Rifqa Bary Is In The Company Of Christian Fundamentalists And Has Cancer. Guess What's Happened...
Rifqa Bary is a girl from a Muslim family who was indoctrinated by an evangelical Christian group who helped her run away with them. I have previously written posts on this here, here and here.
The Story So Far
In initial interviews at that stage she was generally seen clinging to the evangelical group leader like this:
She was insistent that her parents wanted to kill her, but the courts have found much of what she has said has been false. Her claim that her blood is halal sounds more like something told to her by the evangelical Christians than language that Muslims in favour of honour killings might genuinely use. Pamela Gellar organised a protest where most attendees were wearing "Islam Is Of The Devil" t-shirts:
It turns out that her parents are actually from a fairly moderate Islamic group, not least since they originate from Sri Lanka where Buddhism is the majority religion rather than Islam. Images of her cheerleading in the typical revealing outfit were displayed in the lounge while it's clear that the brother drinks alcohol - neither of which would be consistent with an overly strict Muslim upbringing.
Accusations have been made that her parents' are actually illegal immigrants. She is now back in Ohio, but away from the evangelical group living with foster parents.
A more recent story revealed that Rifqa Bary has now been diagnosed with uterine cancer and Pamela Gellar decided to blame the parents.
(Best Source)
The New Twist
Anyway, yes there is actually a new twist. It feels oddly predictable, but only if you are expecting the worst:
Christian convert Rifqa Bary is refusing chemotherapy for cancer because she believes that she was cured at a faith-healing event, according to a motion in Franklin County Juvenile Court.
Rifqa was to undergo a year of chemotherapy after her cancer was surgically removed, the document filed by her parents states.
But Rifqa, who is in foster care, was taken to a faith-healing event in Youngstown a couple of weeks ago by Franklin County Children Services, without her parents' consent, according to the document.
A motion to force treatment is to be considered today in Juvenile Court.
Rifqa's attorneys, meanwhile, are asking the court to make "special findings" so that she can obtain an immigration status that will allow her to stay in the country and obtain medical care. Rifqa, a native of Sri Lanka, does not have legal status in the United States, her attorneys have said in court.
An attorney for her parents, Mohamed and Aysha Bary, indicated in April that the family also was pursuing immigration documentation. All parties are under a gag order and cannot comment on any aspects of the case.
Rifqa ran away from home in July 2009, saying her Muslim father would kill her for converting to Christianity. She lived with evangelical pastors in Florida before returning to Ohio to live in a foster home.
That case is to conclude next Tuesday, when Rifqa will turn 18, making her an adult.
Meanwhile, tests have determined that Rifqa has a "rare form of cancer," according to her attorneys' court filings. Her supporters have said she has uterine cancer.
It's unclear whether she is cancer-free at the moment. The Barys' attorney, Omar Tarazi, said in a motion that Rifqa will need a hysterectomy if the cancer returns.
The Barys want to force chemotherapy and are concerned that their daughter could die without treatment, Tarazi wrote....
(Source)
Unclear? Either that means the writer of this piece is considering the possibility that Rifqa Bary has actually been healed through faith or (more sensibly) they may be recognising that there are rare cases where cancer clears up without treatment.
It's probably worth noting at this stage that Rifqa Bary's parents came to the US in the first place in order to provide her with medical care:
The Barys are from Galle on the southern coast of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean. When Rifqa was 5 she fell on a toy airplane that pierced the cornea of her right eye. Scar tissue built up over the next couple of years. Doctors told the Barys they might have to remove the eye. So they went to New York in 2000 for medical treatment.
Right Wing Watch note the irony of the current situation. Bary initially ran away from her parents, claiming that they were going to kill her for converting to Christianity. Now her parents are trying to force her to get chemotherapy because they are afraid that she will die without it, while Bary claims not to need it because her Christianity has cured her cancer.
Side Note
I originally found out about the whole Rifqa Bary situation on this website and I found out about the latest news on that same website. In spite of all that has happened since their initial article, they still feel the need to finish their article with the following note:
Under Sharia, Islamic law, the punishment for apostasy is death - and throughout the world, many apostates from Islam are indeed murdered by Islamic extremists.
*sighs*
The Story So Far
In initial interviews at that stage she was generally seen clinging to the evangelical group leader like this:
She was insistent that her parents wanted to kill her, but the courts have found much of what she has said has been false. Her claim that her blood is halal sounds more like something told to her by the evangelical Christians than language that Muslims in favour of honour killings might genuinely use. Pamela Gellar organised a protest where most attendees were wearing "Islam Is Of The Devil" t-shirts:
It turns out that her parents are actually from a fairly moderate Islamic group, not least since they originate from Sri Lanka where Buddhism is the majority religion rather than Islam. Images of her cheerleading in the typical revealing outfit were displayed in the lounge while it's clear that the brother drinks alcohol - neither of which would be consistent with an overly strict Muslim upbringing.
Accusations have been made that her parents' are actually illegal immigrants. She is now back in Ohio, but away from the evangelical group living with foster parents.
A more recent story revealed that Rifqa Bary has now been diagnosed with uterine cancer and Pamela Gellar decided to blame the parents.
(Best Source)
The New Twist
Anyway, yes there is actually a new twist. It feels oddly predictable, but only if you are expecting the worst:
Christian convert Rifqa Bary is refusing chemotherapy for cancer because she believes that she was cured at a faith-healing event, according to a motion in Franklin County Juvenile Court.
Rifqa was to undergo a year of chemotherapy after her cancer was surgically removed, the document filed by her parents states.
But Rifqa, who is in foster care, was taken to a faith-healing event in Youngstown a couple of weeks ago by Franklin County Children Services, without her parents' consent, according to the document.
A motion to force treatment is to be considered today in Juvenile Court.
Rifqa's attorneys, meanwhile, are asking the court to make "special findings" so that she can obtain an immigration status that will allow her to stay in the country and obtain medical care. Rifqa, a native of Sri Lanka, does not have legal status in the United States, her attorneys have said in court.
An attorney for her parents, Mohamed and Aysha Bary, indicated in April that the family also was pursuing immigration documentation. All parties are under a gag order and cannot comment on any aspects of the case.
Rifqa ran away from home in July 2009, saying her Muslim father would kill her for converting to Christianity. She lived with evangelical pastors in Florida before returning to Ohio to live in a foster home.
That case is to conclude next Tuesday, when Rifqa will turn 18, making her an adult.
Meanwhile, tests have determined that Rifqa has a "rare form of cancer," according to her attorneys' court filings. Her supporters have said she has uterine cancer.
It's unclear whether she is cancer-free at the moment. The Barys' attorney, Omar Tarazi, said in a motion that Rifqa will need a hysterectomy if the cancer returns.
The Barys want to force chemotherapy and are concerned that their daughter could die without treatment, Tarazi wrote....
(Source)
Unclear? Either that means the writer of this piece is considering the possibility that Rifqa Bary has actually been healed through faith or (more sensibly) they may be recognising that there are rare cases where cancer clears up without treatment.
It's probably worth noting at this stage that Rifqa Bary's parents came to the US in the first place in order to provide her with medical care:
The Barys are from Galle on the southern coast of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean. When Rifqa was 5 she fell on a toy airplane that pierced the cornea of her right eye. Scar tissue built up over the next couple of years. Doctors told the Barys they might have to remove the eye. So they went to New York in 2000 for medical treatment.
Right Wing Watch note the irony of the current situation. Bary initially ran away from her parents, claiming that they were going to kill her for converting to Christianity. Now her parents are trying to force her to get chemotherapy because they are afraid that she will die without it, while Bary claims not to need it because her Christianity has cured her cancer.
Side Note
I originally found out about the whole Rifqa Bary situation on this website and I found out about the latest news on that same website. In spite of all that has happened since their initial article, they still feel the need to finish their article with the following note:
Under Sharia, Islamic law, the punishment for apostasy is death - and throughout the world, many apostates from Islam are indeed murdered by Islamic extremists.
*sighs*