A most welcome update on the Siham Qandah saga. But note that she still has to select a Muslim guardian for her children, since her husband putatively converted to Islam before his death, without telling her a word about it. "Jordan: Widow wins final Court Battle," from CompassDirect:
June 16 -- A Jordanian court of appeal rejected a last-ditch appeal this week from the Muslim guardian fighting for custody of Christian widow Siham Qandah's two minor children. The June 13 decision reconfirmed an earlier verdict from Amman's Al-Abdali Sharia Court two months ago which revoked the legal guardianship of Abdullah al-Muhtadi, the maternal uncle of Qandah's daughter Rawan and son Fadi. According to Qandah's lawyer, this final verdict from the appellate court cannot be appealed. It effectively cancels all other pending cases regarding permanent custody of the children. Al-Muhtadi has been ordered by the court to repay misspent funds he had withdrawn from his wards' inheritance accounts without judicial approval. Qandah may now select a new guardian for court approval to oversee her children's legal affairs until they reach maturity at age 18.
This sad story reminds me of the letters I had to translate for a charitable group who financed Pentacostalist refugees from Russia in 1991. I came across one, where the author describes being removed from his parents because they were Christians, and he was forceably placed into an orphanage. Every day, the teachers harped on and on how there was no God, and he came away from the experience more firmly convinced that indeed, there was, because, if there was no God, why did the teachers spend so much time talking about Him? Where is Shamnesty Internationale in all this? Where are they when Egyptian Christian girls are kidnapped and forceably converted to Islam? Oh yeah, I fergawt... Gitmo Gulag gets more airtime these days
Tonya "Sharmouta" Greipenweiner here: U shouldn't make fun of the poor, blameless detainees in Gitmo, just because they are Muslims...U should read AMERICAN GULAG, AMERICAN SHAME, by Dick Durbin and Archie Pelago.
Why can't the mother be the "guardian" of her own children?
The plot thickens.
And sickens.
(Meanwhile, not a glimmer out of 'Queen' Noor*.)
*'Light' -in Arabic.
(You have to add the 'weight' yourself.)
"Shamnesty Internationale"-- from a posting above
Very funny. I hope it takes off.