In a show of inter-faith solidarity, American Muslim groups have raised over 30,000 dollars to date, in their “Respond with Love” campaign to help rebuild seven predominately African-American churches in the American South that burned down between June 22nd and July 1st.
The organizers also list Emanuel AME Church in Charleston as an eighth church that suffered destruction, although that was from a mass shooter rather than a fire. One of the seven churches that burned was due to faulty wiring rather than arson. Arson has been declared the cause in four of the church fires and investigations are ongoing as to the cause of the other two blazes.
The “Respond with Love” campaign is being spearheaded by Faatimah Amat-Allah Knight, and it is being sponsored by several Muslim organizations including The Arab American Association of New York, The Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative, and Ummah Wide. As of 1:00 PM Eastern Time on July 8th the “Respond with Love” campaign had raised over 32,000 dollars from 780 supporters.
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Speaking for the fundraising effort, Imam Zaid Shakir stated:
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. 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. As a small symbol of that solidarity, during this blessed month of Ramadan, we are gathering donations to help rebuild the seven churches that have been burned down since the racist murders in Charleston, South Carolina.
This is not the first time major Muslim organizations have come to the aid of Americans in need. In January of 2015, the Michigan Muslim Community Council and Islamic Relief USA each contributed 50,000 dollars to help struggling Detroit residents pay their water bills.
The media often provides significant air time for pundits and politicians to promote negative messages and stereotypes about Muslims to American audiences. While it makes sense for media outlets to cover overseas terrorist attacks when they occur, negative coverage of Muslims is seldom counterbalanced with any positive stories about people who adhere to the Islamic faith doing great things in their communities. The efforts of charitable Muslim organizations to help rebuild burned down Christian churches should not go unnoticed. While those organizations are not helping rebuild churches for self-recognition, their efforts are nevertheless greatly appreciated.
Keith Brekhus is a progressive American who currently resides in Red Lodge, Montana. He is co-host for the Liberal Fix radio show. He holds a Master’s Degree in Sociology from the University of Missouri. In 2002, he ran for Congress as a Green Party candidate in the state of Missouri. In 2014, he worked as a field organizer for Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick’s successful re-election bid in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District. He can be followed on Twitter @keithbrekhus or on Facebook.
