American Refugee
The eyes of the international Church have been focused on Rifqa Bary since July, when the brave 17-year-old fled her Columbus, Ohio home after converting from Islam to Christianity. This week, after an emotional trial, a Florida judge ruled that Bary must return home despite the threats made on her life by radical Muslim groups. John Stemberger, who many of you may know from his work with the Florida Family Policy Council, is serving as Rifqa's attorney. According to John, the concern is not so much that her family will harm her, but that the local mosque will. In her affidavit, Rifqa says the Noor Islamic Cultural Center, where the family is active, ordered her parents to "deal with the situation." (The same document describes her father's rage at Rifqa's conversion: "I will kill you!" he yells.)
In a memo to the Court, John describes the frightening link between the Center and Islamic extremists, terrorist leaders, the Muslim Brotherhood, and even an FBI terror investigation. "If I had stayed in Ohio," Rifqa said in an emotional interview, "I wouldn't be alive. In 150 generations in the family, no one has known Jesus. I am the first--imagine the honor in killing me."
Right now, there is little we can do but pray--and ask others to pray with us. If you can, circulate the story to your family, friends, and church. Ask God to surround Rifqa with ministers of comfort, peace, and protection. "I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust.' ... He will cover you with his feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge..." (Psalm 91:2 and 4)
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