The following is a recent news article from the Associated Press about a teenage girl who converted from Islam to Christianity and her fears of being killed as a result. Unfortunately the US Government is set to make a ruling on whether the teenager should be returned to her parents despite her fear of death. With the recent publicity of hate crimes laws in Washington, D.C., one would think the government would want to protect this teenage girl. I am sharing this article with you not to show the faith of the teenager, which is obviously strong, but to show the willingness of the United States Government to allow the discrimination of Christians just because of their beliefs. This is not about poor job performance or the refusal to seek medical care; it is the systematic attempt of the Devil to use our society to defeat the Church. We are blessed to know however that the Devil has been defeated, is defeated every day when we choose to follow Jesus Christ, and will be defeated finally when Christ returns to judge the world.
Ohio Judge: State to Take Custody of Christian Convert Runaway
Thursday , October 15, 2009
COLUMBUS, Ohio —
Ohio can take custody of a girl who ran away to Florida, saying she feared she'd be killed for converting to Christianity from Islam, a judge ruled Thursday in a decision clarifying the girl's legal status once she returns.
The Franklin County Children's Services agency will take custody of Rifqa Bary pending the confirmation of her immigration status or her return to Ohio, according to the order by Franklin County Juvenile Court Magistrate Mary Goodrich.
The decision was supported by lawyers for the girl and for her parents, natives of Sri Lanka. Franklin County opposed the request for custody, saying it was premature until the girl was in Ohio.
Bary, 17, has been in foster care in Orlando. A Florida judge on Tuesday said he planned to send her to Ohio once he receives immigration and education documents.
Bary ran away from her parents' Columbus-area home in July. A Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation found no credible threats to the girl.
Her father, Mohamed Bary, has said the family had asked Rifqa to stop proselytizing at school because they didn't feel it was an appropriate activity there. They also told her she had an obligation to study her original faith first, before choosing another, her father said. But he denies ever threatening her.
A foster home has already been picked out for the girl once she arrives, Bonnie Vangeloff, Bary's court-appointed lawyer, told the judge.
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