Muslim Communities Reach Across Religious Lines to Help Rebuild Burned Churches

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In the past ten days, and in the wake of Charleston, eight black churches across America have burned. While one has been ruled as an accident, three are believed to be arson, and the others have remained under investigation. It’s a terrifying threat for many members of the black community, which is why a coalition of American Muslim groups recently launched a powerful crowdfunding campaign to help rebuild the churches. Over $53,000 have been raised in just a little under a week.

While Christians and Muslims might be posed against each other in popular culture, leaders of the project emphasized the groups’ connections, not their differences. From the project’s explanation:

“We must always keep in mind that the Muslim community and the black community are not different communities. We are profoundly integrated in many ways, in our overlapping identities and in our relationship to this great and complicated country. We are connected to Black churches through our extended families, our friends and teachers, and our intertwined histories and convergent present.”

Image via YouTube

The campaign will likely conclude in eight days, and organizers have already passed their initial goal. The coalition is encouraging people not only to donate, but to take action by using the hashtag #WhoisBurningBlackChurches, and by pressing their legislators/President Obama to reconvene the National Church Action Task force.

To learn more about the coalition’s work, make sure to check out their crowdfunding page here.

(Via: The Daily Dot)