We finally have a face to go with the name of a murderer who would abandon her own baby and slaughter people, including some who had thrown her baby shower. It now appears that San Bernardino shooter Tashfeen Malik pledged allegiance to ISIS and left her baby in pursuit of paradise in return for her massacre of her husband’s co-workers. Malik and her husband, Syed Rizwan Farook, not only left their baby and family to face the aftermath of their despicable crime but killed people who had supported them both at and outside of work.
As we noted earlier today, it appear that Malik may have played a critical role in radicalizing her husband. She was born in Pakistan but moved to Saudi Arabia 25 years ago at the age of four. She traveled back and forth between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia — two hotbeds of Islamic extremism. She went to college in Pakistan at Bahuddin Zakri University in Multan where she was known as a top student.
What is clear is that she and her husband Farook embraced extreme Islamic views and turned their house into an IED workshop. Malik came to the U.S. on what a “fiancé” visa, which allows an American fiancé to petition for his or her partner’s temporary entry before marriage. She then joined her husband later in a bloodbath at his workplace. There appears to be few pictures of Malik. What is clear is that her daughter will eventually be told of how her parents chose their pursuit of paradise over her well-being.
The question now is what to do with the child. Police say that the apartment was full of weapons and pipe bombs while his mother lived there with their baby. It is hard to conclude that the grandmother is an appropriate custodian until we can determine her level of knowledge not only of the specific attack but the general planning for violent jihad.
What do you think?
I simply disagree the family could not be ignorant of the radicalization and plot. So far, coworkers who spend 8 hours a day w/ this guy apparently were clueless. The wife rarely spoke, and spoke only broken English when she did. I have a sibling w/ whom I have no contact. Every family has a unique dynamic that ranges from very close to completely estranged, w/ most falling between those 2 poles. Mine falls between those poles, closer to estranged. But, I also understand human nature. People here are judging “family” largely on their family. That’s human nature. Well, I have investigated many people and many families. And, while I have some dysfunction in my family, I am able to put my personal family issues aside and assess clinically. That’s what I do for a living. i am not able to completely put aside bias, I am not a robot. But, I’m pretty good @ it or I would not have a successful career investigating.
Here’s my take. I’ve read this family was dysfunctional to a large degree. The father of the killer was reportedly abusive of the mother, leading to divorce. It appears Sayed was maybe the youngest? He was closest to mom as indicated w/ her living w/ him. Sayed appears to have poor social skills. He had to find a woman online to marry. Like many w/ poor social skills, anger, alienation and resentment builds over time. I will say again, I surmise the wife is the original radical. I believe she quietly exerted control over Sayed and probably helped separate him from his family to a certain degree. The family seems to know little of this wife and I tend to believe that. The wife reportedly attended a radical mosque in Pakistan and apparently her father became more radical after moving to Saudi Arabia. I’ve read Sayed stopped attending his local mosque recently. I think the key is the wife and her family, not Sayed’s family. But, I am patient enough to wait at least A WEEK OR TWO to reserve judgment that will affect the life of an INNOCENT 6 month old baby.
TinEar
You, at least, get it.
The legal standard for child custody is “the best interests of the child,” although in CA, as in most states, that standard is statutorily defined as giving preference to blood relatives. I’m not sure why that should be, given some of the utterly horrible families out there, but that being the case, the burden will be on the state to prove the family unfit and place the baby permanently with strangers. Surely the Grandmother is unfit. She lived with the family in a relatively small townhouse. She had to have known that they were stockpiling weapons and ammo. Why? Because Grandmas are snoopy. She would have snooped around while the parents were away and she was there by herself with the baby. And how could she have possibly not heard the noise of the bomb making in the garage? According to some ATF guy, the bombs were constructed by purchasing galvanized steel pipes and drilling though them, then filling with an explosive powder. Drilling though galvanized steel would require a titanium bit and would be very loud. They had about a dozen pipe bombs, in different stages of assembly. And the neighbor observed Middle Eastern men coming and going at all hours in recent weeks. So all in all, Grandma knew something was going on. As to the brother, the fact that he served in the Navy is not dispositive. Timothy McVeigh was a decorated Army veteran, and Lee H. Oswald was a decorated Marine Corps vet. I would like to see the baby quickly placed in a permanent adoptive home. The religion is irrelevant, although an ethnic match is usually psychologically preferable. I’m sure CA will cave in and give the child to the relatives, in which case she may very well grow up to be embittered against her fellow Americans. But maybe that is in her DNA already. She was born of an obviously cold and emotionally detached mother, and a father whose own father was abusive and refused to support his family. And then he turned around and abandoned his own child. I think there is a lot more to the genetic influence on behavior than is generally recognized. In any event, my sympathies are with the baby. There are so many families out there that would happily adopt her and give her a warm, loving home. I hope she finds one.
Dust Bunny Queen; Take the time to check out this evidence? …… Somebody??? And I mean really check it out not just knee jerk it?
San Bernardino Media Hoax: Faux FBI Crime Scene
http://www.zengardner.com/55719-2/
Can you guys image going to a cathouse in Vegas and this ugly thing being one of your choices? Mein Gott.
They should require the face being covered when they are this ugly.
If there is a delay in the comments being posted its because of Tom DeLay. The government is searching your email to see a link between us and the dead tent head thing in the photo.
Beldar; Yes I wonder about that sometimes but it won’t stop me from using my first amendment right damn it!
I swear I’ve seen a picture of this woman before. Still looking… BTW my comments are not being posted for some odd reason, or there’s a delay.
There is no way the entire family was ignorant of the radicalization of the brother/son.
Olly makes a very important point.
IF the moderate (so called) Muslims want us to believe that they are moderate and that they do not support terrorism or jihad, then it is up to THEM to police their own community and to report to the authorities when it appears that someone is about to go off the rails and commit murder.
Until they do this, they are just as guilty as the person who does the crime and should be treated as suspected criminals also.
Step up and PROVE to us that you are moderate, peaceful or else you are part of the problem as well and will be treated accordingly. Fair warning.
Nick,
I do agree everyone should be judged on their own merits but there needs to be some motivation for the families to take some responsibility for their silence. There is no way the entire family was ignorant of the radicalization of the brother/son. If a reformation of Islam was to take place then Muslims are going to need to begin that process from within. They will need to identify those elements within their Mosques, cultural centers, neighborhoods and families that promote this radical ideology. So to that end I suggest the sins of the husband/wife/son/daughter/father/mother and so on are to some degree the responsibility of others as well.
DBQ, We are in total agreement, which is documented in what you and I have written.
This is not first time a married woman stir up a husband. The account of Jezebel:
The Woman Who Was a She-Devil
Scripture References—1 Kings 16:31; 18:4-19; 19:1, 2; 21:5-25; 2 Kings 9
Name Meaning—This heartless woman with a bloody history belied the name she bore, for Jezebel means, “chaste, free from carnal connection”; but by nature she was a most licentious woman.
She was a voluptuary, with all the tawdry arts of a wanton woman. Thus no name could have been more inappropriate for such a despised female.
It was this heathen woman who married Ahab, king of Northern Israel, and who in so doing was guilty of a rash and impious act which resulted in evil consequences.
As a Jew, Ahab sinned against his Hebrew faith in taking as his wife the daughter of a man whose very name, Ethbaal, meant, “A Man of Baal.”
She Was a Dominating Wife
Ahab was like a puppet in the hands of his overpowering wife. Because he was pliant and weak, Jezebel found it easy to achieve her murderous designs.
How could worthless and spineless Ahab resist the evil scheming of his unscrupulous partner? Jezebel was the evil genius of the man, and a frightful crime ensued.
It was Jezebel who became the feared commander in Israel and not the cowardly husband she could wrap around her thumb.
Paul, I’m simply not willing to rule them out yet. Apparently, this somewhat jaded, seen a lot, PI, is “easily conned” according to bam. I read people for a living. My ability to read people has LITERALLY saved my life. I got a QUICK read from the interview of this sister. It was a short, edited, interview. I have stated it was not conclusive. The older brother served in the Navy post 9/11 and was decorated for anti terrorism duty. I think the evidence will show this woman is the really bad one who radicalized the husband, not his family, the husband. But, we’ll see.
@ Nick
Since we don’t know much about the rest of this Jihadist family and we are unable to screen anyone, I would out of an abundance of caution have the child placed in a secure foster care home until we can sort it all out.
The child is an innocent and should be protected.
bam, I’m LMAO. I am not easily conned. You, my dear woman, are easily angered and frightened. Did you see the interview? I have worked criminal cases and NEVER did I vilify the entire family of a criminal. Now, some had family that were bad, if not worse, than the criminal. But, I NEVER assumed that. You apparently believe children should pay for the sins of the father. I do not. I worked the visiting room @ Leavenworth. I saw evil men w/ their families, their children. At a young age, shortly after college, that cemented in me what my Catholic upbringing taught me, you judge people on their own, not who their family is. We don’t get to choose our family. I do judge people who are friends of a criminal. Apparently this guy had none.
I will say AGAIN. The attorneys for this family did a huge disservice to them. This should have been handled thusly. A prepared written statement that was read, and then handed out to the media. Then answer a few questions. This is attorney/public relations 101. Now, I don’t know how these bozos came to represent the family. But, knowing their ilk, they probably offered their services to get media attention.
Like all cases involving children, what is in THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD, should be paramount. If this is a bad family, then the child should not be placed w/ them. I’m sorry I am not willing to vilify them. I don’t eat raw meat. Too much of a chance for bacteria that can kill you!!
Nick – normally I would go with the child going to a family member, but I think the family is a little dicey. Hence my recommendation that the child go to a stranger.
Please tell me again…why are all of these people like this being let into the country?!!?
Didn’t you listen to Obama. Fundamental transformation.
I heard it when he said it and I understood what he meant then, and I see what the results are becoming now.
My guess; the baby is not his. She was impregnated and then she recruited him, an American citizen, to get access to the U.S. The family unit would be more acceptable for approving the visa. He could easily abandon the baby because it was not his. She could abandon it because the baby was more of a prop. Her allegiance was to ISIS the entire time and it was only when she knew the time was at hand that she could post it publicly.
The FBI Director stated there is no evidence of a much larger cell. I do not believe that for a second.
Nick
Have you had your morning coffee? The sister gave you a GOOD FEELING? WHY, PRAY TELL, WHY? Because she could string a few, coherent words together and feign some semblance of sadness in front of the cameras? You, my friend, are easily conned. As you, yourself, mention, the sister questions what kind of mother could leave a six month old child? That is what won you over–a current and/or former PI? Come on, you’re sharper than that. How about having this sister openly question how two individuals could open fire on innocent men and women, when, just moments before, one of them had been attending a meeting? How about the sister questioning how two people could savagely mow down those who, in an expression of love and acceptance, had recently thrown them a baby shower? How about her questioning the stockpiling of weapons and pipe bombs within a home, where that very baby’s life, along with the lives of other innocents, were put at risk? Nick, it’s not always what one says–listen to what is NOT said. Anyone, with even a rudimentary knowledge as to how these terrorists operate, will tell you that most of what transpires does not occur within a vacuum. Terrorists are fostered, supported and encouraged by those around them. Remember that.
Please tell me again…why are all of these people like this being let into the country?!!?
Karen, The first choice for protective services is always the family. And, this sister gave me a good feeling. She pointed out to the reporter, “What kind of mother leaves a 6 month old breast fed baby?” The sister is intelligent and came across much better than the bozo attorneys working for the family. This terrorist’s brother served in the US Navy. I’m getting the strong sense this wife was the radical, planted into an impressionable, angry American. I would not write off the Farook family just yet.