Fate of San Bernardino Shooter Tafsheen Malik’s Body Unclear

Fate of San Bernardino Shooter Tafsheen Malik’s Body Unclear
This July 27, 2014 file photo provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows Tashfeen Malik, left, and Syed Farook, as they passed through O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. U.S. Customs and Border Protection via AP, File
Jack Phillips
Jack Phillips
Breaking News Reporter
|Updated:

The body of one of the suspects in the San Bernardino mass shooting, might be cremated if no one volunteers to perform her funeral.

Cremation is forbidden by Islamic law, which requires the body to be washed and shrouded before the funeral. After that, the individual’s body has to be laid to rest on the right side, facing the direction of Mecca.

But sources told Fox News that many Muslim leaders don’t want anything to do with it, meaning that her remains will probably be cremated.

“No one wants to claim her and no one wants to do the funeral,” a source in the local Muslim community told Fox News, without elaborating. “They are all waiting for someone else to be the one to take care of this part of it.”

“If nobody claims a body, it is turned over to the public administrator, who will handle it civilly and not religiously,” attorney Troy Slaten added to the news network in explaining what will happen next.

“Cremation is usually standard because it’s the cheapest option.”

“The state is not going to care about religious tradition. She was a terrorist,” attorney David Whol said.

Tashfeen Malik and her husband, Syed Farook, died in a fierce gunbattle with authorities several hours after their commando-style assault on a gathering of Farook's colleagues from San Bernardino, Calif., County's health department, on Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015. (FBI via AP)
Tashfeen Malik and her husband, Syed Farook, died in a fierce gunbattle with authorities several hours after their commando-style assault on a gathering of Farook's colleagues from San Bernardino, Calif., County's health department, on Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015. FBI via AP
Jack Phillips
Jack Phillips
Breaking News Reporter
Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter who covers a range of topics, including politics, U.S., and health news. A father of two, Jack grew up in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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