Christian Widow's Act of Forgiveness to Terrorist Who Killed Her Husband Leaves TV Host Speechless
A television host in Egypt was left speechless after a Coptic Christian woman he was interviewing said she forgives the terrorist who killed her husband during the Palm Sunday bombings that struck two Egyptian churches on April 9.
Answering a question from TV host Amr Adeeb of Egypt's ONTV, Samira Faheem said she forgives the terrorist who killed her husband, Naseem Faheem, during the attacks at St. Mark's Cathedral in Alexandria, Egypt, Faithwire reported.
Naseem was the guard at the cathedral who was one of the first Egyptians to be killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up just outside the cathedral after Naseem prevented him from entering.
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Addressing her husband's killers, Samira said, "I'm not angry at the one who did this. I'm telling him, 'May God forgive you, and we also forgive you. Believe me, we forgive you. You put my husband in a place I couldn't have dreamed of. Believe me, I am proud of him. And I wish I was there beside him," World Watch Monitor quoted her as saying.
Samira's statement seemed to have stunned Adeeb who was left speechless for about 10 seconds after Samira spoke as the footage subtitled and circulated by the Bible Society shows.
"The Copts of Egypt are made of steel!" Adeeb finally spoke after that long pause. "If it were my father, I could never say this. These people have so much forgiveness. But this is their faith and religious conviction. These people are made from a different substance," he added.
That was not the first time Samira expressed his forgiveness to the people responsible for the tragic killing of her 54-year-old husband. During Naseem's funeral on April 13, she said she has a loving message to the killer and those in Egypt that think like him: "I forgive you. And I ask God to forgive you," Open Doors USA quoted her as saying.
"I am sure Naseem has been happy to give his life for Christ," she said. "I am proud of what my husband did, but life has become hard for me after his death. He was everything in my life."
Samira recalled the last conversation she had with her husband. "He told me he knew me and the kids needed him, but he also knew God would take care of us if something might happen," she said.
"Naseem's life was at the church, and now his life is in heaven. I know he is in a good place," she added.
Naseem was a beloved church member and served the church for over 20 years.
