Friday, July 18, 2008

Jordan: What human rights?

From CT:

A Jordanian Islamic court has annulled the marriage of Mohammad Abbad, a Muslim convert to Christianity. The North Amman Shari'ah Court said in a May 22 document that "marriage depends on the creed [religion], and the apostate has no creed." Though Jordan's penal code does not outlaw apostasy, and its constitution guarantees freedom of religion, the country maintains Islam, which forbids conversion to other faiths, as its official religion. Abbad, 40, fled the country in March with his wife and two young children, after being assaulted in his home by acquaintances who demanded custody of his children.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Custody of his children?
And their fault is?

Anonymous said...

This always baffled me, how can you punish someone for something not mentioned in the constitution?

Abu Daoud said...

Yazan and Farah,

Thanks for dropping by. I would first start off by saying that he has not done anything wrong. Freedom of religion, even to leave Islam, is at the heart of the concept of human rights. Islamic nations, including al mamlaka al hashimiyya have to choose sooner or later either the shari'a or human rights.

Jordan has made a choice here. May Allah reverse it soon.