Muslim Man Raises Money To Repair Jewish Cemetery
by Kristen Johanson
PHILADLEPHIA (CBS) -- Just days after Jewish graves in a Saint Louis, Missiouri cemetery were vandalized, a Muslim man living in Philadelphia decided to raise money for the repairs.
"I really thought: Ya know, what if that was my own parent or grandparent, or great-grandparent whose grave had been desecrated that way?" says Tarek El-Messidi, founder of the non-profit Celebrate Mercy, a Muslim based group which teaches about the life and character of the Prophet Muhammad.
"We also do these social campaigns of compassion."
He and the group M-Power Change launched an online fundraiser.
"We really have to reach out first and foremost as human beings, because every person has the right to rest in peace," says El-Messidi.
Their goal was $20,000.
"We actually just raised that in 3 hours."
As the fundraising continues, El-Messidi says he will donate any excess cash to paying for the cemetery's security system, and to help fix damages other Jewish graves may have sustained.
To donate: https://www.launchgood.com/project/muslims_unite_to_repair_jewish_cemetery#/
