KANSAS — A Wichita State University international student, Abduljaleel Alarbash, 22, is being hailed as a hero after sacrificing his life to stop a suicide bomber from entering a mosque in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, on Friday, May 29.

Alarbash and his brother Muhammad, 18, both volunteered at a Shi’a mosque as security guards, following an attack on another mosque carried out by ISIS on Friday May 22. That incident claimed the lives of 21 people and injured more than 100 others who were observing prayer.

Alarbash stopped the terrorist from entering the mosque when the suspect was dressed in women’s clothing and tried to enter from the women’s side. For safety reasons, women were told to stay home following the previous week’s attack.

Alarbash, his brother and two others were killed after the terrorist detonated himself in the mosque’s parking lot during prayer. The terrorist was later identified as Abu Jandal Al-Jazawi, a member of the “Islamic State” terrorist organization.

Alarbash was studying electrical engineering at Wichita State. He was visiting family in Saudi Arabia and planned to get married there this summer, before returning to school in the fall.

Mohammad A. Bujbarah, 24, is also a student at Wichita State. He arrived with Alarbash in the U.S. in 2011 and the two became fast friends.

“We used to live together in an apartment building and he was nice to everyone he met,” Bujbarah said. “He had many hobbies like Playstation and working out; and he was very smart and had a great sense of humor.”

After Alarbash’s sacrifice, the students at Wichita State held a candlelight vigil on campus on Friday, June 5. The students also held a blood donation in his name on Wednesday, June 10.

Alarbash is being hailed as a hero both nationally and online, where users used the hashtag #the_hero_jaleel on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Users posted pictures of him and shared his story across social media. 

“He was very religious and was always trying to change the negative view of Islam in America by doing community service and volunteering for nonprofit organizations,” Bujbarah said. “When you sit with him, you realize he has purity like the soul of a child.” γ