(ZENIT News / Duhok, Iraqi Kurdistan 07.02.2024).- In a landmark ruling, an Iraqi court has decreed the conversion of a Christian mother, Elvin Joseph, and her three children to Islam, citing the country’s Personal Status Law. This law mandates that children adopt the religion of a parent who converts to Islam.

Elvin Joseph, a resident of Duhok in Iraqi Kurdistan, expressed her distress in an interview: «I am a Christian. I am married to a Christian man. My children are Christians. I was educated in our language. All my official documents identify me as Christian. Our marriage is registered by the Church.»

The legal turmoil began when Elvin’s mother converted to Islam following a divorce and subsequent remarriage to a Muslim man. Under the 1959 Personal Status Law, the conversion of a parent to Islam automatically necessitates the conversion of their children under the age of 18. This law aims to preserve religious identity but also affects marital rights, inheritance, and custody according to Islamic law (sharia).