Rafqa Bary

Rifqa Bary, is the daughter of Mohamed and Aysha Bary. Her parents initially came to the U.S. to seek medical care for Rifqa after she became blind in her right eye.^[3] She grew up in theColumbus suburb of New Albany with her older brother Rilvan and her younger brother Rajaa.^[5] She and Rilvan attended New Albany High School. At the school Rifqa was a Straight A Student, acheerleader, and a member of the track and field team. During her spare time she wrote poetry and took guitar lessons.^[6] Bary's parents have said that they are Muslims and pray five times a day.^[3] Her attorney, John Stemberger, who is the leader of a Christian advocacy group,^[7] claimed that the Bary family were members of the Noor Islamic Cultural Center (NICC), near Columbus.^[5]In an official statement, NICC denied it was familiar with Rifqa Bary or her family and stated that their records showed she attended the cultural center's Sunday School only three times in 2007