6/8/2024 Iraq (International Christian Concern) — Although she is a married woman, an Iraqi court recently told Elvin Joseph that she and her three children should convert to Islam because Joseph’s mother had converted to Islam when Joseph was 15.

The court cited Iraq’s Personal Status Law, which states that if a parent converts to Islam, any children younger than 18 should also convert.

“I am Christian,” Joseph recently told Rudaw Media Network. “I am married to a Christian man. I have three Christian kids. My education was in our language. All my official documents are Christian. Our marriage is registered by the church.”

The law, passed in 1959, also states that if one spouse converts to Islam, Sharia should be applied. This would mean Joseph would not have the right to marry a Christian man.

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