How Jews Helped Muslims Rebuild Mosque After Arson Attack
The interior of the Islamic Society of Joplin, Mo. Image by Facebook
By Aiden Pink May 31, 2017
Image by Facebook
When the Islamic Society Of Joplin mosque was torched in an arson attack during Ramadan in 2012, the Missouri city’s other faith communities sprang into action — including Jews.
“I drove there and saw the destruction that had been created,” Paul Teverow, who belongs to the United Hebrew Congregation in Joplin, told Public Radio International on Monday.
“I was just horrified to think that something like this could happen here,” he added. “I wanted to make it clear, and I wasn’t alone here, that these people are part of our community. That an offense against them is an offense against all of us.”
And so members of the Joplin Interfaith Community held a Ramadan break-fast meal at a local church later that week, where the local imam led evening prayers.
Donations poured in from the community and across the country, helping the Islamic Society of Joplin build a new, bigger mosque in 2014.
“Many of our Christian friends said that when God takes something from you, he will give you a better one,” prayer leader Imam Lahmuddin said. “They believe in that. And we do, too. Now we have a mosque that’s better than the one that was burnt.”
Contact Aiden Pink at [email protected] or on Twitter, @aidenpink.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
