Syed Farook’s support of Islamic State and ‘fixated’ on Israel, confirmed by father
While he was silent on these facts during a press conference hosted by CAIR after last week’s San Bernardino massacre, the father of Syed Rizwan Farook told an Italian newspaper that his son supported ISIS ideology and was “fixated on Israel.”
When asked by reporter for the La Stampa newspaper whether his son had ever talked about ISIS, Farook’s father said that he had.
“Who does not talk about it these days? He said he shared the ideology of al-Baghdadi to create an Islamic State, and he was fixated on Israel,” the man said, referring to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Syed Farook
He continued, recalling a disagreement with over gun ownership: “I became angry. In 45 years in the United States, I yelled: ‘I have never had a weapon.’ He shrugged his shoulders and replied: ‘Your loss,’ ” the father said.
“I cannot forgive myself. Maybe if I had been at home, I would have found out and stopped him,” he told the Italian newspaper.
Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, opened fire at Farook’s co-workers at a Christmas party for the environmental health department before being gunned down hours later in a shootout with authorities.
Islamic State made a statement which hailed Farook and Malik as “supporters” of the terror group and now FBI said it was treating the attack as an act of terrorism.
Among the 14 victims of last week’s shooting was Yvette Velasco, 27, a member of St. Catherine of Siena Church in Rialto, California.
The Rev. Rogelio Gonzalez spoke Sunday about the church’s loss.
“This week, we have been witness on how evil can touch anyone, anywhere, any given moment,” Rev. Rogelio Gonzalez said Sunday on the church’s loss. “There’s questions. How can something like this take place? How can I reconcile my faith with what’s happening?”
In a bid to address the growing anxiety about ISIS, President Barack Obama spoke to the nation Sunday night.
He characterized what happened in San Bernardino as “an act of terrorism, designed to kill innocent people.”
“The FBI is still gathering the facts about what happened in San Bernardino, but here’s what we know: The victims were brutally murdered and injured by one of their co-workers and his wife. So far we have no evidence that the killers were directed by a terrorist organization overseas, or that they were part of a broader conspiracy here at home.
“But it is clear that the two of them had gone down the dark path of radicalization, embracing a perverted interpretation of Islam that calls for war against America and the West,” the President said.
Tashfeen Malik and Syed Farook
