STATUS OF SIHAM QANDAH CHILD CUSTODY CASE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 003253

SIPDIS

IRF/DRL FOR DAVID ABRAHMSON

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/16/2012
TAGS: JO PGOV PHUM SOCI
SUBJECT: STATUS OF SIHAM QANDAH CHILD CUSTODY CASE


Classified By: AMBASSADOR EDWARD W. GNEHM. REASONS: 1.5 (B) and (D)


1. (C) SUMMARY. Post has reviewed the case of Jordanian
widow Siham Qandah and her children. At issue are the
custody of the children, their sectarian affiliation and
their religious upbringing. Qandah's husband converted to
Islam from Christianity (thus converting the children to
Islam as a matter of Sharia law) before committing suicide in

1994. A Jordanian Sharia court later ruled that custody of
the children belongs to Qandah's Muslim brother. However,
the GOJ has not enforced the judgment, and, according to
activists working on the case, a recent meeting between
Qandah and a GOJ official left Qandah confident that her
children will be permitted to remain with her and be raised
as Christians. The GOJ has taken some administrative steps
to implement its obligations under Article 18 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
These steps should ease the effect of future such cases.
Post will continue to monitor this case.
END SUMMARY.

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BACKGROUND
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2. (C) Siham Qandah and Hussam Jibreen had two children,
Fadi and Rawan, in the late 1980s. The children were born,
raised, and registered as Christians. In 1991, Hussam
converted to Islam; Fadi and Rawan, as minor children of a
convert to Islam, then became Muslim under Sharia law.
Hussam committed suicide in 1994. In 1995, the Southern
Irbid Sharia court gave Siham's brother -- also a convert to
Islam -- guardianship of the children. At the same time, the
court awarded custody to Siham, but on the condition that the
children receive an education in Islam. In 1998, Siham,s
brother brought a civil court suit seeking custody of the
children on the grounds that Siham had failed to raise them
as Muslims. The court agreed and transferred custody rights
to Siham,s brother. Appeals have been exhausted and the
judgment is now ripe for enforcement. The children are
currently aged 12 and 14. There are no further avenues for
appeal, and any relevant, subsequent changes in law are
unlikely to be applied retroactively. Nonetheless, the GOJ
has not enforced the ruling.

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SHARIA LAW TRUMPS CIVIL LAW
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3. (U) Within the sphere of related civil law, there are
indications that the GOJ is moving toward a more pragmatic
system of rules to deal with families that have children
and/or parents of different religions. The Civil Status and
Passport Department (CSPD) has altered its internal rules and
procedures so that the pre-born children of a Christian man
who converts to Islam retain their status as Christians for
purpose of civil registration. Only children born after the
father converts to Islam are delineated as Muslims for the
purposes for the CSPD. According to officials at the
Ministry of Interior, CSPD,s internal rules are meant to
embody the spirit of Article 18 of the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),which encourages
respect for parental rights to raise children in conformity
with their religions convictions. We have learned that the
provisions of Article 18 may soon be codified more formally
in the civil law. However, notwithstanding the positive
changes in regulation, Jordanian conflict of law rules
provide that Sharia law trumps conflicting civil law or
regulations on matters within the province of Sharia law
(i.e. status of a person as a Muslim or a non-Muslim).

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QANDAH, FRIGHTENED, REACHES OUT TO NGOS, CONGRESS
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4. (C) Following the string of court defeats, Qandah
contacted and appealed to the UK-based NGO Middle East
Concern (MEC). Daniel Hoffman, Director of MEC, has been in
direct contact with the Department and Post regarding
Qandah's situation. In a March 12, 2002 e-mail, Hoffman
reported that Qandah was desperate in the face of an expected
GOJ enforcement of the Sharia judgment. Hoffman reported
that Qandah's pastor and others would seek to assist her in
her effort to keep her children. On May 12, the office of
Congressman Joseph Pitts contacted PolOff and registered the
Congressman's concern about the case. In addition, PolOff
has received inquiries about the case from local AMCITS, who
may have heard of the case through the local Christian
community grapevine.

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QANDAH REPORTS MEETING WITH GOJ OFFICIAL, FEARS ALLAYED
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5. (C) On May 23, Hoffman contacted POLOFF and gave an
update on the case. Hoffman stated that Qandah had been in
contact with him, and that she had recently met with a person
claiming to be a Jordanian security official. The official
told Qandah that he was going to be working with her on this
case and assured her that nobody was going to take her
children from her. Hoffman reported that this meeting lasted
an hour, and that Qandah was extremely relieved afterwards.

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COMMENT
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6. (C) This case has caught the attention of European NGOs,
local AMCITs, the local Christian community, and members of
Congress. By not enforcing the Sharia court ruling, we
believe the GOJ is trying to find a way to permit Siham
Qandah's children to stay with her and be raised in their
mother's faith without directly challenging an otherwise
legal and proper court ruling. The GOJ is also making
regulatory reform (it tells us) to strengthen its
implementation of obligations under Article 18 of the ICCPR.
We will continue to monitor the situation, but for the
present, the GOJ seems to have arrived at an equitable
solution.
Gnehm