Sudanese Woman Sentenced to Death 'Won't Change Mind' on Christian Faith, Says Husband
A Sudanese woman recently sentenced to death for her Christian faith is unlikely to renounce her religion, her husband says.
27-year-old Meriam Yehya Ibrahim was sentenced to death earlier in May for apostasy and adultery due to her Christian religion and her marriage to a Christian man. Although Ibrahim is scheduled to be killed by hanging in two years, she refuses to renounce her Christian faith.
"There is pressure on her from Muslim religious leaders that she should return to the faith," Daniel Wani, Ibrahim's husband who is also Christian and a U.S. citizen, recently told CNN. "She said, 'How can I return when I never was a Muslim? Yes, my father was a Muslim, but I was brought up by my mother.' "
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"I know my wife. She's committed," he continued. "Even last week, they brought in sheikhs and she told them, 'I'm pretty sure I'm not going to change my mind.' "
When Ibrahim was sentenced to death two weeks ago, she was eight months pregnant. Just this week, the 27-year-old gave birth to her daughter, Maya, at the Omdurman Federal Women's Prison in North Khartoum, Sudan. She remains imprisoned there with her newborn daughter and her 20-month-old son, Martin.
Ibrahim was sentenced to death earlier in May after her brother filed a complaint against her, alleging that Ibrahim had been raised Muslim and then disappeared from her family for several years. When Ibrahim was located, her family was shocked to learn she had married a Christian.
Ibrahim's family members accused her of renouncing her Muslim religion and converting to Christianity, which is why the court has charged her with apostasy, or the renunciation of religion. She has also been charged with adultery for marrying a Christian man.
The 27-year-old argues, however, that she was always Christian, and therefore never renounced the Muslim religion. Ibrahim was abandoned by her Muslim father when she was six, and was instead raised by her Ethiopian Orthodox mother.
Wani has said in previous interviews that his wife remains dedicated to her Christian faith, despite the threat of execution by hanging. "If they want to execute me then they should go ahead and do it because I'm not going to change my faith," Ibrahim previously said.
"I refuse to change. I am not giving up Christianity just so that I can live. I know I could stay alive by becoming a Muslim and I would be able to look after our family, but I need to be true to myself," she added.
