| Issa Nazir | |
|---|---|
| |
| Status: | Deceased |
| Birthplace: | Pakistan |
| Nationality: |  Pakistani
|
| Father: | Abu Nazir (d. 2012) |
| Sibling(s): | 3 unnamed siblings |
| Played by: | Rohan Chand |
| Season(s): | 1 |
| Episodes: | 1 appearance |
| First episode: | "Crossfire" |
Issa Nazir was the youngest of the four sons of terrorist Abu Nazir. The identities of his mother and brothers has not been revealed.
He had a close relationship with Marine Sergeant Nicholas Brody, who loved him as a son. 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."
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 Bill Walden 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. 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.