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Muslim groups raise over $100K for Pittsburgh synagogue shooting victims: ‘Now THIS is America!’

October 29, 2018 | | Print Article

Thousands of dollars have been raised in a few short hours by Muslim groups hoping to help victims of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting.

Two Muslim groups raised more than $120,000 through a crowdfunding campaign on the Muslim-focused crowdfunding site, LaunchGood, The Hill reported.

(Image: screenshot/Muslims Unite for Pittsburgh Synagogue)

“The Muslim-American community extends its hands to help the shooting victims, whether it is the injured victims or the Jewish families who have lost loved ones,” the page read. “We wish to respond to evil with good, as our faith instructs us, and send a powerful message of compassion through action.”

The goal was raised to $50,000 after the $25,000 goal was reached in only six hours. The new goal was reached in 24 hours and exceeded even the updated $75,000 objective.

“In about 30 hours, we’ve raised $100K; that’s over $3000 per hour! Goal raised to $125K,” the campaign reported Sunday night.

Celebrate Mercy and MPower Change, the Muslim-American nonprofit organizations that launched the campaign, announced Monday morning that they had “transferred the first installment of funds ($25K) to the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh to immediately begin disbursing help to the families.”

(Image: screenshot)

The funds are intended to help families pay the funeral expenses and medical bills of victims from Saturday’s anti-Semitic attack on the Tree of Life synagogue that left 11 people dead.

The suspected gunman, Robert Bowers, is facing charges on 29 federal counts, according to The Hill.

Tarek El-Messidi, a Muslim American who started the fundraising campaign told the The Washington Post that news of the attack “made me sick to my stomach.”

“When I saw the news, I thought, ‘This could have very well been at a mosque or a Hindu temple,’” the speaker and activist said. “We live in a time where so much bigoted rhetoric is being amplified.”

He noted that religious places of worship should not be targets of violence.

“In religion, we’re all worshiping a higher power, especially with our Jewish cousins,” El-Messidi said. “We share a lot theologically with the Jewish community, and a foundational teaching is you never harm religious spaces — regardless if it’s a mosque, a temple, church. One should never be worried about being harmed or killed in a place of worship.”

(Image: screenshot)

The crowdfunding page reiterated its condemnation of “hate and violence” in the nation.

“Through this campaign, we hope to send a united message from the Jewish and Muslim communities that there is no place for this type of hate and violence in America,” the campaign page read. “We pray that this restores a sense of security and peace to the Jewish-American community who has undoubtedly been shaken by this event.”

The initiative was hailed on social media as Twitter users applauded the “ray of light” in the call for compassion and unity.

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Frieda Powers
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