A Texas Muslim religious center that went up in flames during the early hours of Saturday morning has received $1 million plus worth of donations less than a week after the horrific incident.
The Victoria Islamic Center issued a plea to rebuild their 150 member religious home within days of the fire.
The center does not have insurance and needs donations for it to be rebuilt.
donate to the mosque that was burned down today or spread the word. thank you ❤️?? https://t.co/47ukBV7EUv
— breshna ?? (@breshnaaa) January 29, 2017
The solicitation of monies has rallied people of all walks of faith behind the Islamic Center and has allowed them to raise $250,000 more than the original goal of $850,000.
The contributions that have poured in from the Jewish, Christian, Atheist, Muslim and other religious communities from around the globe has touched the attendees.
“Our hearts are filled with gratitude for the tremendous support we’ve received.”
“The outpouring of love, kind words, hugs, helping hands and the financial contributions are examples of the true American Spirit and Humanity at its best with donations coming in from all over the world,” Victoria Islamic Center fundraising page creator, Omar Rachid told NPR.
The Islamic Center of Victoria at 201 E. Airline Rd is fully engulfed in fire. A clerk at nearby Exxon station said he called 911 abt 2 a.m. pic.twitter.com/yc9akLNfnq
— Jon Wilcox (@thrilcox) January 28, 2017
The fire that took place at 2 a.m. local time on Jan. 28th is still being investigated by officials and has left many members in the community speechless and others with a heavy heart and desire to help.
Four churches and a synagogue in the community are stepping up by opening up their religious doors so the Texas based center attendees can have service.
Since the fire happened less than a week ago, the small center shared via Facebook that their faith in the community has been restored in just a matter of days.
The tragic burning of the Islamic Center comes after controversy broke out last week over an executive order issued by President Trump. The order temporarily halted immigrants from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States.
The order went into effect on Saturday but shortly after it did, a Federal New York judge issued an emergency stay to halt the removal of individuals detained under it, The Hill reported earlier this week.
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On Thursday of this week, students at a local high school as well as staff marched from their school to the Islamic Center, the Center stated on their Facebook page along with a few pictures.
The posts starts off with, “What a positive way to start the day!”
“St. Joseph High School students, teachers, and staff marched early this morning from their school to our Islamic Center.”
To create, “A human chain of love & peace.”
“Prayers were offered & a tree plant was gifted. The tree will be planted in the grounds of our new mosque & prominently displayed to remind us of this beautiful moment. This is the spirit of love where the cross hugs the crescent. ❤United We Stand. Let the healing begins! #rebuildwithlove ❤”
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