NO CHANCE AN "INTERFAITH" DISCUSSION WOULD WORK FOR BARY FAMILY

The New York Times is telling that a caseworker in Ohio has said Rifqa Bary and her parents/siblings (brother, to be more precise, but is there another whose existence wasn't clear?) must talk about their religious differences:

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- A runaway Christian convert and her Muslim family must listen to each other's views about religion if they are to reunite, a possibility that appears in jeopardy since the girl continues to refuse any contact with her parents or siblings, a caseworker says.

A case-management plan filed Monday said Rifqa Bary and her parents should hear what each has to say about Islam and Christianity as a step toward a possible reunification. But the plan, written by a government caseworker, also said ''severe differences'' exist between the 17-year-old girl and her parents over what led Rifqa to run away to Florida over the summer.

The girl has said she feared her father would harm or kill her for leaving Islam. Her father has denied the claim.

''Parents concern is that Rifqa has a false perception of their religious beliefs and that her understanding creates a barrier to reunification,'' wrote Margaret Shirk, a Franklin County Children Services Board caseworker. ''Rifqa's concern is that her parents do not understand her practice of Christianity.''

Clearly, this part is downplaying the deeper problems at hand, to say nothing of performing moral equations.

Bary's parents, Mohamed and Aysha Bary, agree with their daughter being in foster care for the moment, but are concerned about her and would like a family relationship with her again, according to the plan.

No, they are bothered about their alleged honor, that's what, because she performed apostasy, and that's why they want her back, so they can do worse.

Shirk's plan says Rifqa Bary has made it clear she wants no contact with her parents or her brothers. The girl talked to her brothers on the phone while she was in Florida but since then decided she wants no contact with them either, the plan said.

''Rifqa has been insistent about not having any contact with her parents and now with her siblings for what she has expressed for healing purposes,'' the plan said. ''Rifqa continues to express fear about returning home.''

If her brother, if the prior news I'd found makes any sense, gave away the location of one of her foster residences, and if he was responsible for damaging one of her eyes, then it's clear why she now doesn't want contact with him, even if they were to meet in a location other than her current foster housing.

The plan also calls for finding other relatives or nonrelatives that Rifqa could be placed with if reunification with her parents isn't a possibility. The goal is to bring them together by August 10, when the girl turns 18, after which she would be on her own and could leave foster care.

The girl's family is originally from Sri Lanka and emigrated in 2000 to seek medical help for Rifqa, who had lost sight in her right eye when she fell and struck a toy airplane at home.

Oh really? Here's where they do not make it clear whether any claim was made that her brother(s) half-blinded her years ago. Coming from the NYT, that figures.

Now it's to be hoped that, in the end, Rifqa will get a foster home where she can spend the next year. But then, one has to wonder if bringing them "together" is a good idea either, as what if they were able to use that as an opportunity to commit the honor murder they could be plotting? Hope the authorities in the case are going to maintain proper security in any meeting to be, as I don't think they'd want to be blamed for a horror story taking place.

And if an interfaith discussion is what the caseworker has in mind, believe me, it's simply not workable when the Religion of Peace is one of them. Atlas Shrugs doesn't think so either.

Update: here's another related item about one of the Bary's lawyers, a member of unindicted co-conspirator CAIR.