Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Detroit Muslim Says His Daughter Kept From Islam By State Caseworker
Yesterday's Detroit News reports that on Monday a suit was filed in a Michigan federal district court by a Muslim father who is in a custody fight over his daughter. The suit claims that the state's Department of Human Services and a local church are conspiring to prohibit his daughter from practicing Islam. Abraham Ben-Abbad of Dearborn alleges that a caseworker told his former wife that she could ignore a court order and keep their 13-year old daughter from visiting her father during Ramadan and on other religious holidays. He also claims that the caseworker permitted the pastor of Dearborn Assembly of God Church to help plan his daughter's future. The lawsuit claims that the church's pastor, Trey Hancock, operates an outreach program for American women married to Muslim men, and that his ministry is directed at converting Muslims to Christianity.