This video was filmed by Minister Joe (Joe Montoya aka CHRIST N8ION) of P4CM (Passion For Christ Movement)
in May of 2009 while Rifqa Bary was at The House of Prayer in Ohio.
I want to be clear at the outset, because some have misunderstood my position. I do not believe Rifqa Bary was brainwashed in Florida. I see a girl from a culturally Muslim family who was taught very little about Islam, and who may have been physically abused. I believe she became involved with numerous Christian groups in Ohio that have been identified by others, before this case, to be exhibiting characteristics of cult behavior, specifically in their strategies of recruitment, strategies of coercion, and strategies of isolation. She accepted Christianity, in some form, when she was 13 or 14 and developed a hysterical fervor for it. Later, at the age of 16, she came in contact with Jamal Jivanjee and Brian Williams who were impressed by her fervor and became her mentors. I believe they taught her most of what she knows about Islam, especially Jamal who is a graduate of Liberty University where Professor Ergun Caner specializes in distorting Islam. I believe they concinced her that her father's anger was murderous rage. I do not believe these Christians represent the normative views of world Christendom, or that Islam is on trial here. I believe we are discussing the inner workings of one family, the allegations made against one father, and the outside influences which disrupted this family. I believe that Rifqa passionately believes in Christianity, and that she is genuinely afraid. I also believe she is a bit of a Zelig, able to creatively interpret and present facts, with full sincerity, to appeal to her peers. I have from the beginning advocated her emancipation, and morally condemned the use of state coercion to force her to return to Ohio. However, I feel the case should be tried in Ohio where the allegations, the evidence, and the witnesses are. I also recommend that she meet with a psychologist specializing in cult deprogramming, emancipating both her body, and mind.
A new video has surfaced on youtube that was recorded in May, before Rifqa ran away. So I humbly offer the following analysis.
She says that she comes from a family of "radical Muslims." However, she also says that she never knew she could pray, she didn't know what repentance was and she thought Jesus was some random guy on a cross. No Muslim with even the most remedial education doesn't know who Jesus is. Belief in Jesus is a central tenant of the Islamic creed. Yet, she implies a working knowledge of Islamic history. So where did she learn Islamic history without learning that Muslims pray? She says that the word "Christian" awakens hatred in her family, and yet her brother Rilvan says most of his friends are Christian, her father Mohamed attended a Catholic school and his best friend Gary Abbott is Christian. She says that she would be disowned, or face "harsh consequences" if her parents discovered her secret religion. Yet, Mohamed says he's known for years. So, something isn't adding up here. In May she's saying that she doesn't know will happen if they find out, and in August she's saying "They have to kill me! It's in the Quran!" What changed?
I am very wary of debating the religiosity of the family. Whether or not Mohamed is devout is irrelevant. Is he capable of domestic violence? Her fear of honor killing surfaces sometime between May and August, which suggests to me that this is coaching from one of her mentors. But the allegations of physical abuse are consistent. Those need to be taken seriously and investigated thoroughly.
In the video Rifqa says that she originally said she was Christian, "to fit in" and "go with the flow." Before she knew anything about Christianity, before she'd ever been in a Church or read the Bible, when, as she claims, she believed that Christianity was hereditary, she claimed to be Christian seeking acceptance from a girl she barely knew. She is incredibly motivated by the approval of her peers. This may be because she's new the area and has very few friends, or it may be a reaction formation to parental coldness or anger. Either way, she clearly enters Christians completely willing to reinvent her identity to please others. Then she lands herself in groups like Xenos and the House of Prayer which specifically utilize peer pressure and love bombing as strategies of recruitment. Combine that with the typical zeal of a convert and you have a perfect storm of psychological factors that resulted in her incredible passion for Christ. I am only an amateur cult psychologist, but I would read with great interest an expert opinion.
I also find it interesting that in her testimony she says almost nothing about Islam. Instead she rejects a life of worthless things and depravity that lead to death. Now, maybe I'm missing something, but isn't the point of this testimony to present herself as proof to others that it's possible to leave their ways and accept Jesus? Are we to believe that she lead a wicked life of alcohol and devil music in a radical Muslim family? There is a flaw in her testimony, an inconsistency, and she must see it too. She is parroting, like a Zelig, what she has heard in other testimonies. But she is not like other converts. She's going to have to talk about Islam in her future testimonies... but as far as I can tell she hardly knows anything about Islam... so she's going to have to learn about Islam from her Christian mentors, probably something from the school of Ergun Caner.
Then it gets really interesting... I thought all this talk of "being on fire" was strange enough, but then she said, "the Lord is raising up theNazirites !" and all the subsequent generation of revival talk. This is weird wild stuff... but I figured out where she's getting it. On the pen drive found in her room was a reading list, and on that reading list was a book titled "Digging the Wells of Revival" by Lou Engle. The final chapter of that book is titled "The Hinge of History: Raising up the Nazirites." Lou describes the Nazirites here. Basically it's someone who takes the Nazirite Vow from Numbers 6:1-21 to abstain from wine, cutting ones hair, and being near corpses. Traditionally this vow is taken by one preparing for great spiritual battle. Some have teased that Rifqa's writings indicate that she wants to be a prophet, but this is exactly what Lou Engle has in mind. Lou writes that God said to him, "America is receiving Her apostles, prophets, and evangelists, but She has not yet seen Her Nazirites!" Lou Engle has a long history of claiming direct communication with God, as well as prophetic dreams. They call it the Elijah Revolution.
They seem to imagine some kind of army of super Christians who will appear in a moment of National crisis and win the day. What's the crisis? Consider these statements from Lou's homepage, TheCall.com. "There is a great spiritual conflict with a rising tide of Islamic boldness being manifested... we must have spiritual discernment as to the spiritual dark powers that are being invoked into our nation." Compare that with similar statements from Blake Lorenz, the pastor of Global Revolution Church who housed Rifqa, "These are the last days, these are the end times, and this conflict between Islam and Christianity is going to grow greater. This conflict between good and evil is going to grow greater."
Apparently others made this connection, because Rifqa was interviewed by Lou Engle on Thursday September 24.
"A right-wing anti-Islam conference call organized by the National Day of Prayer Task Force received Rifqa Bary as a special, surprise guest. The man introducing her is Lou Engle from The Call."
I have to be honest with you... this audio scares me. When she begins to pray I genuinely became tense an anxious. I haven't felt that way since watching The Exorcist when I was a little kid. I'm not exaggerating. I don't think I can listen to it again. In fact... yeah I think it speaks for itself.
But I do want to address the content. Did you notice the story changed? In this testimony, taken in September she says, "This was the first time I would go to church and I went and I encountered the presence of the Lord and I was struck by His beauty and gave my heart to God. That was when I was 13. At this point, I knew what the consequences were, which was death, uh, my family and I knew it." But in the May video, she also describes her first visit to a church but says, "It was months later that I truly gave my life to God." She also says that she didn't know the consequences in May, but feared being disowned. Now she says that she didn't tell anyone because no one would believe her, but before she said that she told teachers and friends, but that story didn't pan out. Before, it was one phone call from a friend of Mohammed. Now phone calls and emails are pouring in from the mosque.
Rifqa is a writer, and a passionate one. As I writer myself I recognize the creative process. She is crafting a story that fascilitates her unique "Call" and appeals to her peers.
The Nazirite Uprising by Lou Engle
The Elijah Revolution: Joel's army coming of age
Rifqa Part II: The fake apostate Conspiracy
Rifqa Part III: the FDLE joke!
Rifqa Part IV: Raising the Nazirites
Rifqa Bary's inconsistencies
Apostasy Part II: Reasonable Doubt
Honor Killings: Lies, Damn lies and Statistics
Comments
would it be safe to say that you perceive the right wing as being "against" Islam and the left wing as being "for" Islam?
I am sorry but I see absolutely NOTHING WRONG with a call to save a nation from Her enemies, to restore a nation to its moral foundations and establish a worship and prayer movement, and to raise up a "voice" burning like a torch that can turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the rebellious back to the wisdom of the righteous ....
It's a pity that YOU DO
The 2nd audio of Rifqa praying is very disturbing...Is this praying? It is not at all peaceful and on the hand is unsettling...That alone is enough to convince me this girl is involved in a cult!
"Belief in Jesus is a central tenant of the Islamic creed." ??? How much rent does Jesus pay? What's the term of His lease?
O.K., seriously, even if you mean "tenet", you are being disingenuous because the Islamic belief in Jesus differs fundamentally from the Christian belief in Jesus. For Moslems, Jesus is only a prophet, scarcely better than other prophets. But, for Christians, Jesus is the Son of God. To Moslems, the belief that God has a son is the greatest possible sin in Islam, the only sin which Allah will never pardon. Therefore, the Koran calls Christians the most monstrous of blasphemers and the most wicked of people because they tell lies about Allah. Probably, Rifqa Bary was aware of this fundamentally hostile attitude of Moslems toward Christians. She may also have been aware of the Shariah-required death penalty for apostasy. Perhaps she was aware of the Hadith where Muhammad said: "If anyone changes his Islamic religion, kill him." Rifqa has good reason to be afraid!
wow, amazing. Clearly you don't understand many things about true Christianity. That is ok, because sometimes we just don't know what we just don't know. When Rifqa talks about prayer, she is refering to the difference between Islamic prayer and prayer as Christians know it. Obviously she knows that Muslims pray, but when one comes to understand what prayer truly is as described by Jesus in the New Testament, the difference is staggering. As one who comes from a Muslim background, I speak from experience. In Islam, prayer is compulsory and a duty. It is simply the recitation of the same words day in and day out. The Jesus of the Injeel (Bible) talks about prayer much differently. It is a conversation much like a child would have with a loving Father. This is a world of difference. Rifqa truly found out what prayer is when she embraced Jesus as described in the Injeel. This is a very different Jesus. Jesus described in the Quran is a different Jesus from the Injeel.
I agree with you on the second audio recording. I mean it sounds a little...well very wrong. I mean, personally I am not even sure that's her in the first place. In the second place some of those noises are reminicent of something and it's not clear meditative and earnest christian prayer... though it can involve the word missionary. ;-)
Seriously though. If Rifqa was abused it should be investigated in Ohio. If she is sent to Ohio she'll just be in foster care in Ohio instead of in Florida. Perhaps her parents may visit her with supervision by peace officers of some kind. I mean what...do some of these people think that Ohio is an Islamic Republic or do they not know it is a constituent state of these United States of America?
To Jamal jvanje.
Yes Islamic prayer Salat is compulsory. However it is not the only kind of islamic prayer there is Istikhara prayer for guidance, and their is also plain old dua, supplication to god which you can do anytime for any reason.
Dear Mr. Barker:
Please e-mail me. My email address is not hard to find in connection to this case. Just go to flabar.org
Wow, if everyone who posted here is who they say they are, I am in illustrious company. Mr. Jivanjee, as a Christian, I am always a bit troubled when some other Christian describes my experience with Christianity as being not quite up to snuff. I have listened to Rifqa's prayer, and while I am not willing to dismiss it out of hand, neither am I willing to say that this is what prayer is really about. I am not Catholic, however, I believe I understand the contemplative value of repitious "canned" prayer. I would suggest that prayer in this sense--whether Caholic or Muslim--is a means of opening mind and heart to God--and not so far different from the Pentecostal or Evangelical calling out of Jesus, or even speaking in tongues.
I am glad to see a possibility of Mr. McCarthy and Mr. Barker talking together. I have developed a great deal of respect for both of you in your careful (even prayerful?) consideration of this case.
Looks like Islamic political doctrine is reacting as it has too. Apostasy from Allah is about the worst thing a Muslim can do because it brings shame and dishonor to Rifqa's Family and her community.
The big problem with the Rifqa case is that she is a living apostate and making her case on the National stage. Non-Muslims will never understand b/c changing ones faith is no big deal - it is a personal matter.
In Islam though it is a traitorous act and the punishment is death for very good reason. The threat of death is a powerful motivator to keep Muslims in line and keep people from leaving Islam under most all circumstances.
Amina and Sara Said are a historical footnote as Islam says it should be. Rifqa though will be empowering Muslims who want to leave Islam both young and old. Once that floodgate opens Islam loses it's power over it's people both political and social. And this is the dirty little truth that scares the Islamists to the core of their being. Salams
I want to thank everyone for commenting, especially the corrections. I'm in Trinidad for a couple weeks at a retreat, so I wanted to get that out before I left and didn't do very well with the copy editing. My internet access is limited, but I want to at respond briefly. I do not perceive the left and "for" Islam. There is a difference between Islamic and Christian views on Jesus and Prayer but the Islamic view is not "Some random guy on a cross." Jamal, if you'd like to write something acedemic on the subject of prayer in Islam v. Christianity I'd like to read and respond to it, but my understanding is that Salah is a "contact" prayer and dua is a personal prayer in any language about anything from the heart. BTW, still interested in that interview, but you blocked me on facebook and twitter... something I said? If you guys want to talk about apostasy I suggest you read my articles on the subejct beforehand.
To some of the wise cracks above some info. How many people young and older have disappeared and taken into a country where honour killings are the rule, or done away with in the US, Britain, Germany etc. Yes indeed, by the hundreds. The command in the Cor'an is clear on the subject of apostasy. IF anyone as a Muslim converts to Christianity. KILL THEM. What is so difficult to understand by that statement in the Cor'an?
Honor Killing is real. I saw the results of it three times while I was a soldier and contractor in Iraq. Women, age 17 & and 19, were killed by their father because there were threats to abduct his daughters. He couldn't bear the thought of blemishing his family's honor, so he killed them. Days before me and Iraqi wife moved to the States, her cousin was killed by her cousin's brother because he discovered she was not a virgin. My wife watches a lot of Arabic Soap Operas on TV. They mostly end with a father murdering his daughter to clean his family's honor. Islam is disgusting.
The second video has very low sound clarity. Listening to it I noticed it is non continuous. Certain parts of the original track has been left out. Her prayer sounds weird to me but may be they speeded that part up. Isn't there another independent and uncut source of this recording?
Another thought for me is this: even if it is her prayer so what? It's public now. It an intrusion of her personal life. Doesn't she, I mean Rifqa, has a right to her own personal life. Who are these people calling in and putting this on YouTube? Low lives i think.
This girl is crazy she has made up so much stuff! The first time I saw the video of her with the pastor on youtube I burst out laughing I found her so ridiculous.
I'm not laughing at honor killing btw I know they happen all over but they are in no way as prevalent as people would have you believe. And honor killings are NOT allowed I repeat NOT allowed by Islam. Islam btw also says that you must follow the laws of your country i.e. her parents couldn't kill her anyway by Islamic law
The stuff this girl said about "my blood is halal" is such crap "halal" is term generally used for FOOD! What is she saying her parents will eat her?
Come on I am truly saddened that this little high school girl can pull the wool over so many peoples' eyes.
Great article! Way to show the other side of the story :D
i think this calls for a fake ex muslim video dont you think?
Rifqa Bary is one voice among many, and one face among many that we in the west have seen with our own eyes, and have learned with absolute certainty through their suffering and persecution that Islam is not a religion of peace. Islam calls for the death of apostates, the stoning of women for a plethora of infractions. Afghanistan not long ago called for the death of a man who converted to Christianity and the world reacted so much that they declared him insane and allowed him to flee the country. Cartoons caused world wide riots in every Muslim community. This is Islam. The lies a Muslim is permitted by the Q'uran to tell in the name of furthering Islam are disgusting and you sir are a liar. We see the truth and it cannot be disguised or hidden by apologists when every action undertaken on the behalf of Islam is with the intent to silence, intimidate, subjugate and murder those who disagree and who rebel against the hatred and elitism within Islam.
BIBLE:
Jesus said
"Do not think that I have come to send peace on earth. I did not come to
send peace, but a sword. I am sent to set a man against his father, a
daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her
mother-in-law" (Matthew 10:34-35)
BIBLE:
# promotes honor killings (Deuteronomy 22:15-21 [stone to death], Leviticus 21:9, Judges 11:36-40, Genesis 34:1-31);
# Promotes suicide attack (Judges 16:27-30)
# Stone to death who worships other gods (Deuteronomy 17:2-5);
# Kill who becomes an apostate or a heretic who dissents (Deuteronomy 13:8-9, 1 Timothy 1:20)
# Kill who entice a friend or family member to worship other gods (Deuteronomy 13:6-10);
# Requires veiling for all women (1 Corinthians 11:5);
# Treats women unjustly (1 Corinthians 11:5 and 14:34, 1 Timothy 2:11, Ecclesiasticus 25:18-19 & 33, Ecclesiastes 7:26, Genesis 3:16 & 19:8 & 21:10, Leviticus 27:6, Numbers 27:8-11 & 30, Deuteronomy 21:10-13 & 25:5-10 & 22:13-21, Judges 19:16-30);
# Believes in gender inequality (1 Timothy 2:11, 1 Corinthians14:34);
# Allows polygamy ( Exodus 21:10; 2 Samuel 5:13; 1 Chronicles 3:19 and 14:3; 1 Kings 11:3; 2 Chronicles 11:21; Deuteronomy 21:15; Genesis 4:19 & 16:2);
BIBLE
# Encourages beheading of enemies (1 Chronicles 10:9; 2 Kings 6:31, 2 Samuel 4:7 and 20:21; 2 Kings 10:6);
# Allows the murder of civilians in wartime (1 Samuel 15:3 and 15:18, Ezekiel 9:4-7, Hosea 13:16, Numbers 31, Isaiah 13:9 and 15-18);
# Injustice to a rape victim (Deuteronomy 22:28-29)
# Kill who has sex outside of marriage (Leviticus 20:10-13,1 Corinthians 5:5);
# Promotes incest (Genesis 19:30-36, Genesis 35:22, Genesis 38:15-30, 2 Samuel 13:5-14, 2 Samuel 16:21-23)
# Pornography (Ezekiel 16:23-34, Ezekiel 23:1-35, Proverbs 7:7-22, Song of Songs 1:12-13, Song of Songs 3:1-4, Song of Songs 4:1-7, Judges 16:1)
# Kill anyone working on the Sabbath (Exodus 31:15);
# Kill who violates the Sabbath (Numbers 15:35, 15:36);
# Kill one who curses one's parents (Leviticus 20:9):
# Stone to death the rebel against parents (Deuteronomy 21:18-21);
# Kill a witch, medium, or wizard (Exodus 22:18; Leviticus 20:27);
# Kill who engages in homosexual acts (Leviticus 20:13);
BIBLE
# Kill who is not a virgin on one's wedding night (Deuteronomy 22:20-21);
# Kill who marry a foreigner (Numbers 25:6-9);
# Encourages killing of enemies - Numbers 33:50-52, Deuteronomy 2:33-36, 3:3-6 and 7:2) Luke 19:26-27);
# Encourages abandoning the sick (Numbers 5:1-4);
# Supports punishment for the sins of your ancestors (Numbers 14:18);
# Encourages war (Matthew 10:34);
# Promotes blood feuds (Numbers 35:19-21);
# Is anti-Semitic (1 Thessalonians 2:14-16, Micah3:1-12, Hosea 8:1-14, Matthew 23:13-39, Acts 2:23, 3:13-15);
# Promotes slavery (Ephesians 6:5, Deuteronomy 20:10);
# Sanction being sold into slavery as a punishment for theft (Exodus 22:1-3);
# Admits that their own texts have been falsified (Jeremiah 8:8);
# Demands unquestioning obedience to political authority (Romans 13:1);
# Advocates suicide (Samuel 31:4-5);
# Encourages the slaughter prisoners of war (Deuteronomy 7:1-2);
# Encourages killing of strangers (Numbers 1:51, 3:10, 3:38, 18:7);
OLAF - Maybe you'd like to comment on my articles on apostasy.
Geronimo - No on is claiming that Honor Killings do not occur, what we are claiming is that they are cultural and not Islamic. Which shows are you talking about? That should repulsive!
Doubter - That's a good point. I don't know. I just took the recording from other news sources which had used it. If it comes out that this recording was edited to misrepresent her I will certainly retract this article.
Mo Khan - The fake ex Muslim videos are your department. Although Rifqa is a real ex Muslim. Still Email me if you get a chance. I'd like to discuss something with you and your you tube message isn't getting through for some reason.
Siylencedogood - You know that I know that you're lying.
paxglobal - While I appreciate the effort, I'm not interested in hosting a forum for verse fighting. Also, please don't cut and paste comments from other places. If you'd like to make a point engage in the discussion.
Can you answer honestly the question of what the hadith says about "apostasy" (irtidad) and how Muslim jurists up until the 19th century by an overwhelming majority interpreted it to mean someone who was once a Muslim and converted to something else had to be killed. These words can be found in the mouth of Abu Bakr. By focusing on the "cult" quality of Pentacostal Christianity, which is debatable, you are being dishonest, or are you the kind of Muslim who practices taqiyya? You can't continue to hide behind the usual "they're persecuting us because we're Muslims" rhetoric, when what she is saying is her interpretation of your own texts. And, of course, there have been recent famous cases, such as the one in Afghanistan a few years ago, when a convert had to flee because of an official state death sentence. Admit it. Muslims have issues just like Christians do. The Bible says things about behavior that is embarrassing. So do the hadiths. The real question is daddy's beliefs.
Fairminded observer– I linked two articles about apostasy above. I suggest you post your questions there after reading my position. But my position is irrelevant to this case, which it's a separate article. What is relevant, as you said, is what Mohammad believes. I don’t believe Rifqa’s in danger, but I support her emancipation because she does. I don’t know anything about "taqiyya" except what the jihad watch and atlas shrugs says. It’s not part of my beliefs. If it is some secret Islamic teaching they’ve kept it secret from me. I’m not discussing Pentacostal Christianity, or any mainstream Christianity. I’m discussing the specific people she’s surrounded with who identify Muslims writ large as their enemy and imagine some kind of divine intervention at work in defeating them in some kind of battle of Armageddon. What is persecution rhetoric? Can you quote something I’ve said that qualifies? I don’t understand.
Mr. Barker.. you seem to have it all figured out. I'm actually on my way over to a cult-psychiatrist, I never knew I was too zealous for the Lord... Jesus could have used a good one too. You know Him, zealous, zealous, zealous!
Now I see why Craig McCarthy wanted you(Mr. Barker) to contact him after the below statements. Seems you both agree we should be nice religious boys and girls, without allowing passion to get in the way. I take it McCarthy's angle now is to demonize those who do. Oh thats right, John the bapist was demonized too and that Jesus guy was a drunkard.
(From Newspaper article)
McCarthy, the Orlando attorney who represented Rifqa's mother, was ambivalent about those who have taken up Rifqa's cause.
"It is not a unanimously held belief that these people are orthodox Christians, which to me is a double tragedy for Rifqa, because if she wants to be a Christian, that's fantastic," McCarthy said. "I don't think she's necessarily being taught the faith in a healthy way."
There can be no denial that islamic sharia law and an extremely significant number of islamists around the world do support the death penalty for those who choose to leave islam.
Rifqa's case is even more grave because of the international attention her case attracted, which shined a bright spotlight on islam's embarrassing and barbaric rules on how to handle apostasy.
Given this context, authorities need to proceed with extreme caution when evaluating these apostasy cases. IF ISLAM WERE TRULY A PEACEFUL RELIGION, NON OF THIS WOULD BE HAPPENING.
Islam's chickens continue coming back to roost.
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