After an Iraqi Christian mother and daughters ordered to convert to Islam, International Christian Concern President Jeff King expresses concerns about Iraq’s lack of democracy

NOHADRA, Iraq—   Iraq’s Personal Status Law mandates that children under 18 adopt Islam if one of their parents converts.

An Iraq court has forced a mother, Elvin Joseph, and her three daughters to convert from Christianity to Islam.

Joseph lives in Nohadra (Duhok). She is married to a Christian man, and has 3 Christian children. All her official documents state that she is Christian, and her marriage is registered under the church affair law.

Joseph stated that she was not aware of the regulation until recently.

Her husband, Sami Patros, declared that the Law affected the whole family.

“At the National Identity Card Office, they told me that my wife’s mother converted into Islam. Therefore, my wife should also convert into Islam, and my children’s religion also should be changed from Christianity to Islam,” Patros added.

President of the International Christian Concern (ICC) Jeff King expressed his concerns about Iraq’s lack of democracy.

He declared that, given the U.S. efforts to bring democracy to Iraq, Joseph’s court ruling should be brought to the attention of the U.S. Department of State.

“The U.S. spent $800 billion and lost 4,500 military personnel across two wars in an effort to bring democracy to Iraq. I would suggest that this latest incident of the Iraqi government would warrant the attention and action of the highest levels of the State Dept. Perhaps we could impress on them that we would like to see just a small return on that investment by restraining their errant colleagues in the Iraqi court,” King stated.

King has served as ICC’s president since 2003 and is one of the world’s top experts on religious persecution.