Romance had ended for teen shot dead by police Numan Haider at Endeavour Hills police station
NUMAN Haider had recently split from his girlfriend, a Muslim convert, leaving him heartbroken. Friends have taken to Facebook to brand him a “martyr” and a “gentleman”.
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A FAILED romance with a woman who converted to Islam left dead terror suspect Numan Haider devastated in recent weeks.
A friend told the Herald Sun the 18-year-old Afghani’s marriage recently soured.
Haider’s behaviour had caused authorities “significant concern” in the past few weeks, had his passport cancelled about a week ago on security grounds.
In his last Facebook post to a close friend, the terror suspect wrote: “Always stand tall, stay firm, strong and proud”.
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Haider was shot dead outside Endeavour Hills police station after an knife attack on two members of a joint counter-terrorism taskforce.
Supporters of Haider told the Herald Sun he was being “harassed” by the Australian Federal Police and was angry and frustrated that his passport had been cancelled.
Friends of Haider have been sending text messages and Facebook posts to organise a meeting.
Some supporters called him a “martyr” and a “gentleman”.
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Many wrote on Facebook that they hoped Haider would be accepted by Allah as a “shaheed” — an honorific given to Muslims who are considered martyrs for dying while fighting for jihad or for the military expansion of Islam.
Parents of some of Haider’s friends were among those to recently speak out in the media about feeling powerless while their children were being “groomed” to join jihad.
His close friend Abu Peter Bin Ryan took to social media to explain his devastation at the killing and called on friends for support.
“A sincere brother I was with every day and always there to help brothers,” he wrote.
“I don’t know how life will be now without you.
“Your grave will have a window to paradise.”
Ali Hunter wrote: “We need more brothers like him. Everyone else is a coward”.
Karim Bux wrote: “You cancelled his passport, you have taken his land and when he didn’t give up you killed him”.
Jaffar Baj wrote: “My hearts (sic) sunk when I heard of his passing. The last time I saw him he was smiling in prayer with me. I will never forget his smile”.
One man, who knew Haider, said the two recently had lunch and Haider told him about his divorce and the stress he was under as a result of being investigated for involvement in terrorism activities.
“It (the divorce) was a huge factor in his life. They were living apart. He was very upset,” the man said.
He said Haider seemed “angry and frustrated”.
“He seemed angry about his passport being taken and he wanted to know why.
“He kept getting harassed by police officers and ASIO. He said he was annoyed by them, they kept chasing him and pulling him over and harassing his family.
“They always were knocking on his door, asking questions about him.”
He said Haider seemed like a “good kid”.
“I didn’t see hatred in him, he was just very angry at the way he’d been marginalised by police and kept getting harassed,” he said.
Other friends said he was targeted for “speaking out” against Federal laws.
Haider was last Thursday surrounded by up to 15 uniformed police officers in the mall outside Dandenong Plaza after apparently being seen waving an ISIS flag.
He was one of five men seen thrusting Islamic brochures in the hands of shoppers on McRae St. Locals said the group tries to “recruit” other followers.
Police have gathered CCTV footage from Dandenong Plaza and the Hub arcade. Hub supervisor Panjeta Singh said police had scoured surveillance footage from 16 cameras in the arcade.
“Nothing unusual was reported. We’ve gone through the cameras. Every spot in this building is covered,” Mr Singh said.
One witness said the man was dressed in camouflage Army pants and was being questioned by police.
“He did have the flag. It was black with white writing,” the witness said.
Another said the group was often in the mall and could be “intimidating”.
One Muslim man said: “We want it to stop. But who are we going to complain to?”
Shopkeepers said the teen returned the next day and was again handing out brochures.
Young Muslims are predicting a revolt similar to the uprising in Missouri after the back teen was shot dead by police, angry at the death and claiming they are being harassed by police.
Many members of the Islamic community condemned violence and extremist behaviour, saying there was both “good and bad” within the religion and the “bad” were recruiting vulnerable teens.
Victoria Police have asked the media to keep private the name the officer who shot dead the terror suspect and the other officer who was also injured.
Details of Haider’s final movements are still unclear.
Some people in the Dandenong community said it was not unusual for young people to carry knives for protection against people who hated Islam, claiming groups had been targeting young Muslims in the Dandenong area.
One man who knew Haider said the teen was known to carry a knife for “protection”.
Afghani Muslims in Dandenong said they were “scared” of retaliation by extremist groups.
They said they were aware of Australian-born teenagers being recruited and “brainwashed”.
“The extremists should pack their bags and go,” said one man, who did not want to be named.
“We want the government to go hardly on these people.”
He said many of the young people being recruited had been “good kids” who “were born in Australia and never even travelled around Australia”.
“They are (being) brainwashed, intimidated,” he said.
“Behind this, there is a boss and he is teaching them the wrong things.”
“They were always knocking on his door,” one man said.
“He was frustrated, angry.
“How would you feel if they (police) kept coming into your home?”
Today those who knew Haider gathered in Endeavour Hills to mourn the teenager, with a friend saying his devastated mother had no idea what he was up to.
“She did not know what her son was doing,” the friend said this afternoon.
“She is in shock and very upset.”
Haider was known to have previously been a member of radical Islamic group Al-Furqan.
Today Harun Mehicevic, leader of Al-Furqan in Springvale, refused to confirm Haider’s alleged involvement in the group.
He said he would not comment on Haider’s attack on two police officers or discuss his death last night.
Speaking outside a Springvale flat near the Al-Furqan bookshop, the controversial sheik said the group was working on a statement to be released later today.
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