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"There is great honor in that, because if they love Allah more than me, they have to do it. It's in the Koran," said in the
interview, which has been posted on YouTube.
Rifqa, who is seen wearing a large diamond cross during the interview, said she had to hide her Bible "for years," and she
repeatedly "snuck out" to attend Christian prayer meetings. She referred to previous victims of so-called honor killings, in
which young Muslim women were murdered for bringing dishonor to their families.
"They love God more than me, they have to do this," Bary told WFTV. "I'm fighting for my life. You guys don't understand. …
I want to worship Jesus freely, that's what I want. I don't want to die."
Contacted by FOXNews.com, Mohamed Bary said he has no intentions of harming his daughter.
"I love my daughter and I want her to come back to the family," he said, declining further comment.
The Barys reportedly emigrated from Sri Lanka in 2000 to seek medical treatment for Rifqa, who lost the sight in her right
eye following an accident at home.
Barbra Joyner, Mohamed Bary's lawyer, declined to comment on Rifqa's interview with WFTV but said transferring the case
back to Ohio will be in the "best interest" of the girl.
Craig McCarthy, an attorney for Aysha Bary, agreed that the case should be moved back to Ohio and added that the girl's
mother is afraid for her safety.
"[Aysha Bary] has shifted to downright frightened, scared of what might confront her publicly on Friday," McCarthy told
FOXNews.com. "She is scared for her family, of losing her daughter, of never knowing the truth of what happened and for
her own safety."
McCarthy said Rifqa's account of how she traveled to Florida has "holes in it," but declined to elaborate. He also declined to
respond to allegations that Bary's father abused the girl when he learned of her conversion to Christianity.
Dr. Phyllis Chesler, an author and professor of psychology at the Richmond College of the City University of New York, said
she believes Bary will be in danger if she is sent back to her parents.
"Anyone who converts from Islam is considered an apostate, and apostasy is a capital crime," Chesler wrote FOXNews.com.
"If she is returned to her family, if she is lucky, they will isolate her, beat her, threaten her, and if she is not 'persuaded' to
return to Islam, they will kill her. They have no choice."
Chesler, who wrote "Are Honor Killings Simply Domestic Violence" for Middle East Quarterly, said the tradition of such
slayings is not fully understood by most Americans, including those in law enforcement.
"She escaped from her family's brutal tyranny and shamed her family further through public exposure," Chesler said. "Muslim
girls and women are killed for far less."
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