Sufiah ex-husband shocked and sad

The article illustrated elebrated child prodigy Sufiah Yusof precipitate fall from grace by juxtaposing covertly-taken photographs of her in the nude with one of her as a young, smiling girl - all innocence and optimism in mortar board and gown.

The epose was the final straw for Sufiah's mother, Halimahton, a devout Muslim.Yesterday, she left the family home in Coventry to arrange her divorce from her husband Farooq.

The couple's marriage was already under intolerable strain following his guilty plea last week on charges of indecently assulting two 15-year-old girls while working as a personal tutor.
The Yusof family's humiliation was complete.

"We want nothing to do with my dad," said Sufiah's brother Isaac Abraham, 26, speaking on the doorstep.

"He was so abusive to us. That's why Sufiah had to get away."

Sufiah returned to Oxford but her early promise was beginning to dissipate. It was then that she met Jonathan Marshall, a law student.

The two fell in love and married in 2004. Jonathan had already converted to Islam. He was 24 and she was 19. The marriage lasted less than two years.

TODAY... (pix - Sufiah and Jonathan)
Her ex-husband talks of his shock and sadness.

Speaking yesterday from Saudi Arabia, where he works for a leading firm of City solicitors, Mr Marshall explained: "The reason we split was that I became more observant and Sufiah became less so.

"That took her in the wrong direction, away from the direction in which I wanted to go. The teachings of Islam are fundamental to your everyday life, so when paths diverge in that respect it is a major issue.

"She was confused, really. She didn't know quite what she wanted. She wasn't ready to settle down. Basically, she wanted to be a student.

"She wasn't particularly extrovert. She wasn't a difficult person to live with. We simply had different goals, different ideas of where we wanted to be. There were, to my knowledge, no affairs or anything. I never considered such a thing, simply because of the religious basis of our marriage.

"Mr Marshall said there was little contact between Sufiah and her family in her final year at Oxford but some bridges were mended when they attended the couple's Islamic wedding ceremony.

He did not gain the impression during the marriage that Sufiah had been subjected to physical abuse by her father as a child. Psychological abuse was another matter.

Sufiah completed her course but failed to take her final exams, ostensibly because of her health. When Mr Marshall secured a job with one of the 'magic circle' law firms the couple moved to London and then, briefly to Singapore.

It was there that they decided to split. On returning to London, Sufiah was admitted to London University's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) to read economics.

Despite their split in August 2005, Mr Marshall supported her for eight months before taking up a job with his firm in Saudi Arabia. He has remarried and has two children.

"We agreed that I would assist her for a specific time. I felt a moral obligation to help her out while she was still at university. She wanted to concentrate on university and I agreed she should.

"Speaking of the weekend's disclosures, he said: "I am completely shocked. It's very sad, actually. It's very shocking that someone can use themself in such a way. I can't fathom why she would do it - especially someone in her situation. Despite the problems with her family she had many advantages which other people don't have.

"It's a particular shock - her coming from a Muslim background. To see pictures of somebody doing that - somebody I knew very closely - it makes me think how did she get to that stage. Quite frankly she knows well enough what she should and should not do.

"My view is that people can blame childhood to a certain extent, but there also comes a point where you have to take responsibility for your own actions.

"She had her advantages: she had someone willing to support her while she was at university. One newspaper told me that it had offered a substantial amount for her story. Personally, I'd rather sell my story than sell myself.

"Mr Marshall has no way of contacting his former wife now - except through the mobile number posted on the website on which she advertised her services.

"I really do hope she manages to get her life back together," he said. "She was obviously very able and it's sad that she is not able to use that talent.

"Yet, if Sufiah Yusof is to be believed, she has not yet abandoned her academic career - she told the News of the World's undercover reporter that she was studying for a master's degree in economics and had her exams coming up. Even now, she still has something to prove.