Jamal has been friends with Rifqa for over a year. Here is evidence of Rifqa living in secrecy and fear. Her parents did not know she was a Christian. She worshiped in secret and she was terrified.
Jamal Jivanjee is currently serving as the executive director of Illuminate. Illuminate was founded in January 2007, but prior to that Jamal served as the lead pastor of newlife-osu, a collegiate church at The Ohio State University.
Watch the video! NOW!
UPDATE: KGS, my favorite Finnish blogger, transcribes the interview for us:
Hey we're here in Orlando for the hearing for Rifqa Bary, and we are here with Jamal Jivanjee, who is Rifqa's friend from Ohio, and you're here. First of all, why are you here?
JJ: I'm here to help set the record straight about who she is, her faith, her real faith is being maligned.
Atlas: How so? I mean I know from my perspective of covering the media, but you're her friend.
JJ: Yes
Atlas: She's being maligned personally. Does she live in fear?
JJ: Yes
Atlas: Was it a brand new fear, was it a brand new conversion?
JJ: Absolutely not. I met her over a year ago (unclear) we come from a similar background, I come from a Muslim background and my father became a Christian, several years ago, so I'm a pastor in the Columbus area speaking at church and my sermon made it online, and Rifqa listened to that sermon and was moved..
Atlas: I bet..
JJ: ..in her heart, so she contacted me, and said "I too am a Muslim my family came from Sri Lanka and I want to know more about your dad's story because I'm living in hope, I've been living a secret life as a Christian for three years and she stated that in a message to me..
Atlas: This is long before there was any Global Revolution Church, this was long before
JJ: Oh yeah...this was over a year ago....
Atlas: So why is the media concentrating on where she went, not why she went? I'm sure you picked up on that
JJ: Oh absolutely, that's why I think that it's right to set things straight that, they don't want to address the real issue, and the real issue is that she's a Christian and that thus whole problem is because she's a Christian. Had she not been following Jesus we wouldn't be talking about the story, but she's been a christian, she's been living a secret life for over a year, and when I heard about her story, I thought that I've got to meet this girl.
So my daughter, I have a daughter, the same age as her, so my daughter and my wife we went from New Albany Ohio which is just a suburb of Columbus, met her at a Starbucks and had coffee and I wanted to hear her story. And her story absolutely moved me. I mean, I went to bible college, I've been around a lot of pastors, and Rifqa had...I've never been around with somebody with stronger faith in Jesus, and I'm a bold person for Jesus, and this was a year ago, and it challenged me, I thought, I've never seen anybody like this.
Atlas: I'm Jewish and I was moved,
JJ: Yeah, it's..
Atlas: It's a beautiful thing...
JJ: Her faith is very real, and as a matter of fact it's more real than my own faith. And it challenged me, so I stayed in contact with her and my daughter stayed in contact with her because she mad a tremendous impact in my daughter's life, but I knew it, and she told me a year ago.
Atlas: They keep saying it's her word against the father's, it's the narrative. I mean FOX was a disaster today, FOX was an outlet for the Noor Mosque practically, I mean they had the Noor spokesman on, and who's payíng that fancy lawyer, I mean hello, but we won't go there. So, you're saying that she was definitely threatened, she expressed that to you..
JJ: Oh absolutely,
Atlas: From when, the beginning?
JJ: From the very beginning, and I have the original message that she sent me, that told me she was living a secret life and that was over a year ago. I kept that message, I still have it. Amazing that I kept, I don't keep any of my Facebook messages, except for that one.
Atlas: It was because you were so moved. Now let me ask you something, do you think that she should go back to Ohio, even in foster care? Do you believe that she would be in jeopardy from not only, because listen, with all the honor killings, even in Iraq, and Aqsa Parvez and Hassan, you know, who had her head chopped off by her moderate Muslim husband, it always the dishonor to the family. This is a dishonor to Islam, is it not far more egregious apostasy?
JJ: Yes it is, and what people don't understand about Islam, you know, there are verses in the Koran, their holy book, that actually give permission to kill, that's not my word, that not my interpretation,...
Atlas: You were a Muslim...
JJ: Yes..this is documented, now I want to say this, my family, most of my family are still Muslims, they are not all bad people, but it is written in their holy books and there are Muslims that take this very seriously
Atlas: That's right.
JJ: And there's plenty of evidence, and you've done a lot of work, with this, there is plenty of evidence that the mosque would be the type of the people who are associated with that mosque, some of the leadership there, it is evident that they would believe those kinds of things. They've made statements advocating murder. So, with just that I think that you have to be careful, obviously she fears for her life..
Atlas: Even if you don't understand, there's a lot of taqiyya, there's a lot of deception to advance Islam, even if you don't understand, you err on the side of caution, in the welfare of the life of a minor child. It's a no brainer.
JJ: She's a seventeen year old girl, she understands....
Atlas: And she knows her own mind
Atlas: I want to thank you so much, this is very brave of you. Very very brave of you, thank you so much...
JJ: It's an Ann Frank situation..
Atlas: It's an Ann Frank situation....see you inside..reporting to you live, it won't be live when you guys see, but I'm always live...
At the Rifqa Bary hearing in Orlando Florida, Robert Spencer is here, so let me tell ya, rest easy tonight fellas.. the Dynamic Duo!
