It was an honour to carry poppy wreath in church, I wept as I thought of all the fallen soldiers – said poppy hero Tajamal.

A Pakistani Christian asylum seeker who escaped Pakistan after being shot for not converting to Islam, was in tears over the privilege given to him on
Remembrance Sunday, when he had the opportunity to lay a wreath of poppies for all those who have fallen in duty.

Mr Tajamal Amar a poppy hero was badly beaten by Muslims on 20th October 2017 for his support of British forces and displaying a cross (click here). 
The attack left him unconscious for six hours and with serious amnesia when he awoke. 

Mr Amar was initially admitted to Royal Derby Hospital for 48 hours and then later was later re-admitted to Royal Derby Hospital and transferred to
Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham, after a series of tests in response to serious head pain – including a CT scan – led to the discovery of excessive
bleeding in his skull cavity.  For a further four days doctors kept Mr Amar under close scrutiny until he was discharged having been very close
to needing intrusive brain surgery.

Fortunately for Mr Amar, he was released from hospital one week before Remembrance Sunday, a date on which he never fails to attend church to remember
‘lost heroes’.

However this time the visit to his local church became one of the best days of his life, second only to the birth of his daughter he say’s, a child
he had to wait 15 years for.  Whilst attending his local church he was surprised to be asked to carry a wreath of poppies to be hung on the wall
of a church to remember the bravery of so many citizens of Britain who had lost their lives preserving the freedoms of our country and many other nations. 

Mr Amar said:

“We travelled to church on Remembrance Sunday as a family despite the fear we now feel. One of our church members who is also an ex-British forces officer was leading the service.

“He asked me how I felt after my attack and I told the church, that when I woke up after 6 hours of unconsciousness, my first thought was that I had had a car accident.  I searched my body and pinched myself to check that I was alive.  When I realised I was living I thanked God for saving me that I might continue to protect my wife and daughter, it is a huge gift from God that I have not left them helpless.

“I was then given the privilege to lay a wreath in the church for the men who have died protecting Britain and many countries of the world. For me it was the greatest honour and one that I will never forget. 

“I felt a great weight of responsibility as the church watched me place this wreath on a wall. As I stepped I realised that many of the men and women who died never saw their children grow and had left behind loving spouses and partners.  I felt a moment of great sorrow but also immense gratitude. I am not ashamed that I cried as I carried the poppy wreath and will always pray for the wonderful serviceman who continue to protect so many of us. 

“The men that attacked me did so without provocation, I believe they tried to kill me. When I think of how close I was to death I shudder.  However, this important role that the church entrusted upon me has really lifted my spirits – God is our protector and we simply need to put our trust in Him.”

Tajamal Amar has informed us that police that two suspects have been arrested and that a witness was due to identify the perpetrators earlier this
week.  

In the meanwhile Nathan Gill MEP for Wales has responded to an email from the BPCA and produced a video for us to share with our readers:

MEP Nathan Gill is alarmed by the attack on Mr Amar and the regular reports of violence and persecution of Christians in Pakistan. In an email to our chairman
Wilson Chowdhry, he wrote:

“Thank you for your email.

Please sign our petition calling for protection of non-Muslims in the UK from a recognisable trend of increasing violence from radicalised Muslims
(click here)