Faraaz’s message of embracing humanity

If his life had not been so cruelly cut short, Faraaz Ayaz Hossain would have been a young man just waiting to enter his 30s. Would he, like his brother Zaraif, be working in his grandfather's business alongside his mother Simeen Rahman, the current CEO of Transcom Group, who has had to live these nine years with the worst burden any parent could carry? Would he have pursued his passion for athletics and volleyball? Would he have still been a diehard fan of Man Utd and continue to play pranks on his friends? Would he have got married and begun one of the most significant stages of his life?

All these questions, no doubt, agonise his loved ones as they grapple with the reality that those will never be answered.

But there was a lot more to Faraaz than just the predictable aspirations of a young person. He wanted to bring change to the world and work for people, especially those who were vulnerable and disempowered. In his brief life of 20 years, he truly lived up to the attributes surrounding his name -- "someone full of love" and one who "creates balance and harmony for anyone lucky enough to be called his friend", according to a website. In Persian Faraaz means "exalted" and "elevating". Could his parents even imagine how much his name would reflect his legacy or determine his destiny?

Throughout his precious life, Faraaz was known for going out of his way to help a friend. He was a natural leader among his peers and popular for his inherent kindness to others. He lived a life of privilege but was full of humility. A class valedictorian from high school, he was an all-rounder, excelling in athletics and volleyball while being a straight A student.

Even at Emory University, Atlanta, where he studied, he was an ace student. His brother Zaraif Ayaat Hossain was his best friend. He wanted to be like his Nana Bhai, Latifur Rahman, the founder and chairman of Transcom Group, who left the world, by strange coincidence, also on July 1, four years later, heartbroken to have lost his beloved grandson, Chotoo. His grandmother Shahnaz Rahman (current chairman of Transcom Group) doted on him. His mother, who was his hero, told me shortly after his death that it was difficult to find a flaw in such a good-natured child.

Thus, it was no surprise to anyone who knew him that he would refuse to leave his two friends, both women, one of a different faith than his, in the face of certain death.

Faraaz was brutally murdered along with 22 other hostages in the terror attack in Holy Artisan Bakery on July 1, 2016. The murderous group that descended upon innocents that day had apparently decided to spare those who could prove they were Muslims. Among the slain foreigners were seven Japanese, nine Italians, and one Indian, all of them deeply connected to Bangladesh. But they didn't spare Faraaz, a practicing Muslim who was well-versed in the holy Quran. It was because he did not leave his two school friends Abinta Kabir and Tarishi Jain, also promising young university students with dreams to bring about change in the world. When his mother got the news that "the terrorists were letting the Bangladeshis go" her heart went cold. According to her, she knew he would not be coming back to her. Because she knew her son. He would never abandon his friends, no matter what. Faraaz had shown the world what loyalty, friendship, and integrity could look like in the face of terror. Ishrat Akhond, a young Bangladeshi woman who had reportedly defied the terrorists, was also murdered.

Faraaz, a devoted believer of Islam, who prayed and fasted and had performed Umrah many times, who celebrated cultural diversity, and believed in equality regardless of faith, race or gender and embraced humanity with open arms, just did not fit the stereotype of the violent, inflexible, backward face of Islam that dominates the mainstream Western narrative. Instead, he represented a progressive, accepting, and peaceful face of Islam. As the news of Faraaz's act of courage spread, people around the world applauded him with the loftiest tributes -- the Mother Teresa International Award (2016), recognition by the Garden of the Righteous Worldwide, and the Faraaz Courage Award 2016 to recognise exceptional acts of courage to encourage empathy and the spirit of bravery among young Bangladeshis.

We are living in a world that is gravely wounded by misogyny, bigotry and a frenzy of "othering". It is a world where empathy is disappearing fast and divisiveness rules. In this era of unbridled and well documented brutality, Faraaz's love for humanity that took precedence over everything else offers a profound message of hope, harmony and sanity.