Rifqa Back in Ohio

Rifqa Bary, the teen who fled her Muslim family in Ohio for fear of being the victim of an "honor killing" for converting to Christianity, has now arrived back in Ohio after being transported from Florida.

Now in the custody of the Franklin County Children Services in Columbus, Rifqa has been ordered to undergo counseling while staying with a foster family. To make matters worse, Children Services petitioned for and won the right to monitor the girl's telephone and Internet use citing that it was her Facebook interaction that contributed to "her problems." Ummmm....Fourth Amendment? Hello???

Since when is Rifqa the one with "problems?" And what exactly does the state consider a "problem?" Believing in Christianity? Fearing a brutal death at the hands of her family? Why does the state seem so willing to believe the father in this case? Maybe for fear of offending someone of the Muslim faith?

Last week, an Arizona man of Muslim belief tried to kill his daughter by running her over with his SUV. Her crime was becoming "too westernized." And yet the supporters of Islam keep denying that "honor killings" happen. Oh really?

• January 1, 2008 -- Amina and Sarah Said were shot dead in Irving, Texas, on New Year’s Day. Police are searching for their father, Yaser Abdel Said, on a warrant for capital murder.
  
  The girls’ great aunt, Gail Gartrell, told reporters, “This was an honor killing.” She explained that Yaser Said had long abused the girls, and after discovering that they had boyfriends, had threatened to kill them -- whereupon their mother fled with them. “She ran with them,” said Gartrell, “because she knew he would carry out the threat.” But Said found them, and apparently did carry it out.

• July 6, 2008 -- A Pakistani named Chaudhry Rashid strangled his 25-year-old daughter San- deela Kanwal with a Bungee cord in her bedroom because she wanted to end her arranged marriage. This “honor killing” came not in Pakistan, but in Jonesboro, Ga. – a suburb 16 miles outside Atlanta.

  At his arraignment, Rashid said through an Urdu interpreter that he was “not in the state of mind to talk because of the death of his daughter,” but stated “I have done nothing wrong.”

• February 12, 2009 -- Aasiya Z. Hassan, 37, was found dead on Thursday at the offices of Bridges TV in Orchard Park, N.Y., near Buffalo. Her husband, Muzzammil Hassan, 44, has been charged with second-degree murder. Aasiya was beheaded.

  "She was very much aware of the potential ramification her filing for divorce might have," said attorney Elizabeth DiPirro, whose law firm, Hogan Willig, represented Aasiya Hassan in the divorce proceeding. "But she wanted to proceed despite the potential for it to erupt."

• October 20, 2009 -- Peoria police are looking for a Glendale, Arizona, man who allegedly ran over his 20-year-old daughter and another woman in the Department of Economic Security parking lot Tuesday.

  Faleh Hassan Almaleki, 48, was reportedly angry at his daughter, Noor Faleh Almaleki, for becoming ‘too westernized’ and not living according to their traditional Iraqi values.

When will it stop? Will it take the blood of Rifqa Bary being shed in martyrdom to finally make people realize that "honor killing" occurs in this country? I pray not.

Governor Charlie Crist of Florida may need not worry about his political career. Should Rifqa be martyred, it'll be the blood on his hands that will be his bigger worry. He's had every opportunity to use whatever legal avenue at his disposal to save this girl, yet he has chosen not to intervene.

Also at fault would be the ACLU. Let me ask a question. If this had been a 17-year-old who had run away from a Christian home to practice Islam, would the ACLU be as silent as they've been in Rifqa's case? Absolutely not. They'd be in court daily to petition for the youngster's "freedom of religion." Why haven't they fought for Rifqa's right to practice Christianity freely and without fear?

Rifqa: May God the Father protect you and keep you safe. At the end of this chapter of your life, you will have taught us how to be brave in the face of adversity. I pray for the strength you've shown. God bless you and keep you always.

Please, dear readers, pray that Rifqa is kept safe by the loving hands of God.

Florida City to City Workers: HYGIENE!!!

Brooksville, Florida, has just issued a dress code for their city workers. Being required in the new dress code are such basics as deodorant and underwear. Why should this even be an issue? Has society broken down so far that simple issues such as hygiene have to be legislated on some level because no one cares anymore?

I lived for a couple of years in a town called Zephyrhills that lies between Tampa and Brooksville. The population in that area is made up of many diverse socio-economic classes. While there are subdivisions filled with those doing quite well, there are those small towns that are predominantly made up of migrant workers. I'm waiting to see if La Raza slams this new dress code in Brooksville as racist and intolerant.

Also included in the new dress code are bans on exposed underwear, clothing with foul language, sexually provocative clothing, and body piercings anywhere but on the ears. Sounds reasonable to me. If you want to look like a human pin cushion at work, get a job at Spencer's or Hot Topic. And the exposed underwear issue? It's about frickin' time someone make these people PULL THEIR PANTS UP!!! Noah has pushed the limits with me on exposing his underwear, and every time, I ask him, "What's your bellybutton for?" He knows that I mean to put his waistband of his shorts or pants there. Hell hath no fury like Mom being ignored, so he complies.

The only dissenting vote in the 4-1 city council decision came from Brooksville mayor Joe Bernadini. He says that the underwear ruling "takes away freedom of choice." NO IT DOESN'T, JOE!!! City workers have a choice: Follow the rules or find another job. You are a mushhead, Mr. Bernadini.

Cities who want to attract potential residents should realize that people don't want to see their tax dollars going to city workers who have no sense of basic societal decorum. What these workers do on their own time is one thing, but when you're on my dime, follow the rules!!!

Now if they all looked like this, I might think differently.

Fathima Bary: Potential Martyr?

Today at 3:15 p.m. Eastern, a court in Orlando, Florida, will decide whether a 17-year-old runaway in foster care will be returned to her parents. Her reason for running away? She converted to Christianity, and she fears that her Muslim family will carry out a so-called "honor killing."

Fathima Rifqa Bary, 17, an honor student and cheerleader, converted to Christianity four years ago through interactions with classmates at school, and hid her faith from her family until last month. Her family has petitioned to have her returned to Columbus, Ohio, where she faces very real danger.

From worldnetdaily.com:

Atlas Shrugs' Pamela Geller has followed Bary's case closely, reporting that the girl's friends accompanied her to the school counselor after they noticed bruises covering her arms and legs that allegedly resulted from beatings by her father and brother.

"The middle school, in a serious dereliction of duty, did not report these beatings to child welfare services," Geller reported. "Beatings were random, violent, unprovoked. Take, for example, when Rifqa and her father Mohamed were driving in the car. He would force her to wear the hijab (head covering), which she hated. In her discomfort she would slouch down, embarrassed, and her father would haul off and sock her in the face so that she never forgot to sit up straight in her costume. The beatings were regular and so much a part of the landscape of Rifqa's life, she became inured to them …"

Fathima, who is of Sri Lankan descent, hitchhiked her way to a bus station and ran away from home on July 19 fearing for her life. She was placed in foster care in Florida, and today, a jurisdictional hearing will be held to determine whether the case will be heard in Florida or Ohio. Some legal analysts have said that she will most likely be returned to her family in Ohio as there is no emancipation law there. Such a law exists in Florida, however, but it requires parental consent.

Bary warned that if she is forced to return to her family in Ohio, she will die "within a week."

Click here to read more about this brave young woman who could be a martyr for her faith.

I would hope that the juvenile court in Orlando upholds Fathima's right to LIFE, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Should they side with her family, they are just as culpable in her death if her family goes through with carrying out punishment for disgracing Islam under Sharia law.

Please pray that the courts do the right thing in protecting this girl from the horrors of "The Religion of Peace." I know I will be.