Nadine Ascencao, Tamerlan Tsarnaev ex-girlfriend, talks about his conversion to Islam, hate America
An ex-girlfriend of Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev said the man she started dating in 2006 transformed from a pot-smoking party boy into a jihad-spouting Islamic terrorist during their three-year relationship.
Nadine Ascencao, age 25, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, said during a Sun interview that she was 17 when she fell in love with Tsarnaev, who loved boxing but became an anti-American Islamist.
“One minute, he’s this funny, normal guy who liked boxing and having fun. The next, he is praying four times a day, watching Islamic videos and talking insane nonsense,” she said
The bomber drifted deeper and deeper into Islamic extremism, trying to “brainwash” his girlfriend.
“He became extremely religious and tried to brainwash me to follow Islam. Tamerlan said I couldn’t be with him unless I became a Muslim. He wanted me to hate America like he did,” Ascencao said.
“He wouldn’t let me watch TV or listen to the radio. He’d say, ‘TV is the project of Satan’ and claimed Satan sent us messages through commercial music.”
The couple even stopped having sex after he said it was wrong because they were not married.
“Tamerlan had taken my virginity and said he loved me because I was pure and hadn’t been with any other guys. I was in love and scared he’d leave me if I didn’t do what he said. Looking back, I had a lucky escape.”
She was heartbroken when she learned he was secretly seeing another girl. Her rival was Katherine Russell, a student who was to become Tamerlan’s wife after converting to Islam.
“He once made me learn a verse of an Islamic prayer and if I got it wrong he’d say, ‘Well Katherine can do it’.”
“He wanted me to hate America like he did.”
Tamerlan even attacked Nadine when he found her heading off to a friend’s pool party wearing cut-off jeans and a crop top.
She said: “He was shouting and screaming at me. He slapped me across the face really hard.”
The young woman didn’t have the similar description of the younger brother.
“I was more shocked Dzhokhar was involved. He was a nice kid.”
Check out the entire interview here
Nadine Ascencao, Tamerlan Tsarnaev ex-girlfriend, talks about his conversion to Islam, hate America – The Global Dispatch