ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - The fate of a 17-year-old girl who ran away from her Ohio home because she says she feared punishment for converting from Islam to Christianity could be decided in an Orlando courtroom Friday.My first thought was, this one's easy.
The teenager disappeared last month and police used phone and computer records to track her to the Rev. Blake Lorenz, pastor of Orlando, Fla.-based Global Revolution Church, who she had met through an online Facebook prayer group.
Send her back to her family and prosecute Reverend Blake Lorenz for luring a minor child.
Yes, I know about the Muslim husband who cut his wife's head off in New York, as well as the Muslim father in Georgia who strangled his daughter to death because of his twisted, 7th century sense of honor. We also have the Texas "honor" killings.
Still in question is whether this young lady, Rifqa Bary, is in that kind of danger. He parents found out awhile back, and they were mad as hell, I'm sure. But she's still alive, which says something in her father's defense.
Too many things don't smell right. 17 year old girls are famous for being drama queens, even more so than Muslims are for decapitations. I saw the YouTube video and all I kept thinking was, she's saying exactly what those church people want to hear. And this whole episode is quite an advertisement and money boost for the pastor who used the internet to lure her to Florida. Striking a blow against Islam is just icing on the cake.
Could this be merely a cultural and generational clash gone viral?
I'd like to know more about what went on back in Ohio. How are her grades? Are boyfriends or some other teen-parent conflict behind this? Any parent can tell you how a simple matter can spin out of control when angry parents and emotional teens are involved. Religious conviction in the mix just makes the situation hotter. Her Christian faith could be sincere and her parents could be really mad, but that doesn't prove her dad will kill her.
Hillary Clinton and Marian Wright Edelman Would be Proud
The family unit is sacrosanct, and unless lawbreaking is going on, no judge or pastor or anyone else has any business poking their nose in. This is a fundamental freedom that conservative Christians usually stand up for.
I guess if you agreed with preemptive war, it's not much of a stretch to support preemptive justice. It's all well and good until Uncle Sam decides to bust up your Jesus Camp and liberate your brain-washed kids from your home and your authority.
To those who are convinced this is a black and white case, ask yourself this question: If this were a 17-year old girl from a fundamentalist Christian family running into the arms of an imam, would you still be sticking up for the girl and the mosque?
Once again, you can't use the honor killing excuse. If such arguments were valid, the Branch Davidian episode could be used to outlaw Christians having custody of their children.
It remains to be seen if this girl's life is really in danger. I trust the good judge in Florida will sort that out in due time,
One thing's for certain: Reverend Blake Lorenz must be prosecuted under Florida law for Luring a Minor.
* Update: I posted this over at Free Republic and got over 60 comments. You can read them here. Although debate was empassioned, it never stooped to the level of the kook left sites. Conservatives are good people, especially Freepers.
ABC News
Breitbart
Bailaman
YouTube - Rifqa Bary
4 comments:
Read the reports from newsworthy websites. They all discuss (in their later reports) that there was no 'luring' of a minor. They are reporting that Rifqa contacted the pastor's wife once she got to Florida.
Thanks, I haven't checked news today. More importantly, thanks for not flaming me.
I am merely trying to get good conservatives to think this through in light of our constitution.
There are almost 4 million Muslims in the US. Out of which 3 have killed their wives, or daughters due to ignorance. Can we start counting how many Christians have killed people? Every year 30,000 people convert to Islam every year in America - look it up - and almost 40% are women.
The misconception people have of Islam is out right stupid. It's the same views this pastor has fed this girl.
You will want to read this as well:
Galle Fort and Rifqa (Rifka) Bary
Anon: I'm not defending or attacking any religion, but can you understand how Islam (fairly or unfairly) has gotten a bad name among many in the US?
I just want everyone treated according to the constitution. I don't want to be judged in light of what terrorist Tim McVeigh did, and I don't think it's fair (or American) to judge all Muslims in light of an ignorant few.
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