A controversial ruling has been handed down by a court in Iraq, which has decided that a Christian mother, Elvin Joseph, along with her three children must convert from Christianity to Islam. Now, I want you to pause for a moment. These kind of individuals who are violating the God-given right of freedom of religion of these four individuals, are the same as those who are in Gaza that are being supported by the kids at college campuses all across our beautiful country.
This is why it is critical for all of us who are followers of Jesus Christ to be praying for young people to be exposed to the gospel and have their hearts and minds transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, the future is bleak.
According to The Christian Post, the ruling from the Iraqi court is based on an interpretation of the country’s Personal Status Law, which declares that if a parent becomes a convert of Islam, the children must convert as well. Guys, this is what actual oppression looks like.
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 stated emphatically in an interview with Rudaw Media Network. “I am married to a Christian man. I have three Christian kids. My education was in our language. All my official documents are Christian. Our marriage is registered by the church.”
Despite these declarations, the law, which was enacted in 1959, insists that her familial ties to Islam require her and her children’s conversion, 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.
The woman’s husband, Sami Patros, explained the situation further during an encounter at the National Identity Card Office. During that encounter, “they said your mother-in-law had converted to Islam and, therefore, they said your wife should become Muslim too. This also applies to my children; their religion should be changed from Christianity to Islam.”
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News of the case has reached Akram Mikhail, an attorney who is well-versed in representing Christian families that have found themselves in similar situations.
“This forces someone to convert to Islam, with force. I am not an expert in Islam, but it is in Islam that one cannot force the religion onto others,” Mikhail said.
A recent conference at the Catholic University in Erbil, 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. Khaldun Saelayte from Jordan and Mohammed Nuqal from Lebanon spoke about the disparities in religious laws affecting Christians in Iraq compared to neighboring countries like Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, where Christians are governed by their own personal status laws.
The conference wrapped up by providing a number of recommendations and an urging for leaders within the Christian community to write up proposed reforms to the Personal Status Law.
Christianity is spread by sharing the gospel, by loving your neighbor and serving them, helping to improve their lives, and through prayer for others. It is never forced. Nor should it be. We believe the Holy Spirit will work in the hearts and minds of those He is calling to reunite with the Father through the Son, Jesus Christ.
Islam is a bloody, war-like religion that demands people submit to Allah and his prophet Mohammad or else willingly submit to oppression or death. Which of these has a better culture? They are not the same.