Faraj Al-Shamie, a surgeon at a hospital, had kept a low profile since his son Jihad Al-Shamie’s attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Manchester on Yom Kippur
The father of Manchester synagogue terrorist Jihad Al-Shamie has addressed his son’s murderous rampage.
Faraj Al-Shamie, 74, finally broke his cover at his French bolthole yesterday – hours after a Facebook post in which he commented in detail for the first time on the attack. Two innocent people – and Jihad – died following the horror at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Manchester on Yom Kippur last week.
The post read: “The recent tragic act of terror has brought deep pain — to our family and to the families of the victims. Our hearts and prayers are with them. No one should ever experience such suffering again.”
Faraj, who is a surgeon at a hospital, went on to describe Manchester as embodying the “true spirit of multicultural peace and solidarity”. The dad added: “Manchester has always been — and remains — a shining example of unity and coexistence, where Muslims, Christians, Jews, and people of all faiths live side by side in respect and harmony.
“Having lived here for years, I can say with pride that this city embodies the true spirit of multicultural peace and solidarity. No one should ever experience such suffering again. We must all stand together — united, vigilant, and compassionate — to prevent such acts and protect the peace of our communities.”
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Three other people suffered serious injuries in the terror attack, which happened days before the second anniversary of the start of the Hamas-Israel conflict. It emerged Faraj had previously made online comments in praise of Hamas and the 7 October terror attacks, but he did not address them in yesterday’s Facebook post.
There is huge public interest in Jihad Al-Shamie’s motivation behind the attack but, when approached by reporters yesterday, his dad refused to discuss his son’s violent anti-Jewish ideology. Speaking from the garden of his modest bungalow in a village in the Picardie region, the surgeon declined to answer questions about his role in his 35-year-old son’s upbringing, including why he named his first-born “Jihad” – Arabic for holy war. He replied told the Daily Mail reporter: ‘I don’t have anything to say.’
But British counter terrorist police and security services believe Jihad Al-Shamie’s attack on the Manchester synagogue was motivated by his anger at Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza, in which tens of thousands of Palestinians have also died.
Faraj settled in the Crumpsall area of Manchester after he brought his family including his eldest son Jihad, from Syria to Britain in the 1990’s. It is thought he still resides in the city but swiftly left for shelter in France following the shooting.