Inspire Entertainment Magazine Summer 2014 - Vol. 5 | Page 98

Fighting With FAITH Meriam Ibrahim and husband Daniel Wani (CNN) -- Hours after a Sudanese court sentenced his pregnant wife to death when she refused to recant her Christian faith, her husband told CNN he feels helpless. "I'm so frustrated. I don't know what to do," Daniel Wani told CNN. "I'm just praying." A Khartoum court convicted his wife, Meriam Yehya Ibrahim, 27, of apostasy, or the renunciation of faith. Ibrahim is Christian, her husband said. But the court considers her to be Muslim. The court also convicted her of adultery and sentenced her to 100 lashes because her marriage to a Christian man is considered void under Sharia law. In the meantime, Ibrahim, who is eight months' pregnant, remains in prison with her 20-month-old son. "I am a Christian," Ibrahim fired back, "and I will remain a Christian." Her legal team says it plans to appeal the verdict, which drew swift condemnation from human rights organizations around the world. A family divided The court's ruling leaves a family divided, with Ibrahim behind bars and her husband struggling to survive, Elnabi said. Ibrahim was born to a Sudanese Muslim father and an Ethiopian Orthodox mother. Her father left when she was 6 years old, and Ibrahim was raised by her mother as a Christian. However, because her father was Muslim, the courts considered her to be the same, which would mean her marriage to a nonMuslim man is void. Continue on next page