Imagine if Rifqa Bary were Julie Johnson

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-scott-maxwell-rifqa-bary-092709,0,127808.column

Imagine if Rifqa Bary were Julie Johnson

Scott Maxwell

TAKING NAMES

September 27, 2009

Maybe you've already formed a strong opinion about teenage runway Rifqa Bary.

But imagine if the family that helped her run away from Ohio weren't a Christian one here in Orlando. Imagine, just for a moment, that the circumstances were reversed.

Imagine this news story ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Orlando girl, feared missing for two weeks, has been found in Ohio — in the home of a Muslim imam.

The girl's parents, devout Christians who live in a modest suburb in east Orlando, were shocked to learn that the imam and his wife had been harboring their daughter, Julie Johnson, all this time without letting them know.

Julie was 16 when she ran away — a minor in the eyes of the law.

The girl's parents assumed that their daughter would soon be returned home. But Ohio authorities have so far refused.

The imam and his wife — who met Julie through an online prayer group — say she no longer wants to be a Christian.

They say she has converted to Islam and is now afraid that her parents may use their Christian beliefs to justify hurting her if she is returned to Orlando.

Mainstream Christians have said that notion is preposterous. They say Christianity is a religion that espouses love and compassion.

But conservative Muslims say otherwise.

"There are verses in the Bible that talk about killing children," said Ahmed Akmed, a Muslim activist, who has made a career out of mixing religion and politics, pushing Muslim-based amendment drives and raising money for his cause. "And we can point to numerous examples of Christian activities that are dangerous to minors."

As evidence, Akmed cited snake handlers, hate groups and even some Christians who claim their faith teaches them to withhold medicine from their children.

He also quoted verses from the Old Testament — specifically Deuteronomy 13, which talks of stoning and killing children who turn away from the Lord to worship other gods.

"We're not making this stuff up," Akmed said. "It's out there. And it's in their Bible."

Christians throughout America were both dumbfounded and insulted by the accusations in this high-profile case.

"That's a gross and intentional misrepresentation of our faith," said one Methodist minister. "Yes, there have been a handful of heinous acts perpetrated in the name of Christianity. But the vast majority of Christians — we're talking 99.99 percent — not only have nothing to do with such extremism, they actively condemn it.

"Anyone who has spent any amount of time in an American church knows that Christians do not take every verse literally. Jesus' primary message was one of love and compassion."

Muslim activists, however, say they are not willing to bet Julie's life on that.

"Didn't Christians in Florida just last year use Old Testament verses to justify changing their entire state constitution to ban gay marriage?" Akmed asked. "So why would we believe that they take parts about fornication literally — and not the parts about killing family members?"

Florida officials say they have investigated Julie's parents, visiting the Orlando home and talking to people who know her, finding no evidence of abuse.

Instead, they found a diary where Julie wrote that she believed she had been called by Allah to be a prophet for Islam.

Julie's parents say their daughter is a confused girl who is struggling with her faith as well as her adolescence.

But if she wants to become a Muslim, they will let her. "I just want my little girl back," the father said.

They are also confused about precisely how their teenage daughter ended up 800 miles away with an imam who runs a little-known mosque from a movie theater inside a struggling mall in suburban Columbus.

Florida officials agree with Julie's parents that she should be returned to her home state, where she would be placed in the foster-care system.

But officials in Ohio have dragged their feet, pleasing Muslim activists who are pressuring politicians and claiming that anyone who supports reuniting Julie with her Christian parents will have her blood on their hands.

Perhaps it's hard to relate to a story that sounds so far-fetched. It's difficult, after all, to truly put yourself in the shoes — or pews — of another.

But it doesn't seem too far-fetched for everyone involved to follow and apply laws the same way, regardless of faith.

Or to treat others the way you wish to be treated — a value espoused by both Jesus and Muhammad.

Scott Maxwell can be reached at smaxwell@orlandosentinel.com.