Money raised for family of Muslim hero who died after defending Christians in al-Shabaab attack

Kenyan Muslims and Christians have joined in honouring the Muslim man who died from wounds incurred when he shielded Christians on a bus from an attack by Islamic extremists.

#HeroSalah became a trending topic on Twitter as hundreds of pounds were donated to an account set up to raise funds for his wife and the five children left behind by Salah Farah. 

Writer Harun Maruf tweeted:

Interpeace tweeted:

Joseph Boinnet, of the Kenyan police, said: "He was a true hero. He died while protecting innocent Kenyans from terrorists."

Farah, a teacher in Malindi on the Kenyan coast, was taking a bus from Mandera to Nairobi just before Christmas when it came under fire from gunmen from Al-Shabaab, the militant jihadist group that is affiliated to Al Qaeda. The passengers were ordered to separate according to their religion and he refused, for which he was shot. 

He died earlier this week in hospital. 

Kenyans united behind the campaign to honour him on social media at a time when their country is under growing threat from Islamist extremism. 

Donations are being handled by Abdullahi Derow on Twitter:

After the shooting, Salah said: "We asked them to kill all of us or leave us alone. As we argued, they shot me and the boy. One man who also came out of the bus and tried to escape to the bush was shot. We are brothers. It's only the religion that is the difference, so I ask my brother Muslims to take care of the Christians so that the Christians also take care of us... and let us help one another."

Al-Shabaab recently claimed to have killed 100 Kenyans in an attack on a peacemaker camp in Somalia. This week alone, as many as 20 people were murdered by a suicide-bombing and gun attack on a beachside restaurant in the Somali capital Mogadishu.