| Issa Nazir | |
|---|---|
| |
| Status: | Deceased |
| Age: | 10 |
| Birthplace: | Pakistan |
| Date of death: | 2009 |
| Cause of death: | Killed in a drone strike |
| Nationality: |  Pakistani
|
| Father: | Abu Nazir (d. 2012) |
| Mother: | Nassrin Mughrabi |
| Sibling(s): | 3 unnamed siblings |
| Significant other(s): | Nicholas Brody (teacher) (d. 2013) |
| Played by: | Rohan Chand |
| Season(s): | 1 |
| Episodes: | 1 appearance |
| Appears in: | "Crossfire" |
"Issa! No!" - Brody wakes up yelling out
Issa Nazir was the youngest of the four sons of terrorist Abu Nazir and Nassrin Mughrabi. The identities of brothers has not been revealed. He had a close relationship with Marine Sergeant Nicholas Brody, who loved him as a son.
Novels[]
Issa is a character, who appears in the novel written by Andrew Kaplan:
Background[]
The first mention of Issa's name came up as Brody was talking in his sleep, while he was as at Carrie's family cabin. Carrie asked Brody about Issa, only for Brody to lie about Issa being the name of a guard. (The Weekend)
In this flashback, Issa was revealed to be Abu Nazir's young son, and also the remaining piece of the puzzle. (Marine One)
Northeastern Iraq 3 Years Earlier[]
After five years of imprisonment, Abu Nazir had personally opened the prison door for Brody, and given him proper accommodations. In exchange, Brody was to teach Issa to be fluent in English. Although Brody had no idea how to teach, he found that the best way to start off was to create a meaningful relationship between him and Issa.
Over time, Brody and Issa bonded, and Brody became proud of Issa for learning English at a remarkably fast pace. For Issa's 10th birthday, Brody made him a slingshot, as he was scared of the crows around his residence.
Leave it to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the military of US and the american government to ruin this in the worst possible way. It was so bad, that it turned Brody against his own country.
One day, in 2009 after seeing Issa off to school, Brody heard and felt the shakes of an explosion. He quickly set out to Issa's school to find him. After a short search, Brody found Issa under a pile of rubble, dead.
The military of US had bombed the school that Issa was attending, killing him and many other children. But the American government would not stop there. It would go so far as to deny it, and claim that the enemy made up the story about the school getting bombed. Brody knew better, and had decided on his own volition to carry out a mission in Issa's name. (Homeland: Saul's Game)
Well the reason Brody turned in the first place was because of his relationship with Issa. His motivations weren’t political or even religious, they were personal. He cared so much about Issa and about the deterioration of the image he had of America that he was moved to act.
And he balked at the last minute because of his relationship with his daughter.
Biography[]
Little is known about his early life but by age eight or so he was living in northern Iraq. He seems to have been somewhat afraid of his father; it is not difficult to believe Abu Nazir was quite strict with Issa, though it is also clear how much he loved him. There he attended school and met Nicholas Brody, who Nazir had removed from his "hole" and ordered to teach Issa fluent English. Issa was skittish and shy around Brody at first, but when the latter took the blame for a tea set Issa had knocked over with a soccer ball he began to trust him. Over the course of one to two years Issa and Brody bonded further. Issa at one point drew Brody a picture of the two of them, bringing Brody out of a likely PTSD-induced flashback by showing it to him.
He is seen praying with Brody and it is likely they did so whenever Issa was home from his madrasa. When Brody praised Issa on how quickly he was learning English, he gave him a hug, startling the marine. Issa was scared of blackbirds, and Brody gave him a slingshot for his tenth birthday so that he could scare them away in turn. By the time of his death Issa had learned enough English to sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" and to read a few paragraphs of a book in English.
Issa was killed in a drone strike ordered by Vice President William Walden e David Estes that was intended for his father, Abu Nazir. Walden denied that any children had been killed in the strike even though it had hit a school full of them, with his knowledge. Brody was visibly devastated by Issa's death and quietly outraged by Walden's denial. This was the event that "turned" Brody and led him to nearly blow himself up in order to kill the Vice President and several others. (Crossfire)
Abu Nazir was aware of how close Issa had gotten to his captive, as shown by the fact that he takes Brody's word only when he swears "on the immortal soul of Issa." Avenging Issa also appears to be part of Brody's motive for sending Abu Nazir the serial number to Walden's pacemaker, which allowed the latter to have someone hack the device, killing him.
Quotes[]
- ‘Oh my God, it’s Issa!’ Carrie say “Brody knew Nazir’s son [Issa].”
- “And they call us terrorists.” - Abu Nazir
- Nicholas Brody : You trusted me with Issa. Why?
- Abu Nazir : Why not trust a man who would rather die than give information to his enemy?
- Nicholas Brody : You got your enemy to teach your own son.
- Abu Nazir : No, we only began as enemies, because that's what the others told us to be.
- "I know that you think that he was kind to you, that he saved you. But the truth is, he systematically pulled you apart, Brody piece by piece, until there was nothing left but pain. And then he relieved the pain and he put you back together again as someone else. He gave you a boy to love, and then that other monster, Walden, took that boy away. Between the two of them, they made your life a misery. Wouldn't it be a relief to stop lying?" - Carrie talking about Abu Nazir, Bill Walden and Issa with Brody.
- It was hearing Dana’s voice that changed your mind, wasn’t it? She asked you to come home, and you did. Why? Maybe because… Maybe because you suddenly understood that killing yourself and ruining Dana’s life wouldn’t bring Issa back. Maybe because you knew then how much you loved your own child. Maybe because you were just sick of death. That’s the Brody I’m talking to. That’s the Brody that knows the difference between warfare and terrorism. That’s the Brody I met up in that cabin. That’s the Brody I fell in love with. - Carrie talking about Dana with Brody
Behind the Scenes[]
Appearances[]
| Season 1 | ||||
| "Pilot" | "Grace" | "Clean Skin" | "Semper I" | "Blind Spot" |
| "The Good Soldier" | "The Weekend" | "Achilles Heel" | Crossfire | "Representative Brody" |
| "The Vest" | "Marine One" | |||