This appeared in headlines of AOL home page this morning. What is amazing at this moment (votes change every second) was of the 32, 027 votes casted, 45% of them had someone in the family converted and 7% actually converted. i.e., 52% converts within the friendhip circle. Of the 40, 330 respondents, 64% said the girl should stay in Florida and not sent to her parents. What about your circle?
As a Muslim what would you do? i) Get angry ii) Demand that the girl return to her parents and iii) demand that she converts back.
Think about this from a religious point of view; God imparts his wisdom through Qur’aan that there is no compulsion in religion, simply put; no one can force anyone to believe what one does not want to believe. Islam is about human nature, Prophet Muhammad understood human behavior and communicated that faith is about free will. “Kill the apostate” was an idea cooked by the Kings, rulers and dictators to muffle down dissent and force people to behave. The punishement for treason is death in most places, we should clearly distinguish between treason and apostasy, they are not the same thing.
This phenomon of conversion will become common among Muslims, particularly among the second generation, at this time in the western nations eventually but every where. It is a teen thing to rebel, and only through love and freedom you can retain your child in your faith or you are going to run them off. No one should interfere in your life, it is your choice, seeking freedom is human fitra (nature) and it will continue.
Mike Ghouse
http://www.worldmuslimcongress.com/
ORLANDO, Fla. (Sept. 15) – An investigation by Florida authorities has found that there were no credible threats to a teenager who ran away from her Ohio home because she says she feared for her life after converting to Christianity from Islam.
A summary of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation into Rifqa Bary’s allegations was unsealed Monday. The probe found no reports of threats against Bary in Florida or Ohio.
‘We Want Her Back’Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda, Orlando Sentinel / MCT6 photos An investigation by Florida police found no credible threat to an Ohio teen who ran away from home. Rifqa Bary said she fled to Florida because she feared her Muslim parents would kill her for converting to Christianity. The 17-year-old has been placed temporarily in a Florida foster home.
http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,localizationConfig,entry&id=692110&pid=692109&uts=1250262551
http://www.aolcdn.com/ke/media_gallery/v1/ke_media_gallery_wrapper.swf
‘We Want Her Back’ Rifqa Bary, 17, is at the center of a dispute that stretches from Ohio to Florida. She ran away from her Ohio home in July, fearing her parents would harm her for converting to Christianity. She was raised in the Islam faith. Her parent say they love their daughter and would never hurt her.
The 17-year-old girl is in foster care in Orlando, where a judge is deciding whether she should be returned to Ohio. The girl ran away from her parents’ suburban Columbus home in July, saying she feared being killed for changing religions.
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