Two Muslim groups have raised $191,000 through crowdfunding for the families of victims of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting.
CelebrateMercy and MPower Change banded together to begin raising funds on LaunchGood, a Muslim crowdfunding site, for the community after 11 people were shot dead at a synagogue on Saturday, in what is believed to be the deadliest attack aimed at Jewish people in recent US history.
The initial goal of $US25,000 was reached in less than six hours, which prompted the groups to continue raising funds in order to provide funeral expenses and medical bills to the victims and their families.
The leader of the Islamic Centre of Pittsburgh Wasi Mohamed said the Muslim community was ready to act and help.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
"We just want to know what you need," he said on Sunday.
"If it’s people outside your next service protecting you, let us know. We’ll be there.
"If you need anything at all, if you need food for the families, if you just need someone to come to the grocery store because you don’t feel safe in this city, we’ll be there. And I’m sure everybody in the room would say the same thing."
Fundraising proceeds will go toward meeting the short-term needs of the injured victims and grieving families, including funeral expenses and medical bills.
"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 groups said in a statement.
"We pray that this restores a sense of security and peace to the Jewish-American community who has undoubtedly been shaken by this event."
In the months leading up to Saturday's massacre at a Pittsburgh synagogue, alleged gunman Robert Bowers used a little-known social network to spew hatred toward Jews, calling them the "Children of Satan" as he showed off his "family" of firearms.
The 46-year-old faces the death penalty after allegedly unleashing his guns on worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue, killing 11.
His online postings on Gab, a social network that bills itself as a champion of free speech, paint a picture of a white supremacist obsessed with far-right conspiracy theories about Jews, singling out a Jewish non-profit that provides aid to refugees as a target in a chilling message posted hours before his attack.
- With AFP
