A family has reunited in their grief as they prepare to farewell security guard Faraz Tahir who sacrificed his life in facing a killer.
Hundreds of mourners are expected to gather on Friday at a Marsden Park mosque in Sydney’s northwest in honour of the man described as a national hero.
Mr Tahir was one of the six victims killed at Westfield Bondi Junction on April 13 in a mass stabbing rampage.
The 30-year-old refugee was on his first day shift at the complex when Queensland man Joel Cauchi began attacking people.
A prayer service organised by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community will be open to the public to pay their respects at the Masjid Baitul Huda.
Three of Mr Tahir’s brothers, an uncle and a nephew visited the mosque on Thursday in preparation for his funeral.
The eldest, Muzafar Ahmad Tahir, said his brother was a brave man who showed strength from a very young age.
The head of the family said he believed Mr Tahir would be safe in his new home in Australia.
Mr Tahir had fled persecution in Pakistan before arriving in Australia in 2022, intending the country to be his final home.
When news of the tragedy came, his family was overcome by shock and remained devastated over their loss.
Mr Tahir was the only male victim to die in the Bondi attack.
The lives of Jade Young, 47, Ashlee Good, 38, Dawn Singleton, 25, Pikria Darchia, 55, and Yixuan Cheng, 27, were also lost in the tragedy.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and NSW Premier Chris Minns have been invited to the service, where Mr Minns intends to say a few words.
It will be the first time that a premier has been invited by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community to speak at such an event, given Mr Tahir’s national impact.
