Love made him become a hero, says wife of Pakistani martyr Naeem Rashid

Ambreen Naeem says she feels pity for Christchurch terrorist that his heart was filled with hatred instead of love

Ambreen Naeem, who lost her husband Naeem Rashid and 21-year-old son Talha in Christchurch mosques attacks last week, has said that her husband tried to save people’s lives because he was a loving man.

“My husband and son gave up their lives to save other people and this is what Islam is to us. It’s a religion of peace and love,” she said while speaking to The Project NZ – a television news show in New Zealand – on Tuesday.

“I know that he was a very brave man, very helpful, very loving. Love can make you do that what he did. He tried to save people’s lives because he was [a] loving [man],” said Ambreen when asked what inspired her husband to become a hero on Friday.

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Kanoa Lloyd, the interviewer said she was blown away by Ambreen’s courage and contentment in the face of great devastation she had gone through in the past few days.

Rashid, hailing from Abbottabad, received bullet wounds as he tried to overpower the shooter after he entered one of the mosques in Christchurch on March 15. At least 50 people were martyred in the terrorist attacks on two mosques.



Tributes poured in for the Pakistani hero soon after the incident with New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern saying Rashid had made the ultimate sacrifice to save the lives of worshippers inside the mosque.

Prime Minister Imran Khan also announced to recognise Rashid’s great sacrifice with a national award.

When asked what was keeping her so strong other than her faith, the wife and mother of the martyred said, “I think my faith is the only thing, that’s the main thing that is keeping me strong.

“[In fact] I feel sad for that terrorist, I feel pity for him that he didn’t have love in his heart, he had hate and that he can’t feel the contentment, the peace which we can.”

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Commenting on her young son, Ambreen said, “Right from the childhood Talha was a very caring person. He was such an inspiration for our children and we tell our children to be just like Talha.”

When asked if she would go back to mosque, Ambreen said, “Oh yeah, that’s the thing that I’ve learnt from this, nothing can stop me. It just had made me stronger. And this is not just from me, I have heard from my sisters as well, it had just made us stronger.”

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