California shooting: Dad reveals how a jihadi was born

WASHINGTON: Countries and parents passed the buck on the issue of radicalization of the two Pakistani-origin terrorists who carried out a carnage in California as investigators continued to probe what caused them to erupt in rage when they did. In an interview to the Italian daily La Stampa, the father of the male perpetrator of the attack, Syed Farook, who said he emigrated from Pakistan to the US in 1973, provided a unique insight into the jihadization of his son Rizwan, saying the boy was aligned with the IS ideology and was obsessed with Israel.He also blamed the boy for his breakup with his wife Rafia, saying the mother and son were fundamentalists, and the son drove them to divorce because he did not subscribe to their conservative religious views. Rafia has accused him of being an alcoholic with a violent temperament. While the father's disclosure came as investigators were probing the role of Rafia Farooq and how much she knew of her son and daughter-in-law's murderous mindset and intent, it also challenged the theory that Rizwan's wife Tashfeen Malik was the one who radicalized him, suggesting they may have been made for each other.The revelation about Rizwan's hatred for Israel also squared with reports that he had frequent arguments with a co-worker who was a messianic Jew and an ardent supporter of Israel.They are believed to have had an argument even on the morning of the carnage causing Rizwan to storm out, although the couple's stockpiling of weapons, ammo, and making of pipebombs suggests an attack was always on the cards at some point in time.Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is washing its hands off Tashfeed Malik's radicalization even as it has emerged that she spent much of her time stewing in Pakistan and its extremist madrassas before her marriage to Farook -something Pakistan is trying desperately to hide from the world.Saudi officials have said Malik only visited Saudi Arabia twice to be with her father and never lived in the country.