Meriam Ibrahim and her husband and children are getting little support from the Obama administration for her plight, both during her pregnancy and after she recently gave birth to a little girl named Maya. Now, her own devout Muslim brother says she should be executed for her Christian faith.
Al Samani Al Hadi said that they are “Muslim people,” and that Ibrahim should be executed if she refuses to denounce Christianity.
The London Telegraph has more about his comments in a new interview with CNN:
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.
SIGN THE PETITION! Save Meriam Ibrahim, Don’t Hang her to Death for Her Faith
“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.
On May 15, Ibrahim was sentenced to 100 lashes and death by hanging for marrying a Christian and refusing to renounce her faith. Although she was raised by an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian mother, Ibrahim is considered Muslim because her estranged father was of Islamic faith.
She has been held in the Omdurman Federal Women’s Prison in North Khartoum with her 20-month-old son since January, and gave birth to a daughter in prison on May 27.
Ibrahim’s husband, American biochemical engineer Daniel Wani, was visiting Sudan in June 2013 to secure U.S. admission for Meriam and their son, Martin, when Al Hadi filed apostasy charges against her. Nations across the globe have condemned her sentence.
Without intervention, Ibrahim will be executed when her daughter turns two years old.
Meriam gave birth recently to a baby girl named Maya and she continues to languish in a notoriously rank Sudanese prison with her 20-month-old son and her newborn daughter. Hundreds of thousands of people have signed petitions urging Sudan to free Meriam or urging their own governments to speak out on her behalf.
Just a day after the first pictures emerged of Meriam Ibrahim’s newborn baby named Maya, her husband was pleading with people around the world to speak up on her behalf so she is not executed for her faith.
The pregnant Christian woman gave birth in chains while in a Sudanese prison because of her Christian faith. Ibrahim’s legs were chained as she gave birth in Sudanese jail and the 27-year-old gave birth as she was shackled to the floor. Her husband was initially refused entry to jail but was eventually allowed in with lawyer.
In an email to LifeNews, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins was critical of the Obama administration for not doing more to speak out on her behalf as other governments worldwide have done.
“Earlier this week, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson told Congressman Trent Franks (R-AZ) that he wasn’t sure he knew about her case but promised to look into the possibility of granting safe haven in the United States. Since then, he has said nothing more publicly,” he said.
“The Obama administration should grant immediate refugee status to Meriam and her children so that they will have the option of finding safe haven in the United States. Family Research Council joins thousands of Americans in demanding President Obama offer a safe haven to this suffering American family,” concluded Perkins.
David Christensen, the Vice President for Government Affairs, is urging Americans to contact Congress on Meriam’s behalf.
“Please contact your Member of Congress and urge them to support H. Res. 601, introduced this week by Congressman Trent Franks of Arizona, calling for the release of imprisoned Sudanese Christian Meriam Ibrahim,” he said.
“Meriam has spent months in a Sudanese prison and has been sentenced to death — all for refusing to recant her Christian faith. Just this week, she gave birth to her second child — a daughter — while still held in jail. Despite being married to an American citizen and the fact that her children are also eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship, Meriam’s case has received little attention from our Department of State or the U.S. Embassy in Sudan,” he told LifeNews. “That’s why H. Res. 601 also calls upon this Administration to act now on behalf of Meriam and to move quickly to grant her and her children refuge in the United States.”
“Sudan’s egregious treatment of Meriam represents the type of human rights abuses our country has long publically condemned. It’s important that Members of Congress act now to pressure the Executive Branch to act and to signal their support for religious freedom and human rights. Please contact your Representative and urge them to co-sponsor H. Res. 601 today,’ he concluded.
