The fundraising campaign started by a group of Muslim nonprofits to help black churches torched by arsonists has attracted almost $100,000 in donations.
The project, launched in the aftermath of the Charleston shooting, initially sought to raise $20,000. After the campaign got enough media attention to go viral, the organizers decided to increase their funding goal to $100,000. So far, they have reached almost $93,000.
The campaign, called Respond with Love, was set to expire today (July 17), coinciding with the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
The campaign organizers (MuslimARC, the Arab-American Association of New York, and the startup Ummah Wide) said they based their efforts on the idea that both Muslim and black communities share an interest in having the “right to worship without intimidation, the right to safety, and the right to property.”
“We feel like we have a responsibility to black life in this country because it is beautiful and deep and integral to our own lives as Muslims,” says Faatimah Knight, project manager for the campaign.