A report by the American Center for Law and Justice caught my attention a while back. The eye-catching headline reads: “A Victory in Defending Christian Convert in U.S.” It tells the story of how a 17-year old Muslim girl, known simply as Nishan, living in Ohio with her father became the subject, of an arranged marriage in 2007 during a trip to Pakistan after her high school graduation. She then returned to Ohio, and subsequently fell in love with another man. She converted to Christianity, and her father took her to court alleging that she made a false statement to get a marriage license in Ohio. Now a Ohio judge hearing the case has voided the arranged Muslim marriage.
The story began in 2007 right after her high school graduation. Her father took her to Karachi, Pakistan. There he arranged for Nishan to undergo a “nikah” ceremony, in effect a Muslim betrothal ceremony, with a Muslim man whom she has never met before. Three days after that, father and daughter returned to Ohio. The marriage was never consummated.
In court, Nishan was represented by Larry Crain, senior counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice. Larry Crain said of Nishan: “She remained confused about the ceremony conducted during her trip to Pakistan and later took precautionary steps to annul her vows by preparing an affidavit for the U.S. consulate in Pakistan in August of 2007. She gave her affidavit to her father who assured her he would send the necessary paperwork to the consulate. Her family never again mentioned her alleged Paksitani husband and Nishan believed that all necessary steps had been taken to annul any alleged marriage vows.”
Nothing happened since then. Fast forward to 2009. Nishan converted to Christianity, but dared not reveal her conversion to her family. Nishan feared that her family members might cause her harm if they knew about her conversion from Muslim to Christianity.
Then she got married last month to a man she started dating when she converted to Christianity. Her family was informed of her conversion and marriage. That’s when Nishan’s father became angry at both her conversion and marriage. He then lodged a complaint that Nishan had obtained her marriage license in the U.S. by false pretense, since she is already married in Pakistan. The father also allegedly assaulted, threatened, or otherwise abused Nishan.
During the court hearing, Larry Crain’s team of legal counsels argued: “The fact is that Nishan never knowingly or intentionally misstated her marital status on her application … the fact is that even if Nishian’s own attempts to nullify her Pakistani marriage were insufficient, her conversion to Christianity in 2009 effectively annulled her partial marriage pursuant to Islamic law, which provides that if either spouse leaves Islam … and the two never consummated their union, the ‘nikah’ is immediately annulled.”
During cross-examination, Nishan’s father denied assaulting, threatening or otherwise abusing her. When asked if he had threatened Nishan that a fatwa (an Islamic religious ruling) could be issued against her, the father replied that he did not understand the meaning of a fatwa. The judge said his testimony was “not believable”.
After listening to testimonies from Nishan, her father, and the man who was supposed to be her Pakistani husband, the judge said that Nishan’s version of events was “credible”.
The judge then ruled that the arranged marriage is not valid as Nishan has now converted to Christianity and has never consummated that marriage. This ruling effectively cleared Nishan of the charge that she made false statements regarding her marital status shen applying for a marriage license in Ohio with the man who is now her husband.
And what does the American Center for Law and Justice feel about this case? Its report said: “This is an important case involving the rights of a former Muslim to accept and convert to Christianity. And this decision no doubt will be watched closely by other Christian converts in this country who cannot publicly testify about their conversion to Christianity for fear of facing retaliation – and even harm – from their own family members.”
Earlier posts
German Muslim Woman Turns Apostate
Saudi Arabia – When Male Guardianship Is Abused
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