The family of San Bernardino terrorist Syed Farook was able to attend his funeral last week, and showed up on Saturday at the apartment he shared with wife and fellow terrorist Tashfeen Malik to collect their belongings.
As Breitbart News noted last week, Farook and Malik’s bodies were washed and purified in accordance with Islamic ritual, despite the heinous nature of their crimes. Their family were also permitted to attend the funeral.
A traditional Islamic funeral includes a prayer called Salat Al-Janazah, which includes a plea for the deceased to be accepted into paradise despite his or her sins: “Cleanse him of his transgressions as white cloth is cleansed of stains. Give him an abode better than his home and a family better than his family and a spouse better than his spouse. Take him into Paradise and protect him from the punishment of the grave [and from the punishment of Hell-fire].”
Reuters notes that “most Muslims in the community refused to participate in the burial or perform the funeral prayer, called Salat Al-Janazah, according to the source who did not attend the funeral,” partly for fear of a public backlash, and partly because some members of the community felt repulsed by the terror attack: “I don’t forgive him myself,” one member of the community told Reuters. “…God is merciful. But he’s also just.”
According to the Daily Mail, the family arrived at Farook and Malik’s home on Saturday to find an American flag draped atop the plywood that had been nailed over the front entrance. It was unclear how much of the apartment was damaged during the televised media frenzy that took place a mere 48 hours after the terror attack, when the FBI released the property back to the landlord, and journalists convinced him to pry the plywood off the door.