Shortly after the Paris attacks that left 130 dead and hundreds injured, Muslims spoke out against the attack, many taking to Twitter to express their outrage and to draw attention to the fact that Islam, by its doctrinal definition, is a nonviolent faith.
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The community held a massive congregation and mourning procession in and around the Shia mosque in Johnson Market on Hosur Road.
Add to that the reports that Farook’s father was a mentally ill alcoholic who was suicidal, and that Farook’s mother reportedly took out a restraining order against him, and you get a more complex picture where – if religious extremism was also a motivator for the bloodletting – it was mixed together with other resentments and grievances that don’t appear to be political at all.
Malik posted a statement on Facebook referring to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the emir of the self-proclaimed Islamic State, the militant group that says it has established a caliphate in Syria and Iraq. He said authorities continue to investigate the case to understand the motivations of the shooters and whether they were planning more attacks.
“The ISIS is a threat to humanity”. Co-workers told the Los Angeles Times Farook was a devout Muslim but didn’t talk about religion at work.
Rafia Farook said she was forced to move out of her home with three of her children because her husband continually harassed her “verbally and physically and refused to leave the home”, according to the divorce records.
Ramandan and Akbar said Islamic radicals associated with terrorism groups like ISIS are people who misunderstand the teachings of the Quran and take the words out of context. “I feel like it’s an obligation upon every single person in our minority group to inform people”. The New York Post was also forced to reach a settlement with the innocent muslims they accused of carrying out the Boston Bombings.
“They are claiming that they are Islam and they’re not, because they don’t follow”, Riyadh Shkara said.
As the tragedy in San Bernardino unfolded and authorities released the names of the suspects – Syed Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik- members of the mosque said they condemned their actions.
Kuuleme Stephens said she once happened to call Nicholas Thalasinos, a Messianic Jew who was passionate about pro-Israel causes, while he was at work and having a discussion with Farook.
“We don’t know the motives”, Ayloush said.
He said Farook told fellow worshippers that he had sealed his union with Pakistan-born Malik “online” and the couple married in Saudi Arabia in July 2014.
At the same presser, Farook Jr.’s visibly shaken brother-in-law Farhad Khan said, “I have no idea why he would do that, why he would do something like this”.
The investigation has been focused on the motivation for the terrorists attack with officials including US President Barack Hussein Obama and San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan saying it may have been motivated by extremist ideology, 14 were killed and 22 people were wounded in the attack.
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Leaders say they plan on reaching out to victim’s families and holding a blood drive December 13th at the mosque, in hopes of sending blood to victims fighting for their lives. Among Democrats, 60 percent said they view Muslims like any other community, compared with only 30 percent of Republicans.
