Bible-Reading Muslim 'Raped As Punishment

Tuesday Apr 17 05:00 AEST
By Ninemsn Staff

An Iraqi Muslim man allegedly raped a Muslim woman in Sydney's southwest as "punishment" for her reading the Bible, The Daily Telegraph reports.

The Campbelltown District Court heard yesterday that Abdul Reda Al Shawany told the woman "Let your Jesus help you", and sexually assaulted her twice.

Al Shawany has pleaded not guilty to two counts of having sexual intercourse without consent between September 1 and 27, 2002.

Yesterday Crown prosecutor Michael O'Brien said the woman — a practising Muslim — had allegedly received threats from members of her faith for reading the Bible.

The woman claims she met Al Shawany, who she had known from overseas, at Warwick Farm railway station in September 2002 after he told her he had mail to deliver to her.

Al Shawany then allegedly took her to a Warwick Farm unit where he assaulted her.

"She was wearing a hijab. The accused grabbed the hijab, the veil, and pulled it tight across her mouth," O'Brien told the court.

"She fell to the floor and she couldn't scream because she had a hijab tight across her mouth."

After raping her, Al Shawany allegedly said: "Let your Jesus help you."

Al Shawany, 52, denied to police that he had sexual intercourse with the woman or threatened her.

"My client is not a zealot," his barrister Chris Pike told the court.

The woman is expected to return to the witness stand today when the second day of the week-long trial commences before Judge David Knox.

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