Australian Convert To Islam: I Want To Do An Islamic Bonnie And Clyde

 Classmates from John Berne Catholic school at Lewisham remember a loud Christian teenager who liked listening to rapper 2pac and was close to her loving family of Tongan heritage.

 

They are now shocked the 18-year-old is facing 31 charges of ­refusing to answer Crime Commission questions about her teenage husband Sameh Bayda, also 18, who is in Goulburn Supermax prison facing terror charges.

She was asked by investigators: “What do you mean by ‘I want to do an Islamic Bonnie and Clyde on the kaffir’?” and if she would sacrifice herself alongside her husband.

The couple married on ­December 30 last year, weeks before Bayda was charged with three counts of collecting documents likely to facilitate terrorist acts.

Police prosecutor SergeantClint Nasr told Parramatta Local Court on Saturday: “The court needs to look behind the charges. There is a concern she is a supporter of ISIS. The accused was up to her eyeballs in what her husband was up to.”

Namoa first converted to Islam in Year 8 but reverted to Christianity briefly before beginning swearing to Allah around Year 10, friends remember.

She was raised with nine protective brothers and anyone who gave her trouble at The John Berne School was cautioned the Namoa brood would come after them if they did not treat her with respect.

“Towards the end of Year 10 she started (saying) I swear to Allah,” her friend said. After leaving the Lewisham school in Year 10, Namoa proudly declared her new faith in text messages to friends, telling them she prayed five times a day.

“I converted when I was in Year 8, then I went back to the church and now I’m back to Islam lmaoo-ooo”, Namoa texted a friend in January last year.

“… ha my family hates it but they can’t say cos my first cousins n mums sister is Muslim lol she married one n converted when they got married,” another text said.

Parramatta Local Court heard she suffers from anxiety.

“I’m just so shocked, I can’t ­believe what’s happened to her, I would never in a million years have picked it, especially with brothers like hers,” the friend said.

Namoa had appeared to look to the future. She completed two job-ready training programs while at secondary school: one that equipped her with the skills to work in a cafe and another that had a community service focus and led the Western Sydney girl to volunteer in the community.

But her world changed when she left school in Year 10.

A close female friend of Namoa, also of islander heritage, has also converted to Islam. “May Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala free the oppressed,” the teen posted on Facebook after Namoa was refused bail in Parramatta Court on Saturday.

“Wallahs I never thought it’ll (sic) be this hard …”

Auburn Uniting Church Reverend Veitinia Waqabaca said he was concerned for other teens in the community. The church has a large Tongan congregation.

“I am surprised (she converted) but … our people can take on another religion but we have to ask them what it is that they find attractive,” he said. “We can only sit them down, these kids are very clever and help them see all the terrorism in the world and point out that it is only one religion that it is associated with and to stay away from that religion.”