Faraz Tahir,30,was killed on his first day shift at the centre as he tried to protect shoppers from Joel Cauchi,a schizophrenic who embarked on
At his funeral on Friday at the Masjid Ba’itul-Huda mosque in Marsden Park in north-western Sydney,his security guard colleague Muhammad Taha,who was also stabbed,recounted how Tahir rushed towards danger.
Speaking in a wheelchair and covered with a hospital-issued blanket,Taha recounted how he had only met Tahir that day. “His last words were,‘Let’s find out what is going on’,” he said.
“We were standing side by side,when all of a sudden we heard shouting and screaming.
“People were pointing ‘There is someone there’. We were trying to save people by evacuating them. Telling them to go to the safe place.
“He was just two or three steps away from me at that moment and from the crowd,the attacker just jumped towards him.”
Muzafar Ahmed Tahir,brother of Faraz Tahir meets Muhammad Taha (wearing blue gloves) who was the security guard with Faraz at the time of the attack.Nick Moir
Taha was also stabbed but initially did not realise he had been wounded. He said the pair laid down in a cafe before paramedics arrived. Four days later while in hospital,Taha was told that Tahir had died.
In the days since,he has had trouble sleeping as he tries to come to terms with what happened.
“I can’t forget that. It was unimaginable,” Taha said. “To think about it,it is very painful. It has been like two weeks,I can’t sleep properly ... Lots of nightmares.”
Family members prayed around Tahir’s open casket in the Mosque’s Khilafat Centenary Hall before funeral prayers were held outside.
As an Ahmadiyaa Muslim,Tahir was persecuted growing up in the province of Punjab and had sought asylum– first in Sri Lanka and then in Australia. He had lived in Brisbane before moving to Parramatta.
His brother,Mudascar Bashir,said he had not seen him for six years,but the family spoke on the phone often.
“He said ‘I’m okay,I’m good,I’m happy. This is a good country,I will settle here and spend a good life here because this country is free and I have freedom here’,” Bashir said.
Speaking before the funeral prayer,Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed the nation’s thanks to Faraz Tahir for his brave actions.
Faraz Tahir,a victim of the Bondi Westfield stabbing attack who was working as a security guard at the shopping centre.Supplied
“We grieve for the long and happy life he should have had the chance to make here in Australia … we mourn for all the possibilities stolen from him and stolen from this wonderful community,” Albanese said.
He said his life in Australia was defined by giving back to the nation and the sense of obligation he felt to the nation which had given him refuge.
“And on that devastating Saturday afternoon at Bondi Junction,he gave his life,running towards danger to protect people he had never met.
“Without doubt,he helped save lives that day. And without question,Faraz Tahir died a national hero.”
Federal MP Ed Husic,Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Premier Chris Minns attend the funeral of Faraz Tahir.Nick Moir
NSW Premier Chris Minns said Tahir helped his elderly neighbours and volunteered time on Clean Up Australia Day.
“When you hear the words they use to describe Faraz,it tells the story of his character,” Minns said. “They say he was kind,that he gave back,that he was happy,that he was hopeful,that he was looking forward to a brighter future here in Australia.
“[He] was a hero of our state. He will be remembered.”