Posted on 03/11/2007 12:14:11 AM PST by ColdWarNavyVet_dirsup
Protesters support dad in fight against DHS
By: Khalil AlHajal / The Arab American News
Taylor — Protesters picketed outside of the Western Wayne County Children and Family Services office on Friday, in an effort to bring attention to a federal lawsuit filed by a Jordanian American man in January.
Plaintiff Abraham Ben-Abbad filed the suit against the Michigan Department of Human Services claiming that officials have denied him court-ordered visitation rights with his daughter.
He also alleges that the Department has allowed his ex-wife to involve a local church in official decision-making processes, preventing the 13 year old girl from seeing her father and being exposed to her Muslim heritage.
Parents for Children, a group that advocates throughout the state for parents who have been stripped of custody of their children, organized the demonstration.
"We just want to get our message out… to let them know that we're not going away," said Parents for Children founder Dan Wilson.
The group claims to have influenced cases in the past by demonstrating in front of courthouses and offices in several Michigan counties.
Wilson said that Friday's protest was particularly dramatic because it involves "Muslims and Christians marching together for a cause."
Attorney Janet Frederick-Wilson, also of Parents for Children, said that the actions of government agents involved in the case were probably more motivated by money than by religious issues. The group claims that grants awarded to agencies and performance bonuses awarded to Children's Protection agents cause them to "twist facts and blow situations out of proportion."
"They target minorities because they often have the least resources to fight them with… and they take advantage of cases with divorce issues and domestic discord."
Ben-Abbad's ex-wife has accused him of abuse.
Islam Kayed, the child's stepmother, who picketed in freezing temperatures along with about 25 others from local mosques and Parents for Children, said that they would "do whatever it takes to get the point across."
"Her father loves her so much and we just want her to come home," she said about the girl.
Department of Human Services representatives haven't commented on the protest as of press time. In the past when asked about the lawsuit, a spokesperson has said that though she could not comment on the specifics of the litigation, "any issues of religious preference are taken seriously by the Department and by our Children's Services staff," and that agencies are required to take into account the religions of both parents of a child.
Ben-Abbad and others have also distributed flyers "warning" local Muslims about the involved church, the Dearborn Assembly of God, accusing its lead pastor, Trey Hancock, of engaging in manipulative, overzealous, youth-targeted missionary tactics.
Some at the demonstration gave detailed accounts of the Hancock family and church members "drawing in people in weak positions," and being "sneaky" about their intentions of converting Muslims.
Hancock has declined to comment on any of the allegations.
An acquaintance of Hancock who asked to be referred to only as Abu Wadea, defended the church and the Hancock family, saying that though the church conducts outreach programs and was established for the purpose of missionary work, the congregation is not disrespectful toward Islam and involves many Muslims in programs such as English classes without asking anything in return.
He also said that Hancock is not deceitful in his goals, that "he is a pastor and everybody knows it," and that he is upfront about wanting to spread his message.
Abu Wadea, a member of the Arabic Evangelical Alliance Church in Madison Heights, said that he takes offense to some having labeled the Dearborn Assembly of God as anti-Muslim.
"I'm not going to defend whatever the church did in this case but to blanket the whole church or the whole community is a whole different thing."
"and the local Fordson high school principal Fuddy Duddy forces a student to convert back to Islam."
Could you please provide a link or some details about this? I'm from Dearborn and a former teacher at FHS and I'd love to hear about it.
Well, I also do recall hearing some extremist Christian preachers advocating a little wife beating from time to time. Not that that in any way equates the two religions.
Note the weak-minded always available to aid Evil showing up to run their mouths.
"There paycheck depends on splitting up families." Bull. "Their" paycheck does not. Splitting up families is that last thing "They" want.
I know you are not being argumentative, but I don't recall any extremist Christian ministers advocating wife beating.
I would question if they were cult leaders like Jim Jones or actual Christians.
And I can't name any, but over my 50-plus years I believe I have hear one or two apply the "spare the rod" rule to wives. I didn't mean to suggest it was common, by any means.
Sorry, it was Hamtramck where a judge ruled that the mosque could use electronically amplified broadcast calls for prayer.
Hamtramck is truly an ethnic melting pot - it is a small city surrounded on all sides by Detroit with a population of 22,000 which includes: (in descending order of %)
Poles, Blacks, Yugoslavians, Yemenis, Asian Indians, Arabs, Bangladeshi, Ukrainians, Germans, Albanians, Irish, Italians, Russians, Basque, English, French, Lebanese, Pakistani, Scottish, Macedonians, Mexicans and Chaldeans.
A veritable United Nations.
As you can imagine, the restaurants and shops in Hamtramck are like no where else in the world.
On top of all this - Hamtramck also has a reputation for having some of the best nightclubs in the US - at least for "New Wave/Alternative/Punk" music.
The Bible says no such thing as you've written...but, then I looked at your tagline and realized you'd never understand the truth of Scriptures anyway.
You are trying too hard to excuse bad behavior. Islam does not frown on wife-beating. Christianity does frown on wife-beating.
That's all you need to know.
What you're writing here just doesn't sound like you, to me. From your statement in post #3 and first to last, you do sound argumentative to me. And I too thought you were bringing up Christians to mark some moral relevance.
Not like your usual FR self. Just my opinion.
The logic expressed in Dark Wolfs replies appears off the mark and critical of a religion that does not espouse wife beating.
I do not find consistency nor optimism in his posts. His logic appears negative.
what parents for children is doing is nothing more than a huge joke on the poor man that hired them. they claim to be for the children when in fact they are for finding desperate people in michigan so that the atty wife can consume non returnable retainers from them. This atty has been admonished many times by the atb and has had a suspension of her license. anyone who would like to see the truth behind these publicity stunts only needs to read this.
http://outlaw-wolf.efx2.com/
it's not only the state getting greedy here.
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