Court Postpones Child Custody Verdict

(Compass) – An Islamic court in Jordan postponed until January 10 a final verdict on Christian widow Siham Qandah’s legal battle to prevent a Muslim guardian from taking custody of her two minor children. Today’s delay is the second postponement within the past three weeks on the drawn-out lawsuit. Qandah said she did not know why her lawyers had asked for the delay, although so far as she knew, the courts still did not have any address or direct contact information for the guardian, Abdullah al-Muhtadi. Al-Muhtadi had refused to attend a previous hearing on November 23, despite a summons from the Al-Abdali Sharia Court in Amman requiring his presence. Instead, he sent word to the judge that he feared for his life if he came to the court. “I do not know what he is trying to accomplish, since this is a lie,” a Christian friend of Qandah told Compass. Al-Muhtadi is Qandah’s estranged brother who converted to Islam as a teenager. Qandah has appealed to King Abdullah II and Queen Rania for a just resolution of her case.