WASHINGTON, DC - A former Muslim who is now the head of an evangelical Christian seminary is warning that the 17-year-old Ohio girl who fled to Florida after her family discovered she had converted to Christianity from Islam faces certain death in her native Sri Lanka if she's not allowed to stay in the U.S.
Earlier this month, a judge in Orange County, Florida, ruled that Rifqa Bary will remain in the state until her next hearing scheduled for September 29. (See related article) However, the Orlando Sentinel is reporting a hearing concerning the Ohio teen will occur today (Monday) at the juvenile courthouse in Orlando. That report says it is not clear what will be discussed at today's hearing because juvenile court records are not public record. Liberty Theological Seminary president Dr. Ergun Caner told Christians attending the Values Voter Summit in Washington Saturday that if Bary is returned to her parents and they move back to Sri Lanka, she will be killed because "Sri Lanka puts my people to death." When Caner informed his devout Muslim father in 1982 that he had become a born-again Christian, his father disowned him. Caner believes that was "an act of mercy" because his father could have carried out an "honor killing" authorized by the Koran. In the years following Caner's decision to accept Jesus Christ, his three brothers, his mother, and grandmother all converted to Christianity. According to Caner, those salvation experiences were only possible "because anonymous saints spoke up" and preached the gospel. Caner wrapped up his address by issuing an emotional challenge to fellow Christians: "Preach, teach, and reach -- or shut up and get out of our way."
If you believe OneNewsNow.com is an important source for Christian news, please consider a small tax-deductible gift for this service.
