Father of Slain U.S. Teacher Forgives Iraqi Shooter
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Religion Today Religious persecution, missions, Christianity around the world - Published Mar 08, 2012
March 9, 2012
The father of Jeremiah Small, an American gym teacher shot by one of his students at a private Christian school in Iraq, says he has forgiven his son's killer, CBN News reports. "We do not have any hatred for the family of the student who killed our son," said Dan Small, who traveled from Washington state to Iraq for his son's burial. Jeremiah was killed last week by Biyar Sarwar, 18, during a classroom dispute before Sarwar turned the gun on himself. At the funeral, Sarwar's father apologized to Small's family. "The shooting was a painful thing to us also," Rashid Sarwar said. Jeremiah, a devout Christian, had taught at Medes School since 2005, and his students said he prayed in front of them regularly. The student body is 95 percent Muslim, but authorities said the shooting was not motivated by religion.
