Muslim girls relocated from Christian foster home

The Associated Press

01.05.99

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LIVONIA, Mich. — After more than three months in a Christian foster home, three Muslim Iraqi sisters now are in the care of a Detroit-area Muslim leader.

Arab-American religious and community leaders had criticized the girls' treatment by their original foster parents, alleging that the children were given Christian crosses to wear and that their traditional hijabs, or head scarves, were taken away.

The girls, ages 12, 14 and 16, were removed from their parents' home in August after state child welfare officials accused the parents of physical abuse.

The girls now live with Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi, leader of the Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn Heights, and his wife and three children.

"We give them all the flexibility and freedom they want both inside and outside our home," Elahi told The Detroit News. "We take care of them better than our own children — honestly — because we want them to realize they are in a safe and warm atmosphere. We want to make them happy and give them a sense of belonging."