Friday, September 04, 2009

Was a Christian convert threatened -- or brainwashed?



Sometimes the brainwashing is just so transparent.

Right now, many media voices, especially the right-wing bloggers, seem transfixed by the tale of 17 year old Rifqa Bary, a formerly Islamic girl from Columbus Ohio who converted to evangelical Christianity. Young Bary was born in Sir Lanka, although her family now seems very Americanized. (Some news accounts spell her name "Rifka.") She ran off to Orlando, Florida to be with something ominously called The Global Revolution Church, run by Reverend Blake Lorenz, whom she met via Facebook.

Now, in a tableau that plays right into one of the memes favored by right-wing paranoids, Rifqa claims that her Islamic father wants her dead. Murdering an apostate daughter would be considered an "honor killing," or so she would have us believe.

Her father denies that he ever made any such threat.
Also before today's hearing, Rifqa's father spoke out for the first time on national television to "Good Morning America," saying his daughter's claims are completely "not true" and that she is being manipulated by people in the Christian community.

"I don't believe my daughter would say this," Rifqa's father, Mohamed Bary, told "GMA." "She's completely being coached -- I mean trained, influenced by these people. It's so sad."

The Barys blame the girl's actions on the Lorenzes and believe the Lorenzes coaxed her into claiming the honor killing, though they admit they would prefer if their daughter was Muslim.

"She is free to practice whatever she believes in," Mohamed Rifqa said. "No problem. She can practice in my house. I have no problem.

"We love her. It's our daughter. She being a Christian doesn't mean she's not my daughter," he said.
The Lorenzes have so far not commented on the accusation that they have coached the girl. Their refusal to speak with the media is, in my view, suspicious.

Which side is telling the truth? A big clue -- perhaps the only clue we really need -- can be found in this early statement from Rifqa:
The teenager, in a sworn affidavit, claims her father, Mohamed Bary, 47, was pressured by the mosque the family attends in Ohio to "deal with the situation." In the court filing, Rifqa Bary stated her father said, "If you have this Jesus in your heart, you are dead to me!"
Keep in mind that this is a court filing. Anyone (even a young person) swearing to an official statement will try -- or should try -- to reconstruct the actual wording of a quote, as opposed to offering a loose precis.

Question: How likely is it that the father would have uttered the phrase "If you have this Jesus in your heart"?

That kind of locution -- "Accept Jesus into your heart," "allow Jesus to enter your heart," "bring Jesus into your heart" and so forth -- is often uttered by evangelical Christian pastors and writers. The phrase is not so common among other types of Christians. You might hear a Catholic say such a thing every once in a great while, but Catholics do not use that terminology routinely. (They have their own set of stock phrases -- many of which are in Latin, which is way cool.)

Would a Muslim speak of letting Jesus into one's heart? Hardly!

Moreover, in evangelical fiction -- I'm thinking of Jack Chick comics, Christian TV historical dramas and similar propaganda -- it is pretty common to have "heathen" villains use the phrase "this Jesus." The words are usually given to Roman emperors and swarthy Eastern potentates. As in: "Wazir, my counselor, tell me: Who is this...Jesus? Why do all the slaves speak of this worker of wonders?" If you really want to do the line justice, you must include a long pause between "this" and "Jesus," and you have to sneer broadly as you utter the Name of Names.

The phrase "this Jesus" has also become part of evangelical argot -- see here and here and here and here. Evangelicals are especially likely to use the phrase when they try to convert darker-hued non-Americans. The term is not much used outside of fundamentalist circles.

So it's pretty clear to me that Rifqa's father did not say those words. Rather, his daughter ascribed to him the kind of line that an unintelligent writer of Christian fiction might have put into the mouth of a Muslim. It's not something that a Muslim actually would say; a Muslim might more plausibly speak of kufr (infidelity) and haraam (unlawful).

Alas, most evangelical preachers are so caught up in their own alternate universe that they cannot understand that the rest of the world does not use their patois. They remind me of the stereotypical American in Europe who becomes furious at Eye-talians who refuse to speak English like normal human beings.

Further evidence:

Rifka has spoken of her native Sri Lanka as though it were an Islamic nation. It is not. Sri Lanka is primarily Buddhist; Hindus are also well-represented. There is a good amount of interaction, synchronism and even conversion among these traditional Sri Lankan faiths. Nevertheless, Rifka spoke as though honor killings were common there. That's not true: Fazli Sameer, a native of her home town of Galle Fort, writes that the Muslim women in that area are considered very liberated -- they do not take the veil -- and "honor killings" simply do not happen. (Although it is true that many Buddhists do tend to resent Christian proselytizers from overseas.)

So tell me, my good Wazir: Just who is this...Reverend Blake Lorenz?

Verily, O Excellency, the one called Lorenz seems to be a rising star in Looneyville:
Recently God gave Blake a new call to share with the church, Israel, and the Gentile nations that the return of Jesus Christ is imminent. After 24 years as a United Methodist pastor and evangelist, Blake retired from the Methodist Church in obedience to Jesus Who told him to separate himself and serve only Him. This led to the founding of Global Revolution Ministries and Global Revolution Church, based in Orlando, Florida.
He recently started a television ministry to proclaim his eschatology. I think we should all get the picture by this point. Falwell, Robertson and LaHaye are now old, while Swaggart, the Bakkers, the Crouches and Haggard all fell into scandal. Lorenz obviously hopes to replace them. Rifqa is his ticket to national fame.

Incidentally, the primary internet voice pushing this story has been Pam Geller -- Randroid, blinkered Israel-worshipper and unrepentant "birther." If Pammikins says that the sky is blue, you may safely presume that it has changed color.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Does Reverend Blake have a creepy smile and a hair helmet?

Those types are scarier than the guy from Poltergeist II.

leloup/France said...

it's worse than that

Muslims consider Jesus as a prophet:

Islam holds Jesus to be a prophet, or messenger of God, along with Muhammad, Moses, Abraham, Noah, and others. In particular, Jesus (Arabic: عيسى‎ `Īsā) is described as the Messiah, sent to guide the Israelites (referred to as the "Children of Israel" in the Qur'an, or banī isrā'īl) with a new scripture, the Injīl (gospel).[247] According to the Qur'an, believed by Muslims to be God's final revelation, Jesus was born to Mary (Arabic: Maryam) as the result of virginal conception, a miraculous event which occurred by the decree of God (Arabic: Allah). To aid him in his quest, Jesus was given the ability to perform miracles. These included speaking from the cradle, curing the blind and the lepers, as well as raising the dead; all by the permission of God. Furthermore, Jesus was helped by a band of disciples (the ḥawāriyūn). Islam rejects historians assertions that Jesus was crucified by the Romans, instead claiming that he had been raised alive up to heaven. Islamic traditions narrate that he will return to earth near the day of judgement to restore justice and defeat al-Masīḥ ad-Dajjāl (lit. "the false Messiah", also known as the Antichrist) and the enemies of Islam. As a just ruler, Jesus will then die.[248]

Like all prophets in Islam, Jesus is considered to have been a Muslim, as he preached for people to adopt the straight path in submission to God's will. Islam denies that Jesus was God or the son of God, stating that he was an ordinary man who, like other prophets, had been divinely chosen to spread God's message. Islamic texts forbid the association of partners with God (shirk), emphasizing the notion of God's divine oneness (tawhīd). As such, Jesus is referred to in the Qur'an frequently as the "son of Mary" ("Ibn Maryam").[248][249] Numerous titles are given to Jesus in the Qur'an, such as mubārak (blessed) and `abd-Allāh (servant of God). Another title is al-Masīḥ ("the Messiah; the anointed one" i.e. by means of blessings), although it does not correspond with the meaning accrued in Christian belief. Jesus is seen in Islam as a precursor to Muhammad, and is believed by Muslims to have foretold the latter's coming.[248]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus

so much for the "this"

Tina Tequila said...

No matter who said what,we all know "honor" killing is ALIVE and well. Uf the young girl is truly afraid,it's for a good reason.

Joseph Cannon said...

Tina, some Muslims are maniacs. But not all. Some Christians and Jews are maniacs. But not all. The girl's family seems quite non-maniacal to me. Not sure if I would say that about Lorenz.

Bob Harrison said...

Ted Bundy didn't look or act like a maniac in public or on television.

Anonymous said...

I agree the father does not look maniacal, just sounds exasperated. However, I find it interesting that the mother did not speak if women in his home are as liberated as he claims. The mother speaking would have given us a clue as to whether her daughter would use direct eye contact to the camera or not. As far as the reference to Jesus in your heart, it would make sense that a Muslim would say this, if the now converted Christian daughter had used this first when speaking to her father (was she uttering this phrase before she left home?).

Joseph, the boys do see somewhat "americanized" (i.e., typical teenager unkemptness and longer hair) but oftentimes the boys are afforded this cultural leeway while the girls are expected to abide to the cultural norms. I would guess the pic was from a school picture and it is telling that she is not wearing a headscarf in it.

I'm still reserving judgement yet.

emmag said...

Joseph, this may not be an either/or situation. both the dad & the minister could be completely round the bend. in the 1980's I lived in a suburb where there were two honor killings. if a girl or woman stands up to her family for whatever reason and is afraid, her fear needs to be listened to and taken seriously.

gary said...

I hope she is not returned to her father. She is obviously afraid for her life, whether justified or not. She's 17. In less than a year she's an adult and can go where she pleases. Can't she file to be an emancipated minor?

I agree that Pam Geller is nuts. I'd do her though.