A courageous Muslim dad who risked his own life to save an Irish woman from drowning in the River Lee in Ireland says “I’m no hero” and he “didn’t even think” before diving into the freezing water.
Mohammed Khathiri, 44, happened to be gazing through his bedroom window near George’s Quay in Cork when he spotted a woman tumble into the river on Wednesday afternoon.
Mohammed, who was born in Morocco but has lived in the Republic of Ireland for two years, explained that he saw the woman perched on a quay wall, and reacted quickly when she fell backwards into the water.
Speaking to local news site Cork Beo, Mohammed revealed the woman was attempting to cling onto the quay wall but was in danger of slipping beneath the surface as she struggled to stay afloat.
“I saw her sitting on the river wall and suddenly she fell into the river. I didn’t hesitate to help her, I didn’t even think. I ran quickly and jumped into the river. This took me about 20 or 30 seconds, to be in front of her,” reports Cork Beo.
“After I jumped into the river, I saw the girl trying to hold onto the river wall. She was unable to. I caught her and pulled her to me. It was difficult for us both, as the river was deep. Some passers-by were watching the event and one of them threw me a lifebuoy. That made it a little easier, it took me, I think, it all took around seven minutes.
“Of course I jumped to save her. Without any hesitation. This is my principle in life and my belief as well. Life is sacred. It must be protected, whether it is a human, animal or any creature that needs help.”
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Mohammed and the casualty were assisted from the water by emergency services, and he received a thorough medical check before being discharged.
Mohammed explained they were both fortunate as the current wasn’t particularly powerful at that moment. He mentioned he felt no fear as he was a skilled swimmer who had grown up learning to swim in rivers.
Word of the 44 year old’s heroic act was swiftly shared across social media, with countless people praising his courage and hailing him a ‘hero’. Speaking about the rescue on Cork City’s Community Radio yesterday though, he maintained that he simply did what anybody else would have done.
He told presenter Fahmeda: “I would like to thank all people in news and social media. I’m not a hero… I did what was important to do. This life, it’s for all.”
Muslims heroism amid Islamophobia
Mohammed’s inspiring story comes amid growing hostility to Islam and Muslim immigration across Britain and much of Europe.
Mohammed settled in Cork two years before this incident ocurred and if he hadn’t been there then the woman involved may have drowned.
Another example of a Muslim helping to save lives came out of Rotherham on the 15 July 2025 when a shop owner Sarad Yousaf showed extraordinary bravery by saving the lives of dozens of families inside a burning building.
After walking home and noticing smoke rising from a building, he let himself inside and quickly set off the fire alarm whilst also putting himself at considerable risk going door to door inside the burning building, alerting people and helping them to escape.
He said that as he ran, banging on doors, most people seemed confused and unsure how to respond until they saw the smoke.
At the time of writing this article, 5Pillars was unable to find a reference to either of these heroic accounts on prominent right-wing news platforms GB News or Talk TV.
Both Talk TV and GB News invest a significant amount of time and energy into promoting Muslim stories which are negative in nature.
