Rifqa Bary

Two weeks ago, Time Magazine published an article entitled, “A Florida Culture-War Circus Over Rifqa Bary” which described an Ohio teen, Rifqa Bary, 17, who ran away from home after her Muslim parents allegedly threatened to kill her for converting to Christianity. Yesterday, CNN published an article with the headline, “Muslim Teen Fears for Her Life After Changing Religion.” This headline immediately conjures up images of a scared teenager running away from religious extremists who are out to harm her. But the situation is undoubtedly much more complicated than that.

Rifqa’s parents have denied the allegations, saying that they were disappointed in her choice, but did not threaten to kill her. In the CNN article, Mr. Bary is quoted as referencing the fact that they let their daughter be on the cheerleading squad as proof that they are “normal” Muslims and not extremists. This comment in itself was troubling to me, speaking strongly to the need for our nation to change the story being told about Muslims, so that followers of a particular faith don’t feel the need to go on the immediate defense to prove they are “normal.”

But what troubles me even more, is that Rifqa ran right into the arms of Blake and Beverly Lorenz, pastors of Global Revolutions Church. In the Time article, Mr. Lorenz alluded to his belief that he is engaged in a struggle against Islam: "These are the last days; these are the end times," he said, "and this conflict between Islam and Christianity is going to grow greater. This conflict between good and evil is going to grow greater.

Add to that the Rifqa’s attorney is president of Florida’s Family Policy Council, a conservative Christian advocacy group that is anti-choice, anti-gay, and associated with James Dobson, and it begs a troubling question. Is Rifqa being “saved” from an extremist environment or is she being recruited into one? For now, she’s been placed in Florida foster care until a judge decides if she is in any danger at home. 

My heart goes out to Rifqa and her family, their own private struggles now amplified across the national stage. And of course, I am concerned for her safety, if in fact she is in danger at home. But I am also concerned about the possibility that Rifqa is being used as a pawn in a larger drama by some who are eager to indict a group of people, and in the case of Rifqa’s parents, foreign born people, as “dangerous extremists.”

I’m also more convinced than ever that we as a nation have a long way to go towards realizing the dream of religious pluralism and to putting an end to the manufactured “Islam vs. Christianly” conflict. I also hope that some day, we will react not by splashing headlines across the news that play into stereotypes, but by seeking first to listen and then to seeking to find the common ground that lies between us.