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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Jordanian Christian Mother Allowed to Keep Her Christian Children |
| 2005-07-15 |
| From Compass Direct A Jordanian court of appeal rejected a last-ditch appeal this week from the Muslim guardian fighting for custody of Christian widow Siham Qandahâs two minor children. The June 13 decision reconfirmed an earlier verdict from Ammanâs Al-Abdali Sharia Court two months ago which revoked the legal guardianship of Abdullah al-Muhtadi, the maternal uncle of Qandahâs daughter Rawan and son Fadi. According to Qandahâs lawyer, this final verdict from the appellate court cannot be appealed. It effectively cancels all other pending cases regarding permanent custody of the children, now 16 and 15 years of age. Al-Muhtadi has been ordered by the court to repay misspent funds he had withdrawn from his wardsâ inheritance accounts without judicial approval. He is also expected to be required to repay several thousand dinars in monthly orphan benefits which he failed to forward over the past 11 years. Qandah may now select a new guardian for court approval to oversee her childrenâs legal affairs until they reach maturity at age 18. In accordance with Islamic inheritance laws enforced in Jordan, the new guardian also must have a Muslim religious identity. .... Although born, baptized and raised as Christians, Rawan and Fadi were designated legally as Muslims after their soldier fatherâs death 11 years ago in Kosovo, where he served in the U.N. Peacekeeping Forces. At that time an Islamic court had produced an unsigned âconversionâ certificate claiming that their father had secretly converted to Islam three years before his death. Under Islamic law, this automatically made his minor children Muslims, thus preventing their Christian mother from handling their financial affairs. So Qandah asked al-Muhtadi, her estranged brother who had converted to Islam as a teenager, to serve as their legal Muslim guardian. But al-Muhtadi gradually began pocketing some of the childrenâs monthly benefits. Later he filed suit to take personal custody of the children, in order to raise them as Muslims. In the process, he withdrew nearly half of their U.N.-allocated trust funds, allegedly to pay lawyersâ fees. After a four-year court battle, Jordanâs Supreme Islamic Court ruled in al-Muhtadiâs favor in February 2002, ordering Qandah to give her children into his custody. Subsequently, she and her children went into hiding several times to avoid arrest or forced separation. ... At age 18, each of the children will be permitted to decide whether their official Jordanian identity will be Muslim or Christian. But under Islamic laws of inheritance, their choice to be Christians will require them to forfeit the U.N. trust funds deposited in their name, along with their ongoing orphan benefits from the Jordanian army. .... |
| Posted by:Mike Sylwester |