Reprogramming Rifqa Bary to a Muslim Ideology While in Foster Care Does Not Restore Her Family

The objective of child foster care is to allow parents of a family to rehabilitate themselves to a point where their natural children kept in foster care for their safety can be safely reunited with the family. It would seem then that in the case of Rifqa Bary, the 17 year old convert from Islam to Christianity who fled to Florida in fear of her life and who has since been relocated to Ohio state foster care, that the Bary parents would be undergoing counseling and management for the harm their daughter fears from them.

Rather, the reverse is in full swing in Ohio, as the state has ordered and provided Muslim counseling to Rifqa in some quite dramatic ways. The child in foster care is undergoing rehabilitation – reprogramming in Islam. There are no reports that her family is undergoing any rehabilitation. Rifqa has been assigned a psychologist, who is a Muslim as required by CAIR, the Council on American and Islamic Relations, the organization supporting the Bary family. An imam is available to meet with her daily to reinforce the Muslim faith. She is isolated from Christian friends, who are being prosecuted for befriending her. Recently, the CAIR lawyer for Rifqa’s parents “asked the court to hold her in contempt to force her to attend counseling sessions with a Muslim counselor.” The Christmas eve article by Pamela Geller in the American Thinker explains the dramatic details. {Read the article here: http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/12/the_prosecution_of_Rifqa_Bary.html (Jan. 4, 2009).} The family court denied this contempt request, and has thus far refused to prosecute Rifqa for complaints her family and their religious community have brought against her. This judicial action is commendable, and the court should be prepared to handle continued similar requests.

Rifqa will not be restored to a family who has been rehabilitated - rather, in many ways she may be being reprogrammed by the Islamic community courtesy of the State of Ohio’s foster care system. This is not traditional family reunification in any stretch of the foster care objective.

Considering a reverse scenario brings clarity to these circumstances. If Rifqa had converted from a Christian family to become a Muslim, she would never be forced to have a Christian psychologist or a Christian counselor, and her family would indeed be required to be rehabilitated toward religious sensitivity in the goal of reunification. Rifqa’s first amendment rights to religious freedom would be of utmost importance in that circumstance. Since she has found freedom in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, however, she has been sometimes treated like the abuser, rather than the abused fearing for her life.

In fact, Rifqa’s fears of becoming the victim of an apostate killing are much more real than most would wish to imagine. There is little to no disagreement among imams and clerics of Islam that require a holy jihad against infidels (non-believers in Islam), agreeing that killing an infidel assures one of a place in heaven. Therefore, followers have been commanded to kill everyone who is not Islamic, being the foundation for apostate killings in Sharia law. This is the very basis of Rifqa’s fears. It is difficult to imagine the current Pope commanding all Catholics to kill all non-Catholics, or to imagine Rick Warren commanding the killing of non-evangelicals – to be guaranteed a place in heaven.

It seems equally difficult to be friends or family with someone who has been commanded to kill you because you believe in a different faith than theirs.

The salient point becomes whether a family court should reunify a child with a family whose religious community commands her death. Jesus Christ commands that His followers love their enemies because they are assured a place in heaven based on His death for them – not based on a command to kill. No clearer illustration could be offered than the RIfqa Bary saga. Her time in foster care is providing vivid evidence of the truth of her fears. Reprogramming her to Islam in Ohio’s foster care system is not going to restore the Bary family. May the Ohio family court continue to be mindful of the goals of their judicial and social welfare system.

Will there be Family Restoration for Rifqa Bary?

On October 13, a Florida district court will hold hearings on proper jurisdiction in the case of the Ohio teen runaway, Rifqa Bary, who fled to Florida in fear of becoming a victim of an honor killing by her family’s religious community because of her personal faith in Jesus Christ.



What every child wants, and what every court deems to be in a child’s best interests, is to be restored to her family if at all possible. Courts must balance the best interests of the child with the parents’ rights to direct the upbringing of their children. The Bary’s want their daughter to be raised according to their family’s Muslim faith. Rifqa’s personal faith in Christ has caused her to fear for her life. The upcoming hearing will be critical to this family’s future in every way. The only person who can truly bring restoration to the Bary family is the ultimate Judge and Law Giver, Jesus Christ, though a court will try to do so next week.

A quick summary would be helpful. Florida alone has had jurisdiction since the initial hearing in early August when Rifqa’ s pastor friends in Florida brought the petition for her case to the attention of the FL court system asking for assistance for Rifqa’s safety. Florida then took custody of the child, having no other choice.

Ohio jurisdiction had to be invoked by her parents in Ohio petitioning a court in that state requesting her return, and invoking their parental rights. They did not do that until the end of September. A court date is set in Ohio for October 27. As soon as that action was filed, the jurisdictional conflict began.

Since that action was filed it is likely that the judges in each jurisdiction assigned to the case have spoken by telephone about the law surrounding such cases. The pertinent law in this regard appears to be the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act (UCCJA), which requires a child’s home state to be determined by where the child has the closest contacts, and has been adopted in some form by every state. The home state is determined by 1) where the child has resided for the previous 6 months; 2) where the child has attended school, been involved in the community, etc. Under this law, a court could also gain jurisdiction if there has been a previous legal action in that state. Finally, under this rule courts can invoke “emergency jurisdiction” if the circumstances so warrant such action for “the best interests of the child.” Here, that’s how Florida got jurisdiction, and began the initial investigations. These were not full blown, however, due to Florida’s lack of clarity on the facts, scant evidence, and no jurisdiction to do a full blown investigation out of state. On the other hand, Ohio is clearly where the child has been living the past 6 months, attended school, etc. Furthermore, the UCCJA encourages the judges to communicate with each other regarding what should be the proper jurisdiction.

Here’s what I think most likely has happened:
The Florida Judge is concerned for Rifqa’s safety but knows the law most likely requires her return to Ohio. However, he most likely wants assurance from the Ohio judge that Rifqa will be kept safe and a full on family investigation will ensue. On the other hand, the Ohio Judge wants to respect Florida’s attempts at finding the proper jurisdiction, and wants to assure Florida that these concerns will be adequately handled in the best interests of the child. Therefore, the October 13 hearing in Florida will most likely be to announce a ruling to forego jurisdiction in favor of Ohio with assurances of Rifqa’s safety.

What will happen then?
RIfqa will likely then be removed to Ohio by that state’s Child Protective Services (CPS) to state custody where she’ll be placed with a foster family near her home town until a full blown CPS investigation and home study can be done. This is MY analysis according to what I think is the pertinent law applied to the facts, and may not be what actually happens. What may also alter the law is a political position taken by a Florida leader to prohibit Rifqa’s return, or new solid evidence that she is in danger if returned to Ohio.

There is a grave concern among many that this child’s fears are real and should not be taken lightly. Evidence of other honor killings within families in the past brings great pause. Currently the case has mostly allegations on each side, and little to no solid evidence. Sadly, the right evidence will be when Rifqa is harmed – and then it will be too late. Both judges realize that, and will proceed cautiously. Others argue that parents have a fundamental constitutionally protected right to direct the upbringing of their children. That is absolutely true. Such an inalienable right can only be abridged when the state must intervene to protect the child where parents have abrogated that duty.

Though a court will try to restore this family next week, the only person who can truly bring restoration to the Bary family is the ultimate Judge and Law Giver, Jesus Christ, who has already paid the penalty for us all. “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God in order that you may know that you have eternal life.” I John 5:13. It is a great comfort to know that this Supreme Judge is really in control, and will work all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

Rifqa Bary, Religious Freedom, and Bullying

Rifqa Bary, the teenage Muslim-to-Christian covert who made international news in 2009 after fleeing her parents and the radical Islamic community in Columbus, Ohio when threatened with an honor/apostate killing for her conversion, is alive and well living in safety and in religious freedom because a few friends and other people used their resources and expertise to protect her. 

Her recent deposition, which was taken telephonically from an undisclosed location for security reasons, cleared her Florida attorney John Stemberger of allegations made by an Ohio attorney who represents Bary's parents.  Stemberger represented Rifqa Bary in the Orlando dependency case before the jurisdiction of the case was transferred to Ohio where Rifqa's legal team won her case on August 10, 2010, securing her dependency status away from her parents and eventually obtaining her immigration standing as a permanent U.S. legal resident with a track to become a citizen in four years. The Florida Bar's dismissal of Stemberger's case came exactly one week after Rifqa Bary's deposition.  At the end of the deposition, she gave a passionate plea that the action being taken against Stemberger was a "grave injustice" and that he was responsible for helping to save her life. Rifqa Bary said, "I believe the bringing of this case was a great injustice because I would not be here without the aid of this man's counsel in my court hearing."   See the entire story here. 

John Stemberger has written on "lawfare"-- the use of law and legal processes as a weapon to squelch free speech, at http://www.christiannewstoday.com/Christian_News_Report_4833.html .  This pattern is disturbing, and has affected other attorneys.  For example, the state Bar in Kansas has attempted to discipline Attorney General Phill Kline for statements he made in exposing Planned Parenthood and its illegal activities.  Angie Lloyd is a clinical law professor and respected child advocate in Columbus who served as one of Rifqa Bary's lawyers in Ohio.  She also had criminal charges filed against her and an Ohio Bar Grievance.  In a way, this type of treatment of lawyers is a litigious form of bullying. 

Bullying has heralded a lot of attention lately from the White House and the news media, but much of it has focused on special groups of targeted victims.  Those victims have not included children like Rifqa Bary, who was essentially bullied by a hostile religious community; nor have they included adults who speak up for notions that seek to protect the vulnerable, such as Kline, Stemberger, and Lloyd.

Regent Law graduates are making a difference in this arena.  Last week Dale Schowengerdt,  Regent '07, now attorney for the Alliance Defense Fund, provided a federal commission with a recommended policy on bullying that focuses more on local and grassroots levels, where the danger of bullying occurs.  On behalf of the Alliance Defense Fund Schowengerdt submitted a model anti-bullying policy to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights for recommendation to school boards and other governing bodies. Unlike other policies, the policy drafted by Schowengerdt and other ADF attorneys would protect all students from bullying rather than only a select few and would be implemented by school boards rather than the federal government.

"All students deserve to be protected from bullying, not just certain ones favored by certain political activist groups," said ADF Legal Counsel Dale Schowengerdt.  "The constitutionally sound policy we are recommending protects all students, is designed for local school boards where it can be effective instead of involving the federal government, and guards student rights protected by the First Amendment."  ADF submitted its recommended policy to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in response to a request for input on peer-to-peer violence and bullying in K-12 government-run schools. The commission is also seeking other public input by e-mail through May 27.  The ADF submission to the commission explains that "while we support stopping violence and bullying in schools, we do not believe that programs to accomplish this laudable end should be imposed by the federal government nor only advance the political interests of certain groups while ignoring the needs of most schoolchildren experiencing bullying. All students deserve to be protected from bullying, which is why we composed a model anti-bullying policy that protects all students instead of just a select few." You may read the entire story at http://www.adfmedia.org/News/PRDetail/4767.

Religous liberty, or the lack thereof, can become a basis for bullying, or life-threatening peril. Families can and should be the first line of defense for those who are victimized. 

When a family cannot be, however, good lawyers make a tremendous difference.  In Act IV of Scene ii of Shakespeare's Henry VI, Dick the Butcher plots to end liberty, recognizing the key to the demise of freedom when he boldy declares, "First thing we must do... Let's kill all the lawyers."  

Teen Convert Needs Legal Protection (Not Prosecution) Toward Family Restoration

March 2, 2010 will find Rifqa Bary in court yet again, with a review of her status in foster care. Generally, family courts review the status of the parents’ progress toward reunification of the family, not the inverse, as is happening in Franklin County, Ohio. Children are placed in foster care for protection from their parents. Here, however, the child continues to be prosecuted, and generally by the attorneys for her parents.

Parents are endowed with the fundamental right to direct the upbringing of their children until they have been found to be unfit to do so. When parents threaten to take the life of their child, such threats are usally taken very seriously by child protective services.

17 year old Rifqa fled her home when her father threatened her conversion from Islam to Christianity as apostacy deserving of death. She fled her home, sought assistance from the law in two states, and has been prosecuted for running away. Her parents have not been charged, nor subject to a child abuse investigation. They have not been ordered to seek counseling, or any other assistance in this serious domestic threat of violence. Their daughter, however, is now in Ohio foster care, receiving counseling and under severe restrictions, while attorneys prosecute a friend who helped her flee when threatened. Here’s a sample of an update from Pamela Geller at the American Thinker:<

“Law enforcement, in a perverse twist of reality, continues persecuting the Christians in Ohio who helped a teenage apostate escape the death threat (in line with sharia law) made by her family. They are investigating any "criminal wrongdoing with anyone involved in getting her from one location to another." How many other runaway cases are pursued in this way? How many other teenage girls in America have this attention paid to them by law enforcement? How many teenage girls who sell their bodies for sex and drugs for an adult pimp are pursued this way? And their pimps?

Back on January 19, Rifqa Bary was tricked into pleading guilty to the charge of being "unruly" in exchange for a dependency deal that the Bary parents and Omar Tarazi, their attorney chosen by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), later reneged on. And now we understand why Tarazi demanded a guilty plea from Rifqa in exchange for this meaningless deal. The Franklin County, Ohio, prosecutor, under pressure from Tarazi, is seeking to indict Brian Williams on two charges: contributing to the "unruliness" of a minor and "interference with custody," which carries a sentence of six months to a year. What kind of nation, what kind of society are we living in, when someone who helps a girl whose life is in danger is prosecuted for it?

Read the entire article here: http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/02/prosecuted_for_saving_a_girls.html.

Geller’s points ought to be well-taken, and taken seriously. Proceeding in the Bary case in such reverse fashion of what generally occurs in a family court, and what is needed and required for the best interests of a child is chilling, at best. Proceeding in this fashion does not protect parents’ rights generally either. Most disturbing, it does not foster any sort of reunification or possiblity of any restoration for the Bary family, or safety for Rifqa.

Judge to Decide Fate of Christian Convert

Professor Kohm explains how parents’ rights are balanced by the parental duty to protect and care for their child’s best interest, and how those rights and responsibilities relate to the current case facing a Florida circuit court in determining its protection of an Ohio 17 year old Christian runaway who fears her family’s Muslim community in light of her personal faith in Jesus Christ.



And see the petitions and other relevant information to the case here:

• Discussing the relevant Family Law matters pertaining to Rifqa Bary's case.
• Investigation and Intelligence Memo
  Rifqa Barry Investigative Petition.pdf (1.481 Mb)
  The legal team representing Rifqa Bary [1] has issued an “Investigation and Intelligence Memorandum in Support of Petition for Dependency” [2] which discusses the theology and jurisprudence of apostasy espoused by her local mosque—the Noor Islamic Center.
• Prayer for Rifqa
  Court Date 9.3.doc (24.5 Kb)

Rifqa Bary & Her Parents’ Right To Form Her Religious Education

This thoughtful blog update is presented by Beatriz Suzuki, current Family Law student and Regent Law 2L:

How much control do parents have in the religious formation of their children? The United States is founded on religious freedom, and that freedom is afforded constitutional protection as a fundamental right.   Furthermore, parents have the right to guide, lead, and determine their children's upbringing and education, including their religious formation. Nonetheless, a line is also drawn between religious belief and practice, or conduct that might harm children. The story of Rifqa Barry, featured here at FamilyRestoration previously, highlights these principles, and illustrates how they work in daily life.

Rifqa Bary immigrated with her family to the United States from Sri Lanka when she was a small child, and her upbringing was based on a stringent branch of Islam practiced by her parents. In 2009, her story was headlined, as the teen fled her parents' home upon her conversion from Islam to Christianity. In accordance with Islamic law, upon learning of her conversion, Bary's parents intended to send her back to Sri Lanka to enforce an 'honor killing;' as a result her parents lost the legal battle for her return home, and Bary found refuge under the government's wing of caring for children through a foster care placement.

It is essential to note that Bary's parents had the absolute freedom to raise their children under their Islamic faith, but the long-standing American principle that parents must act in the best interests of their children starts with protecting their lives.  Government officials stepped in when evidence of abuse was reported and threats to Bary's life were made.  She continued to live under court protection in state foster care for the remainder of her childhood.  And despite her tumultuous childhood, Bary managed to graduate as valedictorian of her high school.

As an adult, she went on to earn a degree in philosophy.  Today she serves as a Christian evangelist, and a published author with her new book entitled Hiding in the Light: Why I Risked Everything to Leave Islam and Follow Jesus.  Bary is now twenty-seven years old, and she still regularly speaks about her journey in inspirational conferences.

Family restoration begins with parents protecting their children in a manner that protects their lives, their safety and their religious freedom.  To learn more read Tracing the Foundations of the Best Interests of the Child Standard in American Jurisprudence.

 

Family Restoration in Florida or Ohio? or Sri Lanka?

The case of 17-year-old Christian convert Rifqa Bary has moved to new heights because her family has yet to produce proper passports, visas and immigration papers to allow for their presence in the United States. Without such documentation, the family could leave the country at any moment, taking their daughter who fears for her life under Sharia laws of apostasy with them, potentially to her demise. Yet while God is using family courts in both Florida and Ohio to protect Rifqa Bary’s safety, he is using the judicial process to bring proper restoration to a troubled family.



See the latest on this case here .

More Analysis of Rifqa Bary's Case

CBN continues to be one of the only news outlets to cover the story of a Christian girl who is seeking the protection of authorities in Florida in her claims of fleeing her Muslim family for fear of her life. 



The recent report of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement revealed no evidence of impending harm. The meager investigation consisted of a few phone calls to interested parties largely due to Florida’s lack of jurisdiction to do a thorough investigation. No new hearings are yet scheduled on this case. 

Learn more about this story at CBN, and read the report recently released right here [PDF].

Update: Christian Girl to Stay with Foster Family For Now

Professor Kohm appeared on CBN News again this morning to discuss developments in the Rifqa Bary case.




Click here to read the full story.

Deportation or Family Restoration?

Rifqa Bary and her family may be in serious jeopardy of deportation in light of the latest facts regarding their lack of proper immigration documentation. Furthermore, the conflict of laws with state family court jurisdiction and federal immigration court jurisdiction now place family restoration, and the young teen’s safety in foster care in jeopardy.

Follow this compelling story here:
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2009/October/Judge-Awaits-Barys-Immigration-Papers/

Links

ABORTION

• Abortion Facts
• Life Legal Defense Foudation (LLDF)
• Respect.life.today (VSHL)
• Americans United for Life

FAMILY LAW

• Family Foundation
• International Family Law News & Analysis - This site tracks developments in international family law
  from Richard Crouch and John Crouch of Crouch & Crouch in Arlington, Virginia.

Spiritual Battle Plays out in Court - Legal expert Lynne Kohm examines the judge's actions and speaks on the spiritual implications of the Rifqa Bary case.

Click here to view video.

Judge Rules Teen Convert Can Stay in Florida

Christian teen, Rifqa Bary, subject of spiritual conflict within family (see full story on CBN News):