Ignorant Mumbo Jumbo

The cold, hard and inhuman face of religious fundamentalism is evident in this article from The Telegraph as the brother of Meriam Ibrahim invokes mumbo jumbo and claims of witchcraft to justify the murder of his sister if she does not renounce her Christian beliefs.

Now it sounds like something out of the Salem Witch trials and that's because certain parts of the Islamic world would drag us all back to medieval times, if they could.

But the striking political issue is that Sudan is a full member of the United Nations which has a charter about human rights and values, the last time I looked anyway.    

Meriam Ibrahim 'should be executed,' her brother says

Meriam Ibrahim "should be executed," her brother has said, if she refuses to abandon her Christian beliefs

Al Samani Al Hadi said his sister should be put to death if she does not 'return' to Islam Photo: CNN/SBS



By Harriet Alexander - The Telegraph

Meriam Ibrahim, the woman sentenced to death in Sudan for apostasy, was “given a magic potion” to bewitch her into leaving Islam – and should be executed for doing so, her brother has said.

Al Samani Al Hadi Mohamed Abdullah said that he denounced his sister to the authorities because his family are “Muslim people.” He claimed that Ms Ibrahim, 27, was born as Abrar Al Hadi but changed her name when she was drugged by her husband, Daniel Wani. And he said that, if she did not return to the devout family fold, she should be hanged.

“It’s one of two; if she repents and returns to our Islamic faith and to the embrace of our family, then we are her family and she is ours,” he said.

"But if she refuses she should be executed," he told CNN.

His comments will fuel speculation that the denouncing of Ms Ibrahim was part of a family feud. An American NGO which is paying for the legal costs has claimed that Ms Ibrahim was targeted by jealous relatives who wanted to gain control of her clutch of successful small businesses - a supermarket, farm and beauty salon.

Ms Ibrahim, a mother of two, has been in prison in Khartoum since January on charges of apostasy – or abandoning her faith. During her trial earlier this month she told the court that she was never a Muslim, as her Muslim father left the family when she was six – and she was subsequently raised as a Christian.

But the court ruled against her, and in Sudan, which has been governed by Sharia law since 1983, apostasy is a crime punishable by death. On May 15 she was sentenced to hang – with the court allowing a two-year stay of execution after she delivered her baby, Maya, born last week.

Ms Ibrahim has sworn that she will not renounce her Christian beliefs, her husband told The Telegraph. “She is doing OK,” he said.

But Mr Al Hadi is adamant that she should be punished – and accuses Mr Wani of forcing her conversion.

“Her now-husband Daniel – this 'priest’ – he gave her magic potions drink,” he said. “Or something that allowed him to convert her.”

Mr Al Hadi said that his sister cut off all ties with the family and disappeared – until, Mr Al Hadi said, “we discovered it was because they were hiding her in their house.”

He continued: “When she was caught, we our sister’s face was different, the way she looked at us was different.

“She was bewitched, like an unconscious person. She didn’t know any of us. When she stood in front of the court she said her name was Meriam Yahya Ibrahim. We were shocked by that name.”

And he said that the family would “not deny Islamic law” – even if that meant the execution of his sister. “This is what the law states and we will never allow any distortion of that.”

He added: “If she dies we will have enforced God’s word. The solution is that she is executed. As we have been ordered by our Prophet, peace be upon him: 'He who barters his religion you must kill.’

“The world should not involve itself in our family affairs. This is a family and these are our private affairs. We don’t want outside involvement.”

Her sentencing caused outrage around the world - with David Cameron, Hillary Clinton and Tony Blair all calling for her release.

Ms Ibrahim's lawyers have appealed against the sentence, and are currently awaiting a verdict. They have also taken the case to the African Commission on Human Rights.

Reports at the weekend that her release was imminent were dismissed by the government in Sudan.

But President Omar al-Bashir, who returned to work this week after an operation on his knee, was said to be considering issuing a presidential pardon.

On Wednesday, a Sudanese newspaper, Alyoum Altali, reported that a representative from the ministry of foreign affairs visited the president and told him that the case was harming Sudan's repututation. Last week the same newspaper reported an interview with The Telegraph, in which Mr Wani told how his wife had been forced to give birth in a clinic in the prison, rather than in hospital, and with her legs still shackled.

"They wrote about how a campaign was starting in the UK, and talked about Western involvement to save her," said Elshareef Ali Mohammed, one of the couple's lawyers. "They said that it was damaging the reputation of Sudan."