Loading ...Muslims and Arab Americans Band Together To Rebuild Black Churches
A coalition of Muslim and Arab American organizations have launched a crowdfunding campaign to help rebuild eight burned-down black churches in the southern United States, according to Quartz.
The Respond With Love campaign, organized by MuslimARC, the Arab American Association of New York, and digital media start-up Ummah Wide, has already amassed $28,753 since launching July 2. The coalition noted that the attacks in Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida, and Georgia “are […] on Black culture, Black religion and Black lives.”
These attacks came after a shooting on Emanual AME Church, a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina, on June 17 that killed 9 parishioners.
“We want for others what we want for ourselves: the right to worship without intimidation, the right to safety, and the right to property,” the campaigners wrote.
The funds raised will go to churches with the most need with the help of pastors and church leaders the coalition had consulted.
“The American Muslim community cannot claim to have experienced anything close to the systematic and institutionalized racism and racist violence that has been visited upon African Americans,” California-based imam and Muslim scholar Zaid Shakir wrote on the campaign website.
“We do, however, understand the climate of racially inspired hate and bigotry that is being reignited in this country. We want to let our African American brothers and sisters know that we stand in solidarity with them during this dark hour.”
The initiative will run through July 18, the second day of Eid al-Fitr.
Source: stepfeed.com