The Muslim parents of an Ohio teenager who fled to Florida fearing an "honor killing" for converting to Christianity today blamed their daughter's fears on the husband and wife pastors who took their daughter in and didn't report her presence for more than two weeks.
"Neither Mr. or Mrs. Bary have ever threatened the life of their daughter, and patiently await their daughter's safe return," Craig McCarthy, a lawyer for Mohamed Bary and his wife, said in a statement issued today to "Good Morning America."
Fathima Rifqa Bary, who goes by Rifqa, left home in New Albany, Ohio, last month and hopped on a bus to Orlando to meet with husband and wife pastors Blake and Beverly Lorenz, who she met through a Facebook prayer group for the couple's non-denominational Global Revolution Church.
The couple have become the 17-year-old girl's biggest allies, saying she has told them that her father threatened to kill her when he found out she had secretly become a Christian.
"To anyone's knowledge, Rifqa never told anyone that she was frightened while living with her parents in Ohio. Those words only came out of her mouth after being missing for two and a half weeks and surfacing in the tight embrace of Mr. Lorenz, who had not promptly reported that the runaway had been in his home," the parents' statement read.
Lorenz could not immediately be reached today for comment, but told ABCNews.com Tuesday that he and his wife weren't even aware Rifqa's parents had reported her missing until she'd been at their house for more than two weeks.
Bary is now in Florida fighting to bring his daughter home. A judge Monday ordered Rifqa to remain in the custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families while authorities in that state and Ohio determine whether or not she'd be safe at home.
"If this case is perceived as a clash of religions, it is because Mr. Lorenz recklessly and without authorization put someone else's child in front of television cameras to
publicly renounce her previous faith," McCarthy said in the statement. "The parents who love Rifqa are in the best position now to protect her from the mess that Mr. Lorenz has made."
But Lorenz told ABCNews.com Tuesday that they were the people Rifqa sought out for protection.Read the whole article here.
Friday, August 14, 2009
RIFQA UPDATE: This Is What I Was Afraid Of.
CLICK HERE FOR BACKGROUND INFO ON THE RIFQA STORY
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13 comments:
Somebody needs to get some background info on her family and her father's allegedly Christian "best friend". Where are all these loving, supportive relatives she supposedly has? Where are the mother and brother? All we get so far is the father, who looks like he'd slit her throat without thinking twice. This stinks.
This article isn't clear - when, exactly did Rifqa's parents report her missing?
Apparently that happened about a couple of weeks ago or something like that. The pastor says he didn't know that she'd been reported missing. Once he found out, he contacted lawyers and police.
At least that's how I understood it. The article isn't clear because it mostly covers the smearing of the pastor's and the girl's credibility by the girl's father and his lawyer.
OK, I emailed Van Susteren, Hannity, and Beck. There are a lot of you should excuse the expression fishy things that need looking into here. Mohamed Bary claims his "best friend" is "Christian". Let's see him. What sort of Christian is he? Regular or the Rev. Jeremiah Wright brand? Why haven't Rifqa's other relatives shown their faces? Where's her mother and brother? What mosque does the father attend? Who is the imam there and what does he preach? I mean in arabic what does he preach? Where are Rifqa's friends? Have they corroborated her story? Have they been threatened?
They can't just lie down and let the Barys, their attorney, and all the CAIR ducks who are paddling away in the background throw a taqqiya smokescreen over this thing.
RRA,
I agree. These things should be looked into. But one little point. Just because he has a Christian friend doesn't make him some sort of an angel. That statement has about as much meaning as "Islam is a religion of peace" (while they blow up another building).
Many Muslims have Christian friends. They go out and blow themselves up. I don't know what they're trying to pull by saying all this. Wish I was in Florida right now!!
Caution, folks. Remember Tawana Brawley. The right cause with the wrong facts doesn't help your cause.
Bite me Craig. Rifqa isn't accusing complete strangers like that worthless twat tawana.
Rifqa is listed as a "top story" now. At this link is an image of Rifqa's parents - a picture is worth a thousand words . . . Notice Rifqa's mom is veiled, covered and pinching her lips shut while daddy dearest is quite animated.
In case the story changes, here is the link to the image alone:
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Bary/photo//090813/480/3767fffc0a154fca9007218956dc2663//s:/ap/20090813/ap_on_re_us/us_runaway_convert
Mohamed Bary, right, and his wife Aysha answer questions about their daughter Rifqa during an interview Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009, in Columbus, Ohio. Rifqa Bary ran away from home because she thought she would be harmed for converting to Christianity.
(AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
Rifqa should seek legal emancipation.
Was Mandana Shojaeifard honor murdered in roslyn, New York? via Pajamas media
AA -- I bumped this up to keep it with the original story.
Anon - I thought she should go for emancipation, too, but then she'd probably just get deported.
She's probably not going to get asylum here, I wouldn't think.
This is so incredibly distressing.
Ro
I would not be surprised in the Pastor and his wife are charged with kidnapping.
Sadly, I believe Rifqa will be returned to her family. Then, a few weeks later, she will be shipped back to her home country "to visit with relatives", and then no one will ever hear from her again.
Craig McCarthy will have blood on his hands.
She needs someplace to hide out until 18.
THAT is precisely what this modern day pastor in a new underground railroad should be concentrating on.
Well put, Epa. I hadn't thought of the Underground Railroad analogy.
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