Zeenab Kassam, a Calgary nurse working in Afghanistan, has been identified as one of two Canadians killed in a hotel attack in Kabul.
CBC News and the Calgary Sun both confirmed Kassam’s death through family sources.
Kassam’s brother, Karim-Aly Kassam, told the Calgary Sun his sister had been volunteering as an English teacher to children for the past year-and-a-half in Afghanistan’s capital city.
“This is not about the Afghan people, this is about a small, extreme minority of very dangerous people who’ve found a home in Afghanistan,” Kassam told the Sun, adding his sister was fearless.
“She felt safe, she was treated well … I can’t believe this is happening.”
A grieving relative told the Globe and Mail the family is “overwhelmed” by the news, adding they’re “still trying to understand why all of this happened.”
According to the Calgary Herald, news of Kassam’s death has shocked the city’s Ismaili community.
“We’re trying to maintain the family’s privacy while they have a chance to take in the news,” said Temina Lalani-Shariff, a spokesperson for the Ismaili Council for the Prairies.
“Certainly the whole community is sending prayers and good thoughts to them. We’re very saddened over what’s essentially a human tragedy.”
More http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/03/21/zeenab-kassam-dead-kabul-calgary_n_5008648.html
Calgary woman slain by Taliban in shooting rampage at Kabul hotel
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/canada/Calgary+woman+slain+Taliban+shooting+rampage+Kabul+hotel/9646143/story.html
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UCA Senior Research Fellow Professor Karim-Aly Kassam appointed Foreign Member of Academy of Sciences, Republic of Tajikistan
Muslim Presence in Alberta: Contribution and Challenges – by Karim-Aly Kassam
YMCA Calgary 2007 Peace Medals
Ismailimail 
ON BEHALF OF ALL THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD, PLEASE ACCEPT MOST HEARTFELT CONDOLENCES FOR YOUR FAMILY’S TREMENDOUS LOSS!!! MAY THEIR KIND, HUMANITARIAN SOULS REST IN ETERNAL PEACE AND ATTAIN JANATI SALVATION!!! AMEN AMEN AMEN
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SOULS REST IN ETERNAL PEACE AND ATTAIN JANATI SALVATION!!! AMEN AMEN AMEN
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Today is a very sad day that we bow to our thoughts to remember those who have been killed in Afghanistan!! Our humble prayers are with the family and friends who are grieving their loss. It is hurting and lamenting for us but we are also rejoicing that these Canadian and others have not died in vain!!! Cruelty and inhumanity has no place our world today.
Rest in eternal peace as your devotion towards charitable endeavor has strengthened our belief in humanity, morality, civilization, and benevolence!
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We all pray for those who have been killed In Afghanistan while doing volunteering work, we will miss them, and we will remember they have not died in vain. Our heartfelt condolences for the family members and friends of Miss Kassam of Calgary and Miss Thomas of Vancouver .
May God rest their kind and humanitarian souls in peace, Amen.
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Truly a pointless killing of those who were serving Afghanistan for its betterment.
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