US embassy cable - 02AMMAN3253

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 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
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 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
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