On the afternoon of December 2, I was driving home after attending a talk at Washington’s Georgetown University at its Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal center, dedicated to promotion of Muslim-Christian understanding. I was thinking about the talk I had heard related to the horrific massacre in Paris in mid November in which 130 people had been murdered by seven French Muslims of North African descent. I was wondering if such an attack could possibility happen in the US.
Meanwhile, a news flash on the radio caught my attention. It mentioned an ongoing shooting incident in San Bernardino, a town in Southern California, not far from Los Angles. Unfortunately, with the easy accessibility of lethal weapons, shooting cases have become a frequent occurrence in this country, so it did not particularly alarm me.
By the time I got home, the situation looked much more ominous. Gunmen, clad in black battle dress and with face masks, had invaded a Christmas party for county health workers, shooting indiscriminately. By the time police arrived, the shooters were gone, leaving behind 14 dead and 21 injured people. I held my breath, praying: dear God, let the shooters not be Muslims. Many, I found out later, in the Muslim community stayed awake, worrying and going through a similar emotional experience.
Acting on a tip, the police soon caught up with the shooters riding in a black SUV, not far from where they lived. Two suspects, carrying a virtual arsenal of firearms, rifles, assault weapons and large amounts of ammunition in their vehicle, were shot dead by the police. The authorities quickly identified one shooter, Syed Rizwan Farook. We knew then that a frightening scenario for the Muslim community was about to unfold.
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The public was stunned to learn that one of the terrorists was a young female, possibly working as a husband-wife team. In all the years this country has been subjected to terror attacks, no woman has ever been involved: even among the nineteen 9/11 hijackers, mostly Saudis, not one was a female. However, terrorism is not male monopoly. Both Al Qaida and Boko Haram in Nigeria are known to have employed female suicide bombers.
Unlike such previous attacks, the San Bernardino terrorist action has some very unusual, even baffling dimensions. Details about the Pakistan-born female shooter, Tashfeen Malik and her precise role in planning and orchestration of the terror attacks are slowly emerging. The US Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Pakistani, and Saudi intelligence have gathered some information about her and created a profile. Born in Southern Punjab, she moved to Saudi Arabia with her parents when she was four years old, but as an adult returned to Pakistan to study at Bahauddin Zakariya University in Multan. It is unclear where and how she got radicalized.
Pictures and personal belongings inside the home of San Bernardino shooting suspects Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik
Unlike Tashfeen Malik, Rizwan Farook was born in the US of Pakistani parents. With a college degree, he secured a well-paying job with the County Government, married Tashfeen Malik in Saudi Arabia, and brought her to California on a special, expedited visa intended for fiancées. Their daughter was born six month ago. Farook’s office colleagues in a gesture of friendship organized a party to celebrate the birth of his daughter, collecting gifts and money for the baby. Incredibly, some of the same colleagues and coworkers who had celebrated his baby’s birth became the couple’s shooting targets last week. Before embarking on their vile mission, Rizwan and Tashfeen took their six-month old daughter to his mother, telling her to take care of the baby as they had to go for a medical appointment. We have to wonder, what kind of a parent, especially a mother, would be so callous as to leave her baby, knowing that she would never see her again?
There are other unanswered questions as well. The apartment the couple shared was found to be housing an arsenal of ammunitions, and a variety of deadly assault weapons. Where did the couple find money to buy this huge cache of weapons, including pipe bombs, and the technical skill to put them together? Also unclear is the question of how close family members, Rizwan’s sister, brother-in-law, and mother, failed to notice this bizarre collection of arms and ammunition and raised no concerns.
Farook's colleagues organized a party to celebrate the birth of his daughter
Of the husband and wife team, who was the main instigator? The FBI has now determined that Tashfeen had pledged allegiance on her Facebook to the “Caliph” Abu Bakar al Baghdad of the so-called Islamic State (ISIS). The murderous organization, which has excelled in barbarity and beheadings, has now asserted that the attack was indeed carried out by its supporters. More information will surely emerge as the FBI is able to decipher their interactions on telephone and social media. There is speculation that Tashfeen, who was never seen in public without her full veil, was the mastermind in planning the terror attack.
The latest attack has come at an especially difficult time for American Muslims as they were already receiving adverse attention following the November Paris attack. Furthermore, Republican candidates vying for their party’s nomination in next year’s elections, especially Donald Trump and Ben Carson have been making inflammatory statements. Trump has suggested that all Muslims should be required to register and carry identity cards, and he would favor shutting down some mosques suspected of promoting Jihadist propaganda. Carson has made similar ignorant statements, excluded the possibility of any Muslim ever becoming the president of the US. A majority of Americans now hold unfavorable views of Muslims, according to a survey reported by The Huffington Post.
Of course, not everyone is so xenophobic or Islamophobic. Many Democrats and religious leaders, Christian and Jewish, have supported the Muslim community following the attack in San Bernardino, pointing out that they bear no responsibility for the evil acts of a few. In its editorial on December 4, The New York Times, one of the most respected newspapers in this country, warned, “Wherever, the investigation leads, Americans must guard against overreaction, and subdue the panicked reflex of distrust and hatred toward the Americans among us who are Muslims. This has been a problem at least since 9/11 and will remain one as long as ignorance about Islam remains deep and widespread.”
Similarly, The Washington Post in its editorial (December 4) cautioned against vilification of Muslim in even stronger terms; “Nothing would redound more to the Islamic State’s benefit, nor better reward the San Bernardino killers, than if their rampage resulted in a fissure between Muslim Americans and their neighbors.”
On December 6, President Obama made a passionate nationwide speech from the Oval Office, a rare occurrence, reminding Americans of lofty ideals of democracy and morality on which the country was founded and urged them not to give in to fear or cast suspicion on all Muslims and mosques. “Muslim Americans are our friends and our neighbors, our co-workers, our sports heroes. And, yes, they are our men and women in uniform who are willing to die in defense of our country.” He characterized ISIS as “thugs and killers, part of a cult of death,” and that they did not speak for most Muslims.
What kind of future awaits Muslims in the US? The searing, odious rhetoric of some Republican candidates, prompted by approaching election expediencies, represents only a minority view in America. Muslims in general have done very well in this country; they are among the best educated and most affluent as a group. Their focus so far has been on building mosques and community centers, but their participation in the political process of this democratic, pluralistic country has been minimal. Overall, there is no reason to despair that we will not overcome the present problems and will be any less successful in the future.
