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Muslim Girl's Parents End Fight to Get Her Back
Filed under: In The News
Rifqa Bary, shown Sept. 3, 2009 in an Orlando, Fla. courtroom, says she feared her parents would kill her for leaving Islam. Credit: Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda, Pool / AP
A Muslim girl who converted to Christianity doesn't have to return to her parents.
The Orlando Sentinel reports Fathima Rifqa Bary's parents have officially ended their efforts to get their daughter back after reaching an agreement with her and her lawyers.
As a result of the agreement, a family court in Columbus, Ohio, ruled on Tuesday that the girl can stay in foster care in Ohio until her 18th birthday in August.
So ends six months of controversy. It began in July when Bary left her home in Ohio and took a bus to Orlando, Fla. She stayed at the home of evangelical ministers Blake and Beverly Lorenz after meeting the couple on Facebook. The couple kept her whereabouts a secret from authorities.
Bary claimed her parents are radical Muslims, and that her father or radical Muslims in Ohio would kill her for converting to Christianity. (Authorities in Florida and Ohio later investigated such fears and concluded they were unfounded.)
Authorities discovered Bary in August. They took her away from the Lorenzes and placed her with foster families in the Orlando area.
Her parents demanded she be returned to their custody. Many conservative Christians -- usually strong supporters of parental rights -- took up the girl's cause. They held demonstrations and flooded Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's office with letters and e-mails.
Circuit Court Judge Daniel Lawson ordered Bary back to Ohio in October. However, she remained in foster care while the legal fight dragged on.
One of Bary's lawyers tells the Sentinel that the girl and her parents eventually reached an understanding.
Mohamed and Aysha Bary tell United Press International they accept their daughter's religious conversion.
"Rifqa and her parents love and respect each other and believe that further counseling for all parties is the healthy and best means of resolving the issues," the lawyer said in court Tuesday.
Related: What Happened When My Family Got Religion Overnight
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
1-21-2010 @ 5:21PM
Mary Caitlin said...The title of this article is inaccurate. She is not a "Muslim girl". She's Christian. You stated as much in the first sentence!
Reply
1-21-2010 @ 7:32PM
Jim said..."Bary claimed her parents are radical Muslims, and that her father or radical Muslims in Ohio would kill her for converting to Christianity."
OR??? Come on, you're a writer. Proof read you're work!
Reply
1-25-2010 @ 12:05PM
David said...Actually, the writer should have made use of the words "either" and "possibly" in this statement: "and that either her father or possibly radical Muslims in Ohio would kill her for converting to Christianity"
1-21-2010 @ 7:54PM
Eileen said...We hear so much about radical Muslim people. the father who ran over his daughter because she was too westernized. Here in Illinois there was a father who killed his daughter and her children because she was too westernized. He burned up the apartment building she lived in, injuring other people as well. If I was that daughter I believe that I would be afraid to go home too. If she is safe in the place she is at, then leave well enough alone. If I am not mistaken she is of age now. If that is the case, its a done deal, if not she must be kept safe at all cost. If that means that the parents do not get custordy so be it...
Reply
1-21-2010 @ 8:40PM
Sara said...There are also plenty of moderate jews who aren't nutso wackjobs.
I wonder if the authorities would have made the same decision if her parents were Amish, Mennonite, Strict Othadox Jewish or FLDS. Is your parents being a member of a fringe religious group a reason for you to be able to leave their custody.
Reply
1-22-2010 @ 7:50AM
frinea said...Are you kidding me? Judaism is not a "fringe" religious group.
1-21-2010 @ 10:01PM
fred said...Lol she was never a muslim. On her youtube outing as a christian she said she never knew about God, or About Jesus.
Part of the Islamic Faith is to know about God, and Jesus. In fact more is written about Jesus in Islamic Literature than in Christian Literature - Fact.
Seems like a silly teenager misguided by christian fanatics. I feel sorry for the Parents. How awful to have a daughter like that
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1-22-2010 @ 10:28AM
AndrewMessenger said...Not sure where you get your facts. In her testimony Rifqa states:
"I had no knowledge of God. I had no knowledge of who Jesus was." Rifqa is referring to Jesus because Jesus is God.
Her interpretation of Jesus, prior to knowing Jesus as God, was that she thought He was just some "random guy." It may be narrow of me to conjecture, but I might speculate how a younger person raised in a Muslim tradition might think of Jesus as being some random guy, as opposed to being God. Jesus is mentioned in the Muslim texts to be a prophet but not the God of all mankind.
The fact that "more is written about Jesus in Islamic Literature than in Christian Literature" is FALSE:
John 1:1 states "In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was God, and the Word was with God" and eventually states that "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (verse 18).
The fact of the matter is: Jesus is the living Word of God.
In other words: every word found in the Bible directly or indirectly relates specifically to Jesus [the one and only true, living God]. From beginning to end, every word. From Genesis to Revelation, the entire thing is completely about Jesus Christ and His life, His living, His life, His death, His resurrection, His free gift to believers, His redemption, His salvation of souls, His living in and through believers who believe in the one true author and finisher of our faith: Jesus Christ.
I continue to pray for Rifqa. This is far from over. This is only the beginning. Rifqa may have struggles the rest of her life. Rifqa made her statement of faith public in a way that makes her a moving target from radicals all over the world. Keep Rifqa in your prayers please.
Her boldness was not just for her sake but for others like her who may want to know Jesus the same way Rifqa knows Jesus. Remember, eternity is a long time to go without knowing the true living God of the universe - Jesus.
Rifqa stood up for her faith more boldly than any believer I have ever known (in America). I know some believers in China who are persecuted for their faith in Christ, but that is another story.
Be blessed.
A.Messenger
1-22-2010 @ 8:22AM
silkprincess1980 said...Fred,your statement about Jesus in Islamic literature is most inaccurate. This girl is not exaggerating at all. She might well be be killed for converting from Islam and she needs our prayers and protection.
1-21-2010 @ 10:08PM
Delilah said...Good for her. She's what, 17? Seriously, any parents out there who think they can control and compel their 17 year old...or even need to or require to, to the degree these parents believed, demanding her to come back to them, then there's a lot more control issues with her parents than the general public eyes' are seeing.
Maybe if she had been 13 or 14....but not at 17, going on 18. Ridiculous.
Reply
1-22-2010 @ 9:49AM
ming said...she is running away for her safety. and not all 17 year olds are out of control. some dress modestly and they respect adults. quit focasing on the teenagers with purple hair or the ones that take drugs. they shouldn't be taking drugs. the christain girl was running away because it says in the muslim book ( whatever you call it ) i think it is the koron? well any way in the koran it says to kill anyone who has converted o another religeon . think before you speak (sorry some of the words are mis spelled)
2-10-2010 @ 8:31AM
silkprincess1980 said...Sara, Islam is not a "fringe religious group" by any means. That said, if you as a young girl were living with parents whom you KNOW fully well can have you killed for converting from their religion,I imagine you'd run away too first chance that arose. I imagine after becoming acquainted with the practices of conservative Islam you would have a different opinion than the ones you currently express. It would be a fine thing if you could get hold of a copy of the Koran and of some historical literature to understand the Islamic position on defection.Or better yet,try living in an area populated by Muslims for a few years to really get the idea. Leaving home was not the capricious act of a rebellious teen. It was a bid for life,for had she remained, she'd have been long dead from some "accident" with her family as witnesses.
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1-22-2010 @ 1:17PM
Kenyatta said...You know I find this whole to be so sad. Sad for both Rifqa and her parents. I am more sorry for the parents as their lives have been turned upside down and they have become fodder for fundamentalist Christian radicals and their cosmic war with fundamentalist Muslim radicals. You see Rifqa's story is quite transparently inaccurate in several ways and for those who see her as another point for their side they will never acknowledge this fact.
1) She said her parents didn't know of her conversion and that she had to hide and pray. In reality everyone knew about her faith; because she wouldn't shut up about it. She walked around with a Bible in school. It is clear that she had no problems sharing her faith with others. Come on people it is clear from all the facts gathered that everyone knew, including her parents, for years that she had become a Christian.
2) Rifqa says her father did not know what exactly cheerleading was about. Come on, according to Rifqa her father is supposed to be this fanatical Muslim control freak who did not let her do anything or have any freedom and forced her to be Muslim. Yet she was able to join a cheerleaading squad with his permission and then we are supposed to believe that in all the time she was on that squad her father never inquired as to what this cheerleading was about, he never once saw her in the short skirt. Come on people use your brains; the simplest explanation is the one the Barys have given, they knew all about her cheerleading and the short outfits. And this is going to be too much of a deductive leap, there is the smoking gun; the school pictures of Rifqa and her cheerleading team from 2008. Her parents knew.
3) Rifqa says she was forced to learn about and obey Islam. Really, from all the reports gathered, the only persons who make this claim are Rifqa and her "Christian friends". Her school community was well aware that she didn't wear hijab and her brother drank and partied. While we can assume that the Barys were devout it is clear that their teenage children were far less so and this was permitted by the Barys.
These people have been vilified even though two official reports cleared them of the things they have been accused of. I say that they probably did the best thing for themselves this week and let Rifqa go. Maybe now they can have some peace. As for Rifqa, she may one day come to her senses(I am not talking here about her religious convictions but rather what she put her parents through with the wild accusations) and want to reconcile with her family, I hope for her sake that they will forgiver her.
To all the holy warriors out there on both sides; this girl is not a pawn!!
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