Silvia Romano, the Italian aid worker abducted and released by Al-Shabaab after 18 months of captivity, has said that nobody forced or paid her to convert to Islam.
Instead, Romano says that she made the decision to convert willingly and independently after taking time to get “accustomed to them.”
The Al-Qaeda linked group released the 25-year old Italian on Saturday 30kms away from Mogadishu. Security and intelligence officers found her in Afgoye.
Italian intelligence agency worked closely with Turkish, Kenyan, and Somali counterparts to locate and rescue Romano from the hands of the militants.
Her decision to convert to Islam came into sharp focus the moment she arrived back at Italy. She was under heavy criticism from different quarters.
Islam does not enjoy a lot of popularity in the country where most Italians subscribe to the Roman Catholic faith.
Nevertheless, she issued a rejoinder saying her conversion into Islam was borne out of the time she spent with the terrorists.
She said, “I learned Arabic and was then able to read the Qur’an. Out of that experience I then converted to Islam willingly and spontaneously.”
While being handed over to the security and intelligence agents she was in “traditional Somali women attire.”