Rifqa Bary was thrust into the limelight in 2009 for fleeing her home at age 16 to escape the wrath of her Muslim family when they discovered she had converted to Christianity.
Now a 22-year-old college student, she is sharing her thoughts and experiences in her new book released Tuesday, “Hiding in the Light: Why I risked Everything to Leave Islam and Follow Jesus.”
Six years after the events that changed her life, Bary says she still lives in fear of retribution from her family but has never regretted her decision, according to the Daily Mail.
Born Fatima Rifqa Bary, she moved with her family to the United States from Sri Lanka in 2000 for medical treatment after an accident with a toy left her blind in her right eye. She was 8 at the time.
She converted to Christianity at the age of 12, keeping the secret from her family for four years. Growing up in a strict Muslim home, she details in her book what it was like to to then be seen, by some, as one who brought shame on her family.
“Those who do understand it, and understand it very well, are those who have wanted me dead. That’s why I have taken, and continue to take, precautions to protect my life and safety,”  she wrote, according to Columbus Dispatch.
On July 19, 2009, Bary boarded a Greyhound bus in Ohio and traveled nearly 1,000 miles southeast to Florida.
Police used phone and computer records to track her to the Rev. Blake Lorenz, pastor of  Global Revolution Church in Orlando, whom she had met through a Facebook prayer group.
Despite her  claims that  her father threatened to kill her and her mother threatened to send her to a mental institution in Sri Lanka, the courts ended up sending the teen back to Ohio where she lived in the foster care system.
She was soon diagnosed with a rare form of uterine cancer and given only a year to live, but Bary underwent treatment and survived.
The book details the abuse she was subjected to growing up and how the local mosque was part of the reason she fled, notes the Daily Mail.
Her parents have denied all the allegations of abuse, claiming they allowed her to freely be a Christian.
But for Bary, trying to lead a normal life, the fear of retaliation is always lurking in the background.
“I still feel like my life is in danger,’ she says. ‘I don’t live in fear all the time but I still have to be wise and cautious.”
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
[email protected]
Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
- ‘Do not lose your life over a f-ing car!’ Brazen thieves tell homeowners to stay inside as they swipe Corvette - April 18, 2024
- Sworn in jurist in Trump hush money trial already dismissed as selection becomes growing nightmare - April 18, 2024
- INSIDER: ‘Speaks volumes!’ Biden ignored when he visits Pennsylvania gas station, stark contrast from Trump - April 18, 2024
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
BPR INSIDER COMMENTS
Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!
Comments are closed.