Molly would be like other 'promiscuous' Scots, says lawyer
PAKISTANI lawyers representing the father of the runaway schoolgirl Molly Campbell have said that she would “soon be like any Scottish girl” in a culture that “condones sexual promiscuity” if she were to return to this country.
Dr Abdul Basit, speaking in a BBC documentary on Molly, who last August left her mother, Louise Campbell, on Lewis to be with her father in Lahore, also denounced Mrs Campbell as an “apostate” who is an “unsuitable” parent. During the programme, to be shown tonight, he says: “If the court were to decide to repatriate her [Molly], very soon she will be just like any other Scottish girl.
“The western culture is characterised by condonation [sic] of sexual promiscuity. It gives the girl the freedom to do whatever she wants with her life.
“The mother is unsuitable for a number of reasons, the major one of which is that she has abandoned Islam. And Islam states that her status is that of an apostate and an apostate mother does not have the right of custody.”
In the documentary, Mrs Campbell speaks of her regret that she brought up her children as Muslims. “I brought them up completely as Muslims, totally and utterly. And, looking back, I wish I hadn’t,” she says.
“Looking back, I wish I had let them wait until they were older and chose for themselves.”
She said: “She [Molly] used to ask what she was and was she going to get punished? Was she going to go to the hellfire if she wore chains or if she went out with her hair uncovered?
“Was God going to punish her and put her in hell? And I thought that was so sad for such a young child to be afraid of such consequences. And it’s not because I’m against Islam. It’s not that I don’t want her to be a Muslim.”
The documentary also shows Mrs Campbell tell how she had to give up the custody battle for her daughter, who now prefers to be known as Misbah Rana, to save her mental health.
Her marriage to Sajad Rana collapsed after 16 years, when she suffered a nervous breakdown owing to pressure she says she felt to be a good Muslim.
Mrs Campbell said of the custody battle:
“It just started to really take its toll and I was really afraid that when I had a nervous breakdown all those years ago while married to Sajad, I had so many similar symptoms.”
Storyline - My Name Is Misbah is being screened on BBC 1 at 10:35pm tonight
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http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=1496