Rabia Sarwar, 37, is charged with the attempted murder of her husband after a bitter dispute over his religious beliefs.
"I did everything against my will and it killed my soul," she told detectives. "My husband loves rock music but I completely don't understand it…. One day Allah will change him into a good Muslim," she said, "and will show him the right path."
Ms. Sarwar has been married to Sheikh Nasseem for just five months. She claims he forced her to drink alcohol and eat pork.
She claims she decided to kill him in the bedroom of their Staten Island apartment after he threatened to harm her family.
"At 12:00 we went to bed but I did not sleep, she told detectives. "I took a knife from the kitchen and came back to my bed."
She struggled, asking herself.
"What should I do? Should I kill him,or not? My heart was beating so fast," she told police, "I took out the knife and tried my best to cut his throat."
In an instant, Nasseem woke up and grabbed the knife as Rabia Sarwar ran screaming from the apartment.
Her attorney insists that Ms. Sarwar acted in self-defense after months of mental anguish.
Prosecutors say the motive was obvious.
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