Freedom To Believe
The daughter of a British imam has been in hiding from her family for 15 long years, chased from home to home as they tried to track her down. He offense: converting to Christianity. The penalty her family wants to exact:
The daughter of a British imam is living under police protection after receiving death threats from her father for converting to Christianity.
The 31-year-old, whose father is the leader of a mosque in Lancashire, has moved house an astonishing 45 times after relatives pledged to hunt her down and kill her.
The British-born university graduate, who uses the pseudonym Hannah for her own safety, said she renounced the Muslim faith to escape being forced into an arranged marriage when she was 16.
She has been in hiding for more than a decade but called in police only a few months ago after receiving a text message from her brother.
In it, he said he would not be held responsible for his actions if she failed to return to Islam.
Officers have agreed to offer her protection in case of an attempt on her life.
Last night the woman said: "I'm determined to live my life the way I want to because I should have that freedom in this country.
"If you make the choice to come to this country, as my parents did from Pakistan, you have to abide by the laws of this country and that means respecting the freedoms of other people.
The woman is British, born, raised and educated. And she is in fear for her life. For daring to practice her religion. The Bishop of Rochester, Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, warned yesterday that the very freedom to believe is under attack by things like this. He's right. Until political correctness reared its ugly, ugly head, this thing would have been stomped on, quite firmly. No longer. Now, they give the victim of 15 years of torment a special phone number to call if she feels threatened. Maybe the police will show up in time to stop it - but what are the odds?
The west is the birthplace of freedom of religion. Don't let it become the graveyard of it.
Religion, World news | Gaius Thursday, 6 December , 2007
