NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Christchurch mosque shootings: Survivor Farid Ahmed prays for murderer, says 'I love him like my brother'

Anna Leask
By Anna Leask
Senior Journalist - crime and justice·Canvas·
25 Mar, 2020 11:02 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Brenton Harrison Tarrant admits that he was the lone gunman who murdered 51 Muslims at two Christchurch mosques on March 15 last year.

A man whose wife was gunned down by mass murderer Brenton Tarrant says the most important thing about today's shock guilty plea is forgiveness.

This morning Tarrant - a 29-year-old Australian - pleaded guilty to 51 murder charges.

He also admitted 40 charges of attempted murder relating to the two attacks at Masjid Al Noor and Linwood Islamic Centre on March 15 last year - and pleaded guilty to one charge of engaging in a terrorist act laid under the Terrorism Suppression Act 2002.

Farid Ahmed has penned a book in tribute of his slain wife Husna. She and 50 others were killed in the March 15 terror attack. Photo / supplied
Farid Ahmed has penned a book in tribute of his slain wife Husna. She and 50 others were killed in the March 15 terror attack. Photo / supplied

His pleas were recorded in a hastily-arranged hearing in the High Court at Christchurch.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The Herald was one of only a handful of media organisations allowed in the courtroom.

One of the women Tarrant admitted shooting to death was Husna Ahmed.

READ MORE:
• Christchurch mosque shootings: Brenton Tarrant's shock guilty plea to murders
• Christchurch mosque shootings: Who is Brenton Tarrant - the making of a mass killer
• The Ripple Effect: How the Christchurch mosque shootings shattered a nation's heart
• Christchurch mosque shootings: How's the city feeling one year on?

The 44-year-old mother-of-one was killed as she ran back into the Al Noor mosque to
find her husband Farid, who uses a wheelchair.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Before that she had guided the women and children to safety before running back in to help others.

Days after the attack, Farid Ahmed stunned the world by forgiving his wife's killer.

Today he reiterated that message.

"It is good there will be no trial… the emotional pathway will be reduced for some
people," he said.

Discover more

New Zealand

All you need to know: National Remembrance Service

28 Mar 01:22 AM
New Zealand|politics

Why Christchurch terror survivor shook hands with Trump

04 Aug 05:00 PM
New Zealand|crime

The man who forgave terror: Farid Ahmed on Christchurch six months after March 15

14 Sep 05:00 PM
New Zealand|crime

Peace man: Christchurch mosque survivor Farid Ahmed honoured with award

18 Dec 03:02 AM

"It will save them from going to court.

"I think he [Tarrant] has taken the right direction - it is good that he has realised that he has done something wrong."

Farid Ahmed said he stuck by "every word" he said about the gunman on March 18 last year, as he waited at home for his wife's body to be returned to him.

"Within 24 hours I forgave him… that I loved him as my human brother but I did not support what he had done," he said today.

"I am sticking to that - I still love him, he is still my brother.

"I think he has done the right thing, good on him."

Farid Ahmed survived the March 15 terror attack. Photo / NZ Herald
Farid Ahmed survived the March 15 terror attack. Photo / NZ Herald

Farid Ahmed said he still prayed for Tarrant.

"I pray that my God guides him in the right direction," he said.

"He is still young and whatever life he has left I pray that he will be good, I pray that he will not have a future of killing but a future of saving people.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I personally try to see the good things in all of us - there is a good side and a bad side within each of us that we have to deal with every day.

"Some of us are strong and some of us are weak and the weak ones need our prayers, our encouragement.

"I believe each and every person has the potential to become a good person, a great person."

Farid Ahmed had a final message for the killer.

"I wish him well," he said.

"And I wish all the victims' families well. I hope this gives some relief to them.

"I pray for everyone to have peace."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Omar Nabi, whose father Haji Daoud Nabi was killed in the attack, said he learned of the guilty plea just as he was about to go into prayer.

"It's about time. His plea should have been earlier but it's good he's changed his mind. And good to have it done," he said.

"There shouldn't have been a trial anyway. At the end of the day the proof's in the pudding and he was caught red-handed, it speaks for itself."

Omar Nabi with a photograph of his father, Haji, who was killed in the Christchurch massacre. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Omar Nabi with a photograph of his father, Haji, who was killed in the Christchurch massacre. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Nabi said he was doing his best to forgive as his religion taught, although it was difficult.

"I'm the same as 50 other families, the first thing on their mind will be to forgive this man because he was led astray.

"But of course it's in our nature that if someone hurts your father, your mother, your brother… well. But I'm trying to have peace and harmony."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

It might be easier to forgive after sentencing, Nabi said, and when it was clear the man would serve his time and get his punishment.

"And I know that God will give him his own punishment. Just like on earth, you are punished, and when you die your soul will be tried."

Survivor Hisham Alzarzour, who was shot multiple times by Tarrant, reacted quietly to the news.

He had been planning on attending the trial.

"It is good... it is good that he has pleaded guilty," he said. "It is very good there will be no trial."

Alzarzour's wife Susan was almost speechless at the news.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It is really good news... ," she said.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

Multiple fire trucks called to blaze in Auckland CBD

01 Jul 09:43 AM
New Zealand

Man charged in fatal South Auckland crash, further charges possible

01 Jul 08:10 AM
Politics

'Until we meet again': Hundreds gather in Taihape to mourn 'peaceful leader'

01 Jul 08:00 AM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Multiple fire trucks called to blaze in Auckland CBD

Multiple fire trucks called to blaze in Auckland CBD

01 Jul 09:43 AM

Fire and Emergency said crews were called to the incident just after 8.15pm.

Man charged in fatal South Auckland crash, further charges possible

Man charged in fatal South Auckland crash, further charges possible

01 Jul 08:10 AM
'Until we meet again': Hundreds gather in Taihape to mourn 'peaceful leader'

'Until we meet again': Hundreds gather in Taihape to mourn 'peaceful leader'

01 Jul 08:00 AM
'I am scared of drug money': Money launderer's staff complained cash was wet, sticky

'I am scared of drug money': Money launderer's staff complained cash was wet, sticky

01 Jul 08:00 AM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP