Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Runaway Muslim Girl Sparks Furor

Girl converted to Christianity, sought protection from parents

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 15, 2009 5:40 AM CDT

(Newser) – An Ohio teen has found herself straddling the fault line between the world's two biggest religions after converting to Christianity and running away from her Muslim parents. A judge in Florida, where 17-year-old Rifqa Bary was being sheltered by pastors she met on a Facebook group, has ruled that she be returned to Ohio, but placed with a foster family.

Muslim and Christian groups demonstrated outside the courthouse during the hearing. Bary told authorities that her father had threatened her with death if she converted to Christianity, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Authorities decided that the teen's claims were unfounded. But analysts say the case underlines the need for the American legal system to work on ways to prevent potential honor killings.

Mohamed Bary, right, his wife, Aysha, and their son Rilvan answer questions about their daughter Rifqa during an interview in Columbus, Ohio.
Mohamed Bary, right, his wife, Aysha, and their son Rilvan answer questions about their daughter Rifqa during an interview in Columbus, Ohio.   (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
Rifqa Bary attends a court hearing before Orange County Circuit Judge Daniel Dawson in Orlando, Florida last month.
Rifqa Bary attends a court hearing before Orange County Circuit Judge Daniel Dawson in Orlando, Florida last month.   (AP Photo/George Skene, Pool)
Rifqa Bary, 17, is seen during her hearing at the Thomas S. Kirk Juvenile Justice Center in Orlando, Fla., earlier this week.
Rifqa Bary, 17, is seen during her hearing at the Thomas S. Kirk Juvenile Justice Center in Orlando, Fla., earlier this week.   (AP Photo/Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda, POOL)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 25 comments
Silverbow7
Jan 7, 2010 4:36 AM CST
Time will tell. As for who I am, you have no idea but I can see you are a Christian. You have the Christian "tell." Scornful opinionated self-righteousness. And they will lose interest in her after a year or two.
freethemall
Oct 16, 2009 10:31 AM CDT
Are you serious? If so, you demonstrate exactly why religious faith is so dangerous. Down with faith; up with reason! The future of the human race demands it.
Shannonals
Oct 16, 2009 5:51 AM CDT
jamerican your a very disturbed individual if you think Christianity isn't a a violent religion. Oh sure, it's cleaned up it's act over the decades, but for some reason when nutcases like you start badmouthing another religion you seem to forget the horrors that were committed in the name of Christianity.

More Newser Stories

FBI Training Materials: Muslims Are Dangerous

Muslim Moms Kill Daughters for Marrying Hindus

GOP Rep Plans Hearings on 'Radicalization' of US Muslims

Obama: 'I'm a Christian by Choice'

Christians Stabbed, Beaten in Indonesia


NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne