Custody Case Hinges on Conflicting Testimonies

(Compass) – A Jordanian judge heard opposing testimony from Christian widow Siham Qandah last week, calling her to the witness stand on October 21 over the disputed use of her children’s trust funds by their Muslim guardian. Abdullah al-Muhtadi had testified in court to Judge Mahmud Zghul on October 10 that his massive withdrawals of more than $17,000 from the children’s orphan trust funds were legitimate. “I told the judge that I had never received any money from the guardian,” Siham told Compass yesterday. “He has never even visited our family for the past 10 years,” Qandah said. “I told the judge that I don’t care about the trust fund … I don’t want it or anything else, just my children.” Al-Muhtadi, Qandah’s estranged brother who converted to Islam as a teenager, has been trying to gain custody of her two minor children through Jordan ’s Islamic court system. When the guardian failed to appear in court on October 21, Judge Zghul heard Qandah’s testimony and then set November 9 for a final hearing on the case.