ORLANDO, Fla. — The parents of Fathima Rifqa Bary — the Muslim teenager who gave her life to Jesus and then fled to Orlando — have given up their fight to get back their daughter.

In a court in Columbus, Ohio, they agreed Tuesday to let Rifqa, 17, live in an Ohio foster home until she reaches age 18, in August. After that, she’ll be an adult and will be free to do whatever she wants.

That agreement ended an ugly, often-public, six-month ordeal for the girl and her parents.

It began in July, when she left their home in suburban Columbus, boarded a bus to Orlando then moved in with the family of evangelical pastors, Blake and Beverly Lorenz, who kept her whereabouts a secret from authorities.

Rifqa insisted that her father or radical Muslims in Columbus would kill her for converting to Christianity.

Florida and Ohio authorities investigated those claims but concluded they were unfounded.

Once Florida child welfare authorities found out Rifqa was a runaway, they took her away from the Lorenzes in August and placed her with Orlando-area foster families.

Her parents insisted that she be returned. However, Rifqa balked, and Christians rallied to her side, holding demonstrations and flooding the office of Florida Gov. Charlie Crist with e-mail.

After several hearings at the Orange County, Fla., juvenile courthouse, Circuit Judge Daniel Dawson in October ordered Rifqa returned to Ohio. She was placed in foster care there while the legal fight continued.

It ended Tuesday, according to Orlando attorneys familiar with the case.

A lawyer for the girl in Columbus read the settlement in court. “Rifqa and her parents love and respect each other and believe that further counseling for all parties is the healthy and best means of resolving the issues.”