Mosque members on San Bernardino shooter: ‘He was living the American dream’
Several Muslims who worshipped with the San Bernardino shooter say they were shocked by his killing spree because had appeared mild mannered and “peaceful.”
Members of the California mosques where gunman Syed Rizwan Farook prayed — Dar-Al-Uloom Al-Islamia mosque in San Bernardino and the Islamic Center of Riverside — told NBC News that they did not understand how he turned to violence when he appeared to have everything going for him.
"He was living the American dream," Roshan Abbassi, an assistant imam at Dar-Al-Uloom Al-Islamia, said to the network. "He had a really good job, really good pay. He had a wife. ... He had a warm house. He had a baby."
Authorities say Farook and his wife, 27-year-old Tashfeen Malik, were killed in a police shootout Wednesday, hours after they opened fire during a holiday party at Inland Regional Center, a center for persons with disabilities in San Bernardino, roughly 60 miles east of Los Angeles.
Malik, a Pakistani woman who had lived in Saudi Arabia before moving the U.S., posted a message to Facebook pledging allegiance to the leader of ISIS, U.S. officials said. The attack appears to have been inspired by the Islamic State jihadist group, which has claimed responsibility for last month’s terrorist attacks in Paris.
For many years, Farook attended both morning and evening services at the Islamic Center of Riverside, where he celebrated his marriage; in 2014, he moved and started attending Dar-Al-Uloom regularly, according to the report.
Mustafa Kuko, director of the Islamic Center of Riverside, described Farook as “very mild, very calm, very peaceful, very nice, very decent.”
"I don't know what has gone through his mind," Kuko said to NBC News. "This is beyond me. I could not understand it — and to take your wife and leave your son? It's awful."
Abbassi said that when he heard about the Inland Regional Center shooting that left 14 dead and 21 injured his first thought was "I hope it's not a Muslim."
On Thursday, Dar-Al-Uloom Al-Islamia posted a message to its Facebook page offering their prayers for the victims of the shooting and their families.
"DAR-AL-ULOOM and the Muslim community of California is saddened and shocked by the recent shootings in San Bernardino, CA and prays for the victims and their family members. The center and its members offer their deepest condolences to those affected by this tragedy and we stand with our fellow Americans in this difficult time."
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim advocacy group, swiftly condemned the killing spree and offered their condolences to the victims' families.
Ibrahim Hooper, the national communications director for CAIR, said that there has been a tremendous spike in anti-Muslim incidents nationwide in the wake of the Paris terror attacks.
"When this [shooting] hit too, we're obviously apprehensive about an even increased reaction. So far we've seen a phone threat to a Virginia mosque, some vandalism at a Florida mosque, threats and hate mail in greater quantities since this incident occurred."
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