“Mere earthly mortals will never again strike terror.”
In a controversial ruling, an Iraqi court has decreed that a Christian mother, along with her three children, convert to Islam. The decision was based on the interpretation of Iraq’s Personal Status Law which mandates that children must adopt Islam if one of their parents converts to Islam, US Christian Post (CP) reported.
Elvin Joseph, a resident of Duhok in the Kurdistan Region, found herself entangled in this legal predicament following the revelation of her mother’s conversion to Islam after her divorce and subsequent remarriage to a Muslim man.
“I am Christian,” Joseph asserted in an interview with Rudaw Media Network. “I am married to a Christian man. I have three Christian kids. My education was in my language. All my official documents confirm I’m Christian. The church registered our marriage.”
Despite these declarations, the law, which was enacted in 1959, insists that her familial ties to Islam require her and her children’s conversion to Islam, the U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christian Concern said in a statement.
The implications of this law stretch beyond mere religious identity, affecting marital, inheritance and custodial rights under the provisions of Sharia law. Joseph, as a result, faces legal challenges in maintaining her marital union with a Christian husband. Sami Patros, Joseph’s husband, elaborated on the situation to the National Identity Card Office.
He said the office told him, “As your mother-in-law had converted to Islam, your wife should become Muslim, too. This also applies to your children. Their religion should be changed from Christianity to Islam.” The case has drawn the attention of Akram Mikhail, a lawyer well-versed in defending Christian families in similar predicaments. “This law forces someone to convert to Islam. I am not an expert in Islam. However, in Islam. one cannot force the religion onto others,” Mikhail said.
A recent conference at the Catholic University, attended by notable figures, including Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, focused on the ramifications of the Personal Status Law. The conference saw a significant turnout from the Christian community across the Middle East.
The conference reportedly ended with a series of recommendations, urging Christian leaders to draft proposed reforms to the Personal Status Law. (Source: Christian Daily Comprehensive)
You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed so that mere earthly mortals will never again strike terror. (Psalms 10:17-18)
God, please protect the Joseph family and Christians who are in turmoil due to the evil law that requires children to convert to Islam regardless of their will if one of the parents converts to Islam. In this country that persecutes Christians in the name of the unjust law called the Personal Status Law, may You prepare people with humble hearts so that justice for the oppressed can be established. May You establish Your church firmly on Your truth amid great Islamic oppression, and let Your salvation come to this land through Your church that worships in faith despite hardship and turmoil.
Prayer 24·365
prayer@prayer24365.org
