Photo: Flickr / UN / ECHO (cc)
A Christian woman is presently facing a difficult ruling after being ordered by an Iraqi court to convert to Islam. The decision is based on the 1959 Personal Status Law, which mandates that children must adopt Islam if one of their parents converts to the Muslim faith.
Evlin Joseph was 15 years old when her parents divorced. Her mother then married a Muslim man and converted to Islam at that time. Years later, Evlin married a Christian man, and the couple began raising their three children according to the teachings of Christianity. However, when Evlin sought to obtain a national ID card, which specifies the religion of Iraqi citizens, the authorities stated that – since her mother had converted to Islam while Evlin was still a minor – she is also considered Muslim by law.
The matter went to court, where officials ordered that Evlin has to be designated as a Muslim. Accordingly, she is not legally eligible to be married to a Christian man. Additionally, since she is now labelled a Muslim, her children are also officially considered Muslims by the government.
Evlin is from Duhok in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq. In speaking about the ruling, she stated: "I am Christian. I am married to a Christian man. I have three Christian kids. My education was in our language. All my official documents are Christian. Our marriage is registered by the church." The couple now must deal with the many ways in which this decision could affect their marital, inheritance and custodial rights.
A conference was recently held in the regional capital of Erbil, focussing on the ramifications of the Personal Status Law. The president of the Kurdistan Region offered his support to Christians. The conference, which included delegates from other Middle Eastern countries, called for legal reforms that would give Christians in Iraq full religious rights. For more information on the difficulties being encountered by believers in Iraq, go to our country report.
Prayerfully remember Evlin, her husband Sami and their children as they deal with this difficult court decision. May there be a resolution that will keep the family intact and allow each of them to continue living out their Christian faith. Pray that greatly needed changes will take place in the hearts of the country's governing leaders, and that legal revisions will be enacted to ensure greater religious freedoms for our suffering family in Christ. Pray also that Christians throughout the nation will continue to be faithful witnesses of Jesus' love and grace to those around them – resulting in the salvation of many more Iraqi people.
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