Jordan (MNN) — A Jordanian man has fled to Europe and applied for asylum there after being asked to renounce his Christian faith, according to a Voice of the Martyrs Canada report.
40-year-old Mohammad Abbad was attacked by Muslim militants earlier this year which put him in the hospital for a night. While there, he was handcuffed to his bed. Abbad's son and another Muslim convert to Christianity were also victims of the attack. During Abbad's stay in the hospital, his own father submitted charges of apostasy against him.
Just a few days after that attack, Abbad was asked to renounce his faith in a court hearing. He refused and fled the country the next day with his Jordanian Christian wife. Since then, his next hearing was postponed because of his absence, but his father is now applying for custody
for the children while Abbad and his wife are out of the country.
The couple moved about in several Arab countries for about two weeks and are now in a European country hoping for asylum. The government is in the process of annulling the Christian couple's marriage, awaiting the delivery of their marriage certificate from Abbad's father.
In Jordan, Christians and Jews are allowed to worship as long as they do not try to convert Muslims. Converts are usually still considered Muslim by the government and report social and government discrimination.
