Mourners lay 'brave' Bondi security guard Faraz Tahir to rest in Sydney - MASHAHER

Key Points

Faraz Tahir’s funeral was held at Baitul Huda Mosque on Friday.
Mourners paid tribute to the security guard who was fatally stabbed at Bondi Junction.
Tahir was on his first day working in security at the centre and was one of six people who died.

Faraz Tahir would have turned 31 this week, but instead of celebrating his birthday, his loved ones gathered on Friday for his funeral.

The security guard, who was one of the six victims killed by Joel Cauchi during his stabbing attack at Bondi Junction on 13 April, was remembered in a emotional service at the Baitul Huda Mosque in Sydney.

Tahir was the only male victim to die in the attack.

Injured Bondi Junction security guard Muhammad Taha spoke with Faraz Tahir’s family members at the funeral. Source: AAP / Dan Himbrechts

Jade Young, 47, Ashlee Good, 38, Dawn Singleton, 25, Pikria Darchia, 55, and Yixuan Cheng, 27, were also killed.

Twelve others were wounded, including a baby

Tahir was on his first day shift as a security guard at the shopping complex when 40-year-old Cauchi began attacking people.

has been hailed a national hero for confronting the knife-wielding attacker that day.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reiterated this when speaking at his funeral.

“Faraz Tahir gave everything to help others: his time, his energy, his optimism and dedication, his heart and his soul – and on that devastating Saturday afternoon at Bondi Junction, he gave his life running toward danger, to protect people he had never met,” he said.

Tahir’s family members travelled from overseas to be at the service. His three brothers were among those in attendance, with his eldest brother Mudasar Bashir speaking about the brother he had lost.

“He was very brave and he was strong. The strongest person in our family obviously, and now in Australia, he was the strongest person, he was the bravest person I’ve ever seen,” Bashir said.

Faraz Tahir fled Pakistan as a refugee and came to Australia in 2022. Source: SBS News / Supplied

Tahir was born in the Punjab region of Pakistan.

He fled from religious prosecution, initially moving to Sri Lanka before settling in Sydney.

Bashir said Tahir had hoped to help the rest of his family, especially his younger brother to come to Australia.

“He had lots of dreams,” he said.

The National President of Ahmadiyyan Muslim Community Australia, Imam Inamul Haq Kauser leads the funeral for Faraz Tahir at Masjid Baitul Huda, in Sydney, Friday. Source: AAP / Dan Himbrechts

of Australia president Inamul Haq Kauser said “although he was a stranger in this country… he sacrificed his life for all Australians.”

Security guard Muhammad Taha, who was with Tahir on 13 April and was wounded in the attack, attended the funeral in a wheelchair.

While still recovering from his injuries, suffering from lingering pain and broken sleep, Taha refused to miss the chance to say goodbye.

“I wanted to see him,” Taha said.

The loved ones of security guard Faraz Tahir remembered the refugee who had sought a better life in Australia, at his funeral. Source: AAP / Dan Himbrechts

A blood donation program has been set up in Tahir’s name in conjunction with the Red Cross – called ‘Faraz’ Gift’.

Kauser said it was a way for his legacy to live on.

“We already started it, but every year we will have the blood donation, we will give other blood to save the Australians’ life. That will be (the) legacy for his name.”

Source Agencies