Muslims raise funds for destroyed Black churches in US

A blaze at the Mt. Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church in Greeleyville, South Carolina June 30, 2015 | Photo: Reuters

In the United States, eight churches attended primarily by Black communities have been burned down since the Charleston shooting in June, and some Muslim organizations are fundraising in solidarity, British paper The Independent reported.

As of Tuesday, the organizations have raised US$23,000 on a fundraising website, under a call for a “united” stand “against hate.” Organizations involved in the online fundraiser include UMMAH Wide (what 9s), the Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative, and the Arab American Association of New York.

Referring to the eight churches razed by fires, the Muslims groups state, “to many it is clear that these are attacks on Black culture, Black religion, and Black lives. These kinds of attacks on Black churches are a very old form of intimidation in the South, historically used to strike fear into the hearts of Black people.”

“Too often cowards inflict us with a crippling fear, but with encouragement and support from likely and unlikely places fear cannot stop us,” they stated.

Imam Zaid Shakir says while the U.S. Muslim community can't claim to have experienced the same “systematic racism and racist violence” that Black people in the U.S. have, “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."

On Tuesday, the suspect in the Charleston terror attack, Dylann Roof, was indicted for nine counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder.

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