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 On Friday, people attending prayers at the same mosque struggled
to reconcile their memories of that happy event with news that
Farook, 28, and Malik, 29, killed 14 people in a shooting rampage
Wednesday in the city of San Bernardino. Both died in a later
shootout with police, and the FBI is investigating the massacre as
an "act of terrorism."|
Malik was brought to Southern California from Saudi Arabia by
Farook. A native of Pakistan, she appears to have left a less
visible footprint here than her U.S.-born husband, who had a public
sector job and family here. They left behind a 6-month-old daughter.
"She was a beautiful lady. She was very happy that night," said
Nasima Nila, 31, who attended the reception at the Islamic Center of
Riverside. "She was a new bride."
 She was also very quiet. Attendees recalled that at the celebration,
where women and men were separated, Malik quietly sat on a couch on
the women's side of the mosque and said little other than thanking
community members for their congratulations and answering simple
questions if asked, Nila said.
She was speaking English that night, community members recalled, and
mostly interacted with relatives.
Nila said she never saw Malik after the reception, which mosque
director Mustafa Kuko said 250 to 300 people attended. Some of the
men knew Farook said they had never met his wife.
On Friday, social media network Facebook confirmed that comments
praising Islamic State were posted around the time of the mass
shooting to a Facebook account established under an alias by Malik.
However, it was uncertain whether the comments were posted by Malik
herself.
FAROOK: 'VERY QUIET PERSON'
Between 2012 and 2014, Farook would come to the mosque twice a day -
for the morning prayers, as early as 4:30 a.m. and evening prayers
after work – said the mosque's director, Mustafa Kuko, and asked for
his blessing before going to Saudi Arabia to marry Malik.
Several men at the mosque who knew Farook said he loved cars and
would often perform free oil changes for people in the parking lot.
Amir Abdul-Jalil, 50, said he was good friends with Farook. He said
he was one of the "sweetest Muslims I ever met" and that Farook had
invited him over for dinner one night a couple years ago, before he
was married.
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Abdul-Jalil said he met Malik once, but did not speak with her
beyond exchanging pleasantries.
"I loved this brother and I'm so hurt today," Abdul-Jalil said. "I
can't believe that the guy I knew would do this."
At another area mosque, the Dar-Al-Uloom Al-Islamiyah, where Farook
went more recently about two to three times a week, Gasser Shehata
said he knew Farook to be "a very quiet person, more on the shy
side."
Shehata also attended the wedding reception, which he described as
jovial, and said Farook was delighted with his new daughter.
"When he had the baby, he was extremely happy," Shehata said. "If
something happened to him, it happened very recently, in the last 30
to 60 days."
Attendance at Friday prayers at both mosques was thinner than usual
and some members said their family and friends had advised them
against going for fear of a violent backlash.
Afarin Rahmani, 44, said she felt "guilty" that someone from her
community was responsible for the shootings.
"People blame us with everything going on. You start to feel
guilty," she said. "I would have taken the bullet. We are all afraid
of the same things."
(Writing by Mary Milliken; Editing by Sue Horton and Lisa Shumaker)
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