(Compass) – An Islamic court in Jordan has rejected a teenage Christian girls lawsuit to cancel her Muslim uncles legal guardianship. The June 20 ruling was a setback for Christian widow Siham Qandah, whose estranged brother Abdullah al-Muhtadi has been trying for six years to take custody of her daughter Rawan, 15, and son Fadi, 14, to raise as Muslims. Amman s Al-Abdali Sharia Court had ordered an investigation into allegations that al-Muhtadi had embezzled nearly $20,000 of the childrens U.N.-allocated trust fund, which they received after their father was killed while on a peacekeeping mission with the Jordanian army. Judge Mahmud Zghul said he ruled in favor of the Muslim guardian because all withdrawals from the childrens trust account have been duly authorized by a judge, as required. This judge knows that if he rules against Sihams brother, other judges will be in trouble, a source in Amman told Compass. Now Siham is in real trouble. Qandah and her children have gone into several rounds of hiding while awaiting a judicial solution to the custody battle. The courts have blacklisted the children from leaving Jordan and international treaties prevent most nations from offering them visas.
