruled by the hardline Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, authorities have decreed that supermarkets must have separate checkout queues for men and women and beaches be segregated.

Young couples caught sitting too close together on park benches in the state capital, Kota Baru, are hunted down by the city's moral enforcers and fined up to £285 in Sharia courts.

The Islamic alcohol prohibition laws in Malaysia's eastern Pahang state date back more than two decades. But Malaysian-born Kartika, who now has Singaporean citizenship, is the first woman to fall foul of them.

She was arrested in July last year in a hotel nightclub in the beach resort of Cherating during a raid by the state's religious department and admitted drinking beer.

An Islamic court fined her and ordered her to be caned at Kajang women's prison next week, but spared her a jail term of up to three years.

She received word of the sentence from her father and said she would be returning to Malaysia from Singapore.

"I accept the punishment," she said. "I am not afraid because I was ready to be punished from day one. [The authorities] hope to use my case as a way to educate Muslims. So go ahead. I want to move on with my life."

Prosecutor Saiful Idham Sahimi said: "This is the first case in Malaysia. It is a good punishment because under Islamic law a person who drinks commits a serious offence."

Muslims make up about 60 per cent of Malaysia's 28 million people and are governed by Sharia courts for all civil and religious matters.

Non-Muslims, mainly Chinese and Indians, are governed by civil courts, which impose caning sentences for serious offences such as rape. The lashes administered to the buttocks, break the skin and leave scars.

But in Kartika's case the rattan cane will be lighter than those used to punish men. Sharia law dictates it be no thicker than the little finger and the cane cannot be lifted so high the arm is away from the armpit. The court ordered the jail's female governor administer the sentence.

Kartika has been ordered to report to the jail next Monday, where she will be given a medical check-up to ensure she is fit to receive the punishment.

She could then be held for seven days, but will be released immediately after the caning.

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UAE:Two Europeans on Trial for Kissing in Public

Back in March the authorities in Dubai had stated that they were going to toughen up their laws to be more in accordance with Islam. Unfortunately the authorities in Abu Dhabi are on the same path. Like I have said in the past, the Islamic world is getting stricter and stricter.

Hat tip to The Religion of Peace.

Sharia law does not apply in kissing case, says lawyer
Marten Youssef, Courts and Justice Reporter


ABU DHABI // The defence lawyer for two Europeans who are accused of kissing in public and consuming alcohol told the court yesterday that his clients are not bound by the Sharia law that prohibits both offences.

IK, a Russian woman, is charged with consensual dishonour and pleaded guilty to kissing, at the first hearing last week at the Criminal Court of First Instance. The man she is accused of kissing, ZV, is facing adultery charges.

The two are among five people who are before the court facing charges of adultery, consumption of alcohol and drugs. The three men and two women have been denied bail and are awaiting a verdict in their case. It is not known how the five know one another.

IK told the court last week that the kiss was a “normal greeting kiss”, but the judge responded by saying: “Maybe it’s normal in Russia.”

The defence lawyer, Abdul Khader Ghazal, told the judge that the forensic evidence conducted by the Abu Dhabi Police Science Laboratory found alcohol in the blood sample of ZV.

“My client is charged with consuming alcohol but there is no such a charge of consuming alcohol under the Sharia law,” he said.

“We can establish that he was not drunk. As he is not Muslim, he is further not subject to the same rules we are subject to,” Mr Ghazal told the court. UAE law, however, prohibits residents from consuming alcohol, irrespective of religion or nationality, without a proper licence issued by each emirate’s police authority.

The lawyer also sought leniency because his client is believed to have consumed alcohol without the proper licence from Abu Dhabi Police.

Mr Ghazal said there were no witnesses for the adultery charges. Unless both the accused plead guilty, Sharia law requires four Muslim witnesses to testify in court.

The lawyer submitted evidence that the drugs found in the urine sample of one of his clients is from a prescribed medication purchased in Russia.

The case was postponed for the judicial panel to review the evidence submitted.

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