Muslims are bringing hope to Christian communities in the South after a recent spate of fires devastated black church buildings.

Three Muslim organizations have teamed up to raise money to rebuild worship centers in Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina that were destroyed by fire the past few weeks.

The “Respond With Love” campaign, organized by the Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative, the Arab-American Association of New York and Ummah Wide during the holy month of Ramadan, has already raised close to $25,000 with the help of more than 500 individual supporters.

“ALL houses of worship are sanctuaries, a place where all should feel safe, a place we can seek refuge when the world is too much to bear,” the campaign organizers wrote on their fundraising page. “We want for others what we want for ourselves: the right to worship without intimidation, the right to safety, and the right to property.”

Church fires aren’t unusual. It’s estimated that arsonists regularly set fire to about five churches every week. The recent blazes at the eight churches noted by “Respond With Love” don’t seem to be related. Federal investigators also have not indicated that these fires were the result of hate crimes.

Still, the blazes occurred in the 10 days after a gunman killed nine parishioners at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina -- and their proximity to that tragic event raised nationwide concerns for black churches and the black community.

Linda Sarsour, executive director of AAANY, told HuffPost she doesn't believe these fires can be discussed without remembering periods in history when black churches were targets of arson.

[size=18pt]"It doesn't matter to us how or why these churches burned down, we want to help our Black sisters and brothers get back in to their houses of worship as soon as they can," she wrote in an email. "Ramadan is a time of giving and what better cause to give to than one that rebuilds houses of worship where God's name is constantly called, remembered and loved."[/size]

Sarsour said organizers will be looking at ways to distribute the funds that will have maximum impact, providing relief for some churches on the list that don't have adequate insurance. The campaign will stay open until July 18, around the time that Ramadan is expected to end.

Imam Zaid Shakir, an Islamic scholar at California’s Zaytuna College, explained on the fundraising page why raising money for these churches is an urgent need for the Muslim community:



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/07/07/muslims-rebuild-black-churches_n_7747794.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000051

R.I.P to the death and quick recovery to the injuries one

Now this is a definition of a peaceful community..
But arsonist setting fire on 5 churches a week? what's d motive?

amends a civil law, where a man was only allowed one wife and brings it in line with customary law, where some cultures allow multiple partners. Controversy had surrounded an amendment to the bill, supported by many male lawmakers, allowing men to take more wives without consulting existing spouses, the British Broadcasting Corporation reported.

Under the traditional law, first wives are supposed to give prior approval before a man takes another wife, the report says. But last month, female lawmakers walked out of the country’s parliament in disgust after their male counterparts voted through the amendment. They argued that a decision to take on another wife would affect the whole family, including the financial position of other spouses. The controversial bill was also opposed by Christian leaders who urged Mr. Kenyatta, also a Christian not to sign it into law.

They argued that the amendment would undermine Christian principles of marriage and family. “The tone of that bill, if it becomes law, would be demeaning to women since it does not respect the principle of equality of spouses in the institution of marriage,” the BBC quoted Archbishop Timothy Ndambuki, as saying. Mr. Ndambuki belongs to the National Council of Churches of Kenya, NCCK. The marriage legislation has been under discussion for several years and some initial proposals were scrapped at committee stages.



It has abolished the practice of unofficial traditional marriages which were never registered and could be ended without any legal divorce proceedings. But plans to ban the payment of bride prices were dropped – although a person must be 18 to marry and this now applies to all cultures. However, the lawmakers are said to have rejected the amendment which provided that a woman should only be entitled to 30 percent of matrimonial property after death or divorce. Under the new law, equal property and inheritance rights are guaranteed against the previous law where a woman had to prove her contribution to the couple’s wealth.

The law stipulates that a wife is entitled to an equal share of whatever the couple acquired during their marriage but in the case of multiple partners, it is going to be difficult to determine what each spouse is entitled to if one of them divorces or their husband dies, argued BBC reporter Frenny Jowi. There had also been a proposal to recognise co-habiting couples, known in Kenya as “come-we-stay” relationships, after six months, but this too was dropped. It would have allowed a woman to seek maintenance for herself and any children of the union had the man left.