The Blaze:

Muslim Woman’s Cousin Allegedly Warns: ‘Wear the Hijab or I’ll Kill You’
Posted on January 20, 2011 at 5:23am
by Meredith Jessup

A 21-year-old British Muslim is accusing her cousin of threatening her life after she decided to stop wearing a hijab, the traditional Muslim headscarf, the Daily Mail reports.

In court testimony on Tuesday, Alya Al-Safar claimed her cousin, Mohamed Al-Hakim, screamed that she brought “shame” to her family whom he branded as “bitches and whores” because of her decision.

After considering taking the step for more than two years, Al-Safar says her cousin’s mother “wasn’t happy” that she had decided to stop covering her hair, prompting Al-Hakim to phone her with the threat.

“Listen Alya, I am warning you if by the 19th of June you are not wearing the hijab back, I am warning you I will kill you and harm you. I am giving you ten days. You brought shame to your family, you should not have done that,” Al-Hakim is accused of saying.

According to Al-Safar, her cousin instructed her to play the phone message for her family on June 9 of last year.

“Listen to me carefully, it has (sic) been three days and I did not sleep,” Al-Safar told the jury Tuesday. “I have (sic) decided not to go out of the house for two weeks.”

Al-Hakim denies threatening his cousin.

“I didn’t know if he was joking, if he was just mad, or if it was true and he would do it,” Al-Safar testified. “He started shouting, ‘Listen to me, you had better do what I said. I have seen you on the Edgware Road [a busy street in central London] and if I see you again I will kill you.’”

Al-Safar also testified that her cousin allegedly threatened her father and that her family warned her not to leave the house, fearing her cousin would hurt her.