MIDDLE EAST CONCERN

PRESS RELEASE – 19 September 2003

A court ordered Siham Qandah on Wednesday September 17 to hand over her children to her Muslim brother in three days or face 30 days imprisonment. Mrs. Qandah, a Christian widow in Jordan, and her two children have always been Christians. This is the latest act in a long running legal battle.

The Civil Court of First Instance in Irbid on Wednesday denied a petition to postpone the order for her imprisonment, first issued on January 16, 2003, while a court case in Amman to remove guardianship from the brother is pending. Instead the judge gave Mrs. Qandah three days to comply with the order to hand over her children or face imprisonment.

Mrs. Qandah’s troubles began in November 1994 when her husband, an army officer, died leaving her with a daughter and a son, then aged 7 and 5. When she applied for the army widow’s pension she was informed that her husband had converted to Islam in 1991, a claim she contests.

Under Jordanian law Mrs. Qandah, a Christian, could not inherit from a Muslim. Therefore the benefit would be paid to her children, legally Muslims like their father. However, they were minors and so required a Muslim guardian to administer the money. Mrs. Qandah asked her estranged brother, who had converted to Islam many years previously, to be the children’s guardian. The brother agreed and was duly appointed in April 1995. Subsequently he rarely paid the money to the widow, leaving her with no income to support herself and her children.

In 1998 the brother sought custody of the children on the grounds that, legally, they were Muslims but the mother continued to raise them as Christians. In June 2001 the Civil Court in Irbid ruled in the brother’s favor, a decision upheld through two appeals.

International attention to the case in 2002 resulted in Jordanian intelligence officials reassuring Mrs. Qandah in May and August 2002 that they would do their best to resolve her situation. Two members of the Jordanian royal family, Prince Hassan and Prince Merad, later made efforts to help find a solution for Mrs. Siham and her children.

The brother went to court again seeking that Mrs. Qandah be imprisoned until she hands over her children. Such an order was granted on 16th January 2003. An appeal was lodged but later denied.

In March it was discovered that Mrs. Qandah’s brother had withdrawn money from the account held for the children without justification. A court case was started in Amman to remove custody from the brother on these grounds. A petition was filed with the Civil Court in Irbid to postpone the order for her imprisonment while this case is pending. Last Wednesday this petition was denied.

Mrs. Siham refuses to believe her husband converted to Islam, because he had never mentioned this to her or anyone else in his family. Also, there is an irregularity in his conversion document. Dated 29th July 1991, it is signed by two Muslim witnesses (as required) but not by the husband himself. Where his signature should be there is merely an ‘X’ mark. Further, his death certificate stated that he was Christian and he was buried in a Christian cemetery, which would not be allowed if he were known to be a Muslim. Even the Civil Court in its ruling acknowledged “no one was aware of his conversion to Islam”.

MEC is a co-operative effort by concerned Christians in the Middle East focusing on the need for Middle Eastern authorities to ensure the rights of all who choose to call themselves Christian