The father of Jeremiah Small, an American gym teacher killed by one his students in Iraq, has offered forgiveness to the family of his son's killer.

"The killing of our son should be turned into an event to call for peace and coexistence," said Dan Small, who traveled from Cosmopolis, Wash., to Iraq to bury his son in the Sulaimaniyah's Christian cemetery.

"We do not have any hatred for the family of the student who killed our son," he said.

Biyar Sarwar, 18, killed Jeremiah last week during a classroom dispute before turning the gun on himself. At the funeral, the shooter's father, Rashid Sarwar, apologized to Small's family.

"The shooting was a painful thing to us also," Sarwar said.

Jeremiah was a devout Christian who had taught at Medes School, a private Christian academy, since 2005. His students said he prayed in front of them regularly.

Although 95 percent of the student body is Muslim, authorities said the killing was not motivated by religion.