Rifqa Bary

This article is an essay/op-ed by Natassia. Essays/op-eds do not necessarily reflect the views of WikiIslam. See the disclaimer for details.

Rifqa Bary's story

This is the story of Fathima Rifqa Bary. Born in Galle, Sri Lanka, on August 10, 1992, Rifqa is the middle child of Mohamed and Aysha Risana Bary. When Rifqa was born, her family was wealthy. They owned a large house and enjoyed the benefits of a driver, a cook and a maid. Rifqa was a tiny newborn, just 5 pounds, and very quiet. Her older brother Rilvan, who was 6 years old at the time, threw a toy airplane at Rifqa and blinded her in the right eye when she was 5 years old. After the Doctors in Sri Lanka wanted to remove Rifqa's eye her father insisted that she get medical care in America. Mr. Bary was worried that just him and Rifqa leaving Sri Lanka to get treatment for her eye would mean a long separation from Aysha and Rilvan so they all moved to the United States in 2000 to seek medical attention for her eye injury. Overstaying their visa and not applying to become legal USA Citizens, the family remained in the United States illegally. They first lived in Queens, New York, but moved to Columbus, Ohio in 2004 because of its excellent public schools. Rifqa also has a little brother name Rajaa, who was 5 years old at the time she ran away.

The Barys' in Ohio

Upon arriving in Ohio, Rifqa's family moved into a two bedroomed apartment with Rifqa having to share a room with her brothers. Her family owns one car, an 11 year old Honda station wagon that has 225,000 miles on it. Mohamed opened up his own store called Bary Gems Inc and Aysha ran a business of sewing bridal veils in their home. Rifqa became a Baby Sitter and she got a job at a Chinese Restaurant at a Strip Mall. On the weekends she'd go shopping and spend her money on clothes. Rifqa's favorite color is Pink. Later on in their late teen years Rifqa and Rilvan both attended New Albany High School. They also went to New Albany Elementary School and New Albany Middle School. A year after the Barys moved to New York they were no longer wealthy. Two months after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Mohamed was on a business trip, flying with a bag of gems, as he often did. However, this time the airline ordered him to check the bag. It was lost. According to David Leung, a close family friend, the bag contained nearly $400,000 worth of jewels, and financially, the family has not recovered from this loss. After this inccident, Rifqa's family lost almost everything.

Rifqa's parents felt it was very important that they keep their Sri Lankan culture including the Islamic traditions. They did not want their children to become too Westernized. Throughout her adolescence, Rifqa attended the local mosque Noor Islamic Cultural Center with her family on either Fridays or Saturdays, and she was required to wear the hijab there and memorize pages from the Qur'an. Rifqa was a Straight A Student, she took AP classes, she was an obedient daughter who called home if she was 10 minutes late so that her parents wouldn't worry, and she was on her school's Cheerleading Squad in Middle School and High School. Her parents did not understand exactly what cheerleading was, and they didn't know the true nature of the sport. Not once did they attend the games to watch and support her. Rifqa hid her cheerleading photos from them, and they never purchased yearbooks. Rifqa, at 5'2 and weighing only 75 lbs, described her father physically abusing her by slamming her in the face when she was too loud or socking her in the face for not wanting to wear the hijab to mosque. She described bruises as well as marks on her body from abusive incidents which, although more frequent when she was younger, still continued to happen as a teenager. Rilvan and Rifqa aren't close because he abused her. Rifqa and Rajaa are close and they have a special relationship.

Conversion to Christianity

Rifqa secretly converted to Christianity on November 18, 2005 when she was 13 years old. Rifqa attended Church with a friend and heard about Jesus. She smuggled a Bible into her home and kept it hidden in various places. She attended church services and prayer meetings in secret between her School, Homework, Work, Baby Sitting, and Cheerleading schedules. After becoming a Christian Rifqa joined Columbus Korean United Methodist Church without her family's knowledge. Through Facebook she found Christian friends from Ohio State University where there is an open prayer house. Rifqa was in Middle School when she became a Christian. After joining Columbus Korean United Methodist Church Rifqa became a member of the Church's Youth Group.

Eventually, in June 2009, Rifqa's religious beliefs were discovered by a member of Noor Islamic Cultural Center. Her parents were contacted by fellow Muslims regarding Rifqa's alleged change in religion. This is when Rifqa's father confronted her and threatened to hit his daughter with the laptop that he bought for her. He threatened to kill her if she in fact left Islam for Christianity. To calm her father, Rifqa told him that she truly desired to learn more about Islam. She remembered that converting back to Islam after apostasizing could save ones life.

It was at this time that Rifqa decided to be baptized in Big Walnut Creek on June 28, 2009 by her friend Brian Williams just in case something happened to her. Rifqa's baptism took place at Hoover Dam Park while her family wasn't home. In July her mother discovered one of Rifqa's books called "The Mantle of Esther". Rifqa described her mother as frantic and in tears as she phoned her husband. Rifqa's father threatned to kill her as soon as he got home from his business trip. Shortly after this happened Rifqa's father closed Bary Gems and her family packed their things to that they could return to Sri Lanka where Mr. Bary or Rilvan would proceed with the Honor Killing. That weekend Rifqa ran away. She left a note on her bed. Wearing only the clothes on her back and carrying a backpack, she headed to a neighbor's house at 7:00 AM on Sunday and asked for a ride to a local church where she hid and prayed all day. At around 11:00 PM a police officer came and told her she needed to leave. Checking the database and finding that she had not been reported missing, he drove her to the neighbor's house at her request. The next morning Brian helped Rifqa hitchhiked to the bus station and picked up a ticket that he purchased for her. After two or three weeks of hiding out at a pastor's home in Florida, she learned that Brian was being accused of kidnapping. That is when she contacted the authorities. By this time it was her 17th Birthday. Her parents didn't show the Police the note that Rifqa left them or her Diary and Journal. After the Police found out that she was in Florida via her Cell Phone Records and Internet Records Rifqa's family drove down to Florida to pick her up and return to Ohio followed by driving to the Airport to fly back home to Sri Lanka so Mr. Bary or Rilvan could kill her and she refused to go. So they took the case to Court. Rifle spent two days in juvenile hall after she turned herself into the police.

On August 24, 2009 she was interviewed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement who conducted a frighteningly mediocre investigation with Ohio police who all-the-while maintained ignorance of Islamic doctrine and shari'a law (listen to the police interview here and view the investigation summary here). Not only did Rifqa fear physical punishment from her father, but she also feared being sent back to Sri Lanka where the laws are very different than here. She reiterated the fact that if a Muslim leaves Islam for a different Religion then by law their family has the right to kill them, and she genuinely feared for her life due to the dictates of Islam. She expressed fear of the Muslim community in Ohio because of the shari'a law regarding apostates. But by then thousands of people had seen Rifqa on YouTube, crying and saying that her father, because he is a Muslim, has no option but to kill her for abandoning Islam. Gov. Charlie Crist's office received hundreds of e-mails much of it anti-Muslim, urging him to block her return to Ohio. He did not, but he sent his general counsel, Rob Wheeler, and DCF Secretary George Sheldon to the August 21 hearing. While they sat watching, a DCF lawyer asked the judge to put off a decision on returning Rifqa to Ohio until September 3. He did.

Her parents fought to have Rifqa sent back to Ohio claiming that it was Ohio's jurisdiction, not Florida's. In Florida Judge Daniel P. Dawson ruled emergency jurisdiction until Rifqa's parents produced their immigration documents. Their lawyer made excuses and procrastinated, until nearly earning them a contempt-of-court charge. The Barys' lawyer made a deal without notifying Rifqa's lawyer. Rifqa's parents lied to Judge Dawson and promised to drop the case, allowing her to remain in foster care until she turned 18, if the motion for their immigration papers was dropped. Rifqa was then sent to Ohio where her parents promptly fired their lawyer, hired a new one, and continued in their case against Rifqa. On November 16, a hearing on her dependency was scheduled. Pamela Geller, journalist of Atlas Shrugs, planned a rally for this date. Days before the rally, it was made known that the hearing was stricken, and another hearing on Rifqa's alleged incorrigibility was scheduled for December 22. Another rally was scheduled for that date in Columbus, Ohio. Thanks to the diligence of Pamela Geller, a clearer picture of what is happening to Rifqa has been made possible since the mainstream media has, at times, been downright dishonest and story biased when it was not turning a deliberately blind eye to her situation. The court process has been anything but transparent. Rifqa had been under house arrest ever since Judge Dawson did the wrong thing and made her go back home. Rifqa was restricted from using the Phone and the Internet. She took online homeschooling classes at Focus Learning Academy via the Computer in her Foster Home and she was forbidden from visiting with her friend, a pastor, as well as other Christians.

Rilvan Bary and the Muslim stalker-blogger

According to a source at the Jawa Report, Rifqa's older brother, Rilvan, broke the law by giving information on her Florida foster family to San Francisco-based Islamic stalker-blogger Davi Barker while the case still remained in Florida. He also gave Davi her Florida Based Address and Phone Number. In September 2009, Davi issued this veiled threat: "'ll tell you one thing reader... if she's not safe in Ohio, she's not safe in Florida. All it took was a little creative Googling and I was able to determine the likely address where she's staying. But I digress."

CAIR, Governor Strickland, and Rifqa Bary

The Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is an unindicted co-conspirator in a federal terrorism financing trial with ties to Al-Qaeda.

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland purportedly received campaign help from CAIR , and it is no secret that CAIR overwhelmingly supports the Democratic party over the GOP. On June 17, 2007 Governor Strickland spoke at the tenth annual banquet of the Council on American-Islamic Relations chapter in that state (CAIR-OH) where the national Chairman Dr. Parvez Ahmed and several prominent imams also spoke (see CAIR's article here), and he even succeeded in making a bit of a faux pas by touching a Muslim woman on the back. He addressed the crowd of 350 people, saying: “On behalf of all Ohioans, my wife and I appreciate your vision to promote justice and mutual understanding. We gather under CAIR-Ohio's theme this year, ‘American Muslims: Connecting and Sharing,’ to do just that, to connect and share and get to know each other better.” He also expressed appreciation for "the Muslim traditions of strong family, hard work, and education,” and presented a proclamation honoring CAIR-Ohio’s work. (See also Strickland's staffer's response to questions and comments about CAIR's questionable ties.)

So what does all this have to do with Rifqa Bary? First of all, Babak Darvish, Executive Director of CAIR Columbus, and Romin Iqbal, Staff Attorney for CAIR-OH, were present when FDLE/DCF investigators interviewed Rifqa's father at the Bary family residence. The Jawa Report revealed photographs proving Rifqa's parents' ties to CAIR. Governor Strickland is doing nothing to ensure that her civil rights are upheld while she is in foster care in Ohio. In fact, in September, Governor Strickland issued this statement regarding the Rifqa Bary case which was still in Florida at the time: “We have no reason to believe that she would be unsafe in Ohio. Child welfare agencies and authorities in Ohio and Franklin County are fully capable of providing for the security and well-being of Ohio’s children. The Governor believes this is a family matter and therefore would most appropriately be handled here in Ohio with the assistance of the child welfare and foster care system.”

In 2003, a key finding of the Child and Family Services Review of Ohio’s child welfare programs was that the State did not achieve substantial conformity with any of the seven safety, permanency, or well-being outcomes. In addition, the State did not meet national standards for measures relating to repeat maltreatment, maltreatment of children in foster care, foster care re-entries, stability of foster care placements, the length of time to achieve reunification, or the length of time to achieve adoption.

According to an Executive Summary of the May 2009 Final Report: Ohio Child and Family Services Review: For the CFSR 12-month data period ending March 31, 2007, Ohio did not meet the national standards for the safety data indicators pertaining to the absence of maltreatment recurrence and the absence of maltreatment in foster care. In fact, Ohio is not in substantial conformity with Safety Outcome 1: Children are, first and foremost, protected from abuse and neglect. The outcome was substantially achieved in 63.2 percent of the applicable cases, which is less than the 95 percent required for a rating of substantial conformity. For the CFSR 12-month data period ending March 31, 2007, Ohio did not meet the national standards for the two data indicators relevant for Safety Outcome 1 pertaining to the absence of maltreatment recurrence and the absence of maltreatment of children in foster care by foster parents or facility staff.

So much for ensuring Rifqa's safety and civil rights.

The court case

In December 2009, government caseworker outlined a plan calling for Rifqa Bary and her parents to listen to each other's views on religion. On December 11, 2009 The Jawa Report posted this information:

CAIR Attorney Demands Ban and Seizure of all Christmas Cards sent to Rifqa Bary

In a stunning development in the ongoing legal saga of Muslim-turned-Christian convert Rifqa Bary, the parents' attorney, Omar Tarazi, filed a motion with the Franklin County courts last week moving to ban on all Christmas cards being sent to Rifqa through her attorneys, and demanding the seizure from her of all Christmas cards that she might have already received. And yet her parents still make representations to the media that they intend to honor and respect her Christian faith, while their attorney files sealed motions stating that Christmas cards are "dangerous to her health and safety".

This news and a copy of the motion were provided to me from a source inside CAIR, who noted that CAIR has raised funds for the Bary's legal jihad to have the courts return the 17 year-old to her allegedly abusive Muslim family. According to affidavits filed in the case, Rifqa states that her father threatened to kill her for leaving Islam, which prompted her to flee her Ohio home and take refuge with a pastor and his family in Florida. In an interview with Florida investigators, her father admitted to the incident, but denies threatening her life. The family also attends the terror-tied Noor Islamic Cultural Center in the Columbus area. Both she and the ongoing legal case have since been transferred from Florida back to Ohio.

The court will hear Tarazi's motion for the ban and seizure of all of Rifqa's Christmas cards on December 22nd.

CAIR Attorney Demands Ban and Seizure of all Christmas Cards sent to Rifqa Bary (Bumped) ***And Updated***
The Jawa Report, December 11, 2009

The Jawa Report also posted the motion filed with the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas:

IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, FRANKLIN COUNTY, OHIO DIVISION OF DOMESTIC RELATIONS AND JUVENILE BRANCH

IN THE MATTER OF:

FATHIMA RIFQA BARY,

AN ALLEGED DEPENDENT CHILD

Case No. 09 JU 11 14895

Judge: GILL

Magistrate: GOODRICH

MOTION TO ENJOIN COUNSEL FROM PASSING MESSAGES OF THIRD PARTIES DIRECTLY TO THE MINOR CHILD

Wherefore, now come Mohamed Bary and Aysha Risana Bary, the parents of Fathima Rifqa Bary, by and through counsel, Omar Tarazi, and move the Court to enjoin Fathima Rifqa Bary's attorneys from passing messages of third parties directly to the minor child without the approval and supervision of Franklin County Children Services; Petitioner moves the court to order Fathima Rifqa Bary and her attorneys to turn over all such communications in their possession or control to FCCS; that third party adults are not to be allowed to communicate with Fathima Rifqa Bary until an approved list is determined by FCCS after consultation with all parties. This motion is supported by the attached memorandum of law.

Omar Tarazi (0084165) [Address and phone numbers removed]

MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT

1- Certain hate filled sites for bigotry and propaganda are advertising Fathima Rifqa Bary’s attorney, Angela Lloyd address as the approved mean for the readers of the sites to get messages delivered to Fathima Rifqa Bary under the guise of sending her “Christmas Cards.” http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/

2- The particular sites involved have been inciting hatred regarding the current case with such posts as, “Strickland is demented. He knows the fatal record of his Child Services department. Why did he insist that Rifqa be returned? She was perfectly safe and perfectly happy in Florida. Why did this tool of jihad force the hand of Florida? Strickland says a killer is innocent, but Rifqa is guilty of not submitting to the religion of misogyny, gender apartheid and slavery. There is a level of corruption and Islamic influence all the way up to Strickland’s office that is deeply troubling. He’s on their payroll…Are they medicating her [Rifqa Bary] under the “psychiatric evaluation” findings? Who knows? Do the Islamic apologists in the Ohio media even so much as question this fascism? Not a peep.” http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/

3- Allowing the readers of such sites to have a channel of communication to Fathima Rifqa Bary is dangerous to her health and safety. It also undermines the ability of Franklin County Children Services to do its job in supervising and protecting Fathima Rifqa Bary. The GAL for Fathima Rifqa Bary, FCCS and the parents of the minor child have a right to know when third parties are communicating to the minor child particularly when the third parties might endanger the health and safety of the minor child.

4- Therefore, for the safety and security of Fathima Rifqa Bary we ask the court to enjoin Fathima Rifqa Bary’s attorneys from passing messages to their client from third parties and order them to deliver all such communications in their possession or control for Fathima Rifqa Bary that have come from third parties to this action to FCCS and order Fathima Rifqa Bary to turn over any communications in her possession or control she has already received from third parties through her attorneys to FCCS; that third party adults are not to be allowed to communicate with Fathima Rifqa Bary until an approved list is determined by FCCS in consultation with all parties.

Omar Tarazi (0084165)

[Address and phone number removed]

CAIR Attorney Demands Ban and Seizure of all Christmas Cards sent to Rifqa Bary (Bumped) ***And Updated***
The Jawa Report, December 11, 2009

The following article is from the Jawa Report:

Parents of Rifqa Bary ask court to hold her in contempt to force her to attend counseling sessions with Muslim counselor (bumped, sticky)

...and the counselor they demand she attend filed an affidavit in support of Rifqa being held in contempt!

The next episode in the legal battle between Muslim-turned-Christian convert Rifqa Bary and her allegedly abusive parents will occur next Tuesday in an Ohio courtroom. As I reported last Friday, one of the issues that will be heard by the court is a motion by the CAIR-appointed attorney to the Bary parents demanding that all Christmas cards sent to Rifqa be banned, and any cards she has already received be seized. On Monday, we provided clear evidence of CAIR's backstage handling of the media in this case.

Another issue next week will be another motion filed by the Bary parents asking the court to hold Rifqa in contempt for refusing to attend counseling sessions with a Muslim counselor. Amazingly, the counselor that the Bary parents are attempting to force her to see filed a affidavit supporting the parents' motion to hold Rifqa in contempt of court. How could this counselor be remotely neutral?

Parents of Rifqa Bary ask court to hold her in contempt to force her to attend counseling sessions with Muslim counselor (bumped, sticky)
The Jawa Report, December 18, 2009

Read the coverage from Pamela Geller at Atlas Shrugs regarding the conflicting affadavits from Brian Smith (who sounds suspiciously like a dhimmi folding under Islamic pressure) and Blake Lorenze, the pastor who opened his home to Rifqa when she ran away from home this past summer. According to Geller's coverage on January 22, 2010: Alleged Thief Brian Smith Ran a Business out of the Global Revolution Church's PO Box Where Rifqa's Funds Were Robbed -- He Was Opening Lorenz's mail and Forwarding It to CAIR Team.

And the latest from the Jawa Report, January 7, 2010:

CAIR attorney lies in court motions in Rifqa Bary case, commits perjury about connections to CAIR and Ohio terror mosque

The CAIR attorney representing the Bary parents in the Rifqa Bary saga has not only committed a major legal blunder, but has perjured himself in motions recently submitted to the Ohio court. In the filings, CAIR attorney Omar Tarazi denied connections to CAIR and to the Ohio terror mosque responsible for pressuring Rifqa's father, Mohamed Bary, prompting the threats to his daughter about her conversion to the Christian faith.

When the case was still in Florida, Rifqa's attorney John Stemberger submitted a 35-page memorandum to the court about the extensive terror ties of the Noor Islamic Cultural Center, the mosque attended by the Bary family. To avoid exposing the Noor Center's radical connections (the mosque's founder and spiritual leader Hany Saqr was identified in documents in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism finance trial as one of the top North American leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood and the mosque's former resident scholar Salah Soltan has appeared at events in the Middle East with designated terrorists), any connection between the Noor Center, CAIR and parents' attorneys were repeatedly dismissed in court by the Florida attorney Shayan Elahi. In an appearance on Fox News this week, Elahi lied again about CAIR and Noor's involvement.

Now that CAIR and the Noor Center's major role in this case has been raised again in Ohio, Omar Tarazi has attempted to conceal the connections and directions that both have played in this case, and the obvious conflict of interest presented in Tarazi's attempt to represent the parents while taking direction from CAIR and the Noor Center leadership.

In these recent motions, Tarazi openly lied to the court about CAIR and Noor's involvement in the case, claiming no association with either and denying that they are involved in funding the Bary parents' case. But we can present here exclusive evidence disproving those lies in the form of a Facebook email sent by none other than Noor Center CEO Hany Saqr announcing that Tarazi would be speaking at Eid morning prayers on November 27th:

(See cache of the email here.)

According to three independent sources who were at Tarazi's talk, he not only gave an update on the case, but a collection was taken afterward to finance his client's case. If he is receiving no compensation from this offering, where exactly is the money going that has been raised on several occasions by the mosque specifically for the Bary's defense? In addition, at least one member of the local media was in attendance at his presentation -- an explicit violation of the judge's gag order in the case. Tarazi also forgot to mention in his filings that he is a regular attendee at the terror mosque. No connections, eh?

Two weeks ago we presented here conclusive photographic evidence of CAIR's management of the media in this case. We also noted back in September that CAIR officials were present when Florida investigators interviewed Rifqa's parents (conversely, Rifqa was interrogated alone for three and a half hours without her attorneys present). And back in August when this case first began, we noted from inside sources that CAIR was formulating a media strategy to promote lies about Rifqa and the Florida pastors that received her after her escape from the Bary home.

Why would Omar Tarazi jeopardize his legal career and face possible criminal penalties to continue to cover-up CAIR and the Noor Center's involvement in this case when evidence is already available exposing his lies? Only Tarazi can answer that question. And we hope the judge in this case demands some answers.

CAIR attorney lies in court motions in Rifqa Bary case, commits perjury about connections to CAIR and Ohio terror mosque
The Jawa Report, January 07, 2010

Dependent of the State

On January 19, 2010 the Courts allowed Rifqa to become a Dependent of the State of Ohio and stay with her Foster Family until her 18th Birthday after Rifqa agreed that she broke the rules when she ran away from home. After Mr. and Mrs. Bary learned that Rifqa had been given permission to contact Reverend Lorenz and his wife they tried to back out of the agreement, but Judge Elizabeth Gill refused to let them do it. In April 2010 Rifqa's lawyers asked Judge Gill to sign a paper saying that it's impossible for Rifqa to be reunited with her family and allow her to become a legal U.S. Citizen. Her parents lied and said that they applied for the whole family to live in America legally. Judge Gill said No to signing Rifqa's paper and made Rifqa keep her promise to attend counseling with her family in the hopes of reuniting them before she turns 18. Rifqa graduated from High School in June 2010.

Fight against cancer

Rifqa Bary was diagnosed with uterine cancer on May 25, 2010. Rifqa's lawyers brought her parents in to see her while she was in the hospital before her last surgery took place. Rifqa was very upset when she saw her parents and they had to be removed from her hospital room. She had three sugeries in total, with her third and final one being performed on May 28, 2010. All three of her surgeries were a complete sucess and the doctors removed all of the cancer. Her cancer was a very aggressive form. After running some tests the doctors told Rifqa that she had Stage 2 uterine cancer. The doctors gave Rifqa a year to live. Rifqa was supposed to have Chemotherapy for 45 weeks, but she stopped getting Chemotherapy after going to Youngstown to see a Faith Healer and said that by the Grace of God she's been healed. The treatments for her Cancer made Rifqa sick and weak. She is now cancer free. Rifqa's parents asked the Courts to force their daughter to continue getting Chemotherapy, but they rejected their request. The Doctor said that Rifqa's old enough to make the decision to quit Chemotherapy. However, Rifqa will continue to see her Doctor. Rifqa was offered a Scholarship for a Christian College, but her lawyers did not notify her in time so she did not get the Scholarship.

On August 5, 2010 Mary Goodrich agreed to allow Rifqa to apply for an immigration status. Rifqa's lawyers were hoping that the imigration status will allow Rifqa to apply for a green card without her parents permission, so that she can stay in America and continue her cancer treatment after she turns 18. Ms. Goodrich decided that it's not best for Rifqa to be sent back to Sri Lanka and that it's impossible for Rifqa and her parents to be reunited before her Birthday.

Rifqa turns eighteen

On August 10, 2010, Rifqa turned 18. Hopefully she will now be able to practice her faith without fear. She has stated her want to "preach the word to all the nations", and as an adult she is free to do as she chooses and is no longer a ward of the State of Ohio. Her parents are upset that she's not coming home, but they told her that they love her and their door is always open if she ever wants to move back in with them. Rifqa isn't going to speak to the Media yet. Out of all of Rifqa's family members Rajaa is the only one who's a legal U.S. citizen as he was born in America 3 years after Rifqa and her family moved to the United States of America. Rifqa has been sending her parents Videos of herself and writing them letters and telling them that she loves them and thanking them for helping her become her Class's Valedictorian. If the cancer comes back it will spread through out Rifqa's body and she won't make it. In September 2010, the Immigration Officials in Ohio gave Rifqa her green card. She can now officially stay in The United States and when she's 23 she can apply to be a legal U.S. Citizen. Rifqa no longer has to worry about being sent back home to her parents or being deported back to Sri Lanka again and she can continue to get cancer treatment. However, Rifqa still has to worry about her cancer coming back and the Muslim Community in Ohio.

Life After Winning Her Freedom

Today Rifqa is a college student living in an undisclosed location. Rifqa is majoring in biology and she's still deeply religious. Rifqa is still cancer free and she's an evangelist. Rifqa has become a writer and she was signed with WaterBrook Press. Her book "Hiding in the Light: Why I Risked Everything to Leave Islam and Follow Jesus" is now available. Rifqa's ultimate goal is to become a physician. Rifqa wants to continue writing and she's hoping to go to law school. Don't fall for American Muslim groups like CAIR who sat beside Rifqa's parents as they were interviewed by the police and ISNA. There have been far too many honor killings in the world for people to dismiss apostates like Rifqa as paranoid or liars.

This page is featured in the core article, Islam and Apostasy which serves as a starting point for anyone wishing to learn more about this topic

See Also

• Notable Former Muslims
• Violence Against Women - A hub page that leads to other articles related to Violence Against Women

External Links

• Rifqa Bary
• Hiding in the Light
• Rifqa Bary - MySpace page