| Submit your comments on this article |
| Iraq-Jordan |
| Jordan Affirms Moslem Guardianship of Christian Children |
| 2004-07-07 |
| From Compass Direct An Islamic court in Jordan has rejected a teenage Christian girlâs lawsuit to cancel her Muslim uncleâs legal guardianship over herself and her younger brother. The June 20 ruling was a setback for Christian widow Siham Qandah, whose estranged brother Abdullah al-Muhtadi has been trying for the last six years to take custody of her two minor children to raise them as Muslims. Ammanâs Al-Abdali Sharia Court had ordered an investigation in April into allegations that al-Muhtadi had embezzled from Qandahâs children nearly $20,000 of their U.N.-allocated trust funds, currently held under the jurisdiction of the Widows and Orphans Fund of the Jordanian army. If ruled guilty, al-Muhtadi would have been disqualified from serving as the childrenâs legal guardian. Ultimately, the Islamic courtâs blanket dismissal of objections to al-Muhtadiâs guardianship again raised the legal possibility that Qandahâs children could be forcibly taken away from their mother to be raised by their Muslim uncle until age 18. Qandah herself could also be jailed for disobeying orders from the Supreme Islamic Court of Jordan to hand over her daughter Rawan, now 15, and son Fadi, 14. ... According to a June 22 report from Middle East Concern, a Christian advocacy group monitoring Qandahâs case, Judge Zghul said he ruled in favor of the Muslim guardian âbecause all withdrawals from the childrenâs trust account have been duly authorized by a judge, as required.â One of the questionable debits was approved by an Islamic court judge in Irbid, where Qandahâs child custody case was tried in northern Jordan, and another was signed by the presiding judge of Jordanâs Supreme Islamic Court. Despite the lawyerâs objections, Judge Zghul refused to order any further judicial investigation into al-Muhtadiâs alleged fraudulent use of the large sums of money he had withdrawn from his wardsâ trust funds. âThis judge knows that if he rules against Sihamâs brother, other judges will be in trouble,â one of Qandahâs friends told Compass. âSo he doesnât want to approve an investigation, and then have to call these judges to court to be accused of wrongdoing.â ... Baptized Christians, Rawan and Fadi were orphaned 10 years ago when their soldier father died serving in the U.N. Peacekeeping Forces in Kosovo. When Qandah went to register for their orphan benefits shortly after their fatherâs death, an Islamic court produced a âconversionâ certificate, claiming her husband had converted to Islam three years before his death without telling his Christian family. Their father had not even signed the document, but under Islamic law it could not be contested. So as minors, both childrenâs legal identity changed to Muslim, and only when they reach 18 years of age will they be allowed to choose whether to remain âMuslimâ or return to their Christian identity. Meanwhile, their Christian mother was not allowed to handle their financial affairs, so Qandah asked al-Muhtadi to serve as their Muslim guardian. Although estranged from his Christian family since his conversion to Islam as a teenager, Qandahâs brother agreed to receive and forward the childrenâs monthly orphan benefits. But he soon began appropriating some payments, and in 1998, he launched a four-year lawsuit to take custody of the children away from his sister, so he could raise them as Muslims. When Qandah lost her final appeal in the case in February 2002, Jordanâs highest court ordered her to surrender the children to her brotherâs custody. .... |
| Posted by:Mike Sylwester |
| #2 Sure Ed, no matter what the situation, the judge would rule in favor of the Islamic solution. Easy, huh? |
| Posted by: Steve White 2004-07-07 11:36:58 PM |
| #1 Gee, you think the Jordanian judge would have ruled the same way if the uncle was Christian and the children Muslim? |
| Posted by: ed 2004-07-07 10:15:14 PM |