US Muslims launch aid campaign for synagogue victims

By Fatih Hafiz Mehmet

ANKARA

Muslims in the U.S. launched an aid campaign for the families of those killed or wounded in Saturday's synagogue attack and have so far raised $111,000.

The campaign was launched on Muslim crowdfunding site Launchgood.com with the title of "Muslims Unite for Pittsburgh Synagogue."

"We wish to respond to evil with good, as our faith instructs us, and send a powerful message of compassion through action," the campaign website said.

Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), one of the leading Muslim associations in the U.S., has also released a statement condemning the synagogue attack.

“We condemn this heinous and cowardly attack on a house of worship, offer heartfelt condolences to the loved ones of all those who were killed or injured and express our solidarity with the Jewish community during this time of shock and grief,” CAIR-Pittsburgh Program Director Zohra Lasania said in the statement.

CAIR-Pittsburgh President Safdar Khwaja also said: “This barbaric attack on our , with whom we share our city and have visited and dialogued multiple times, is deeply disturbing and horrifying. Such an act of terror affects all of us.”

On Saturday, at least 11 people were killed after a gunman opened fire during a ceremony at a synagogue in the state of Pennsylvania on Saturday.

The fatal incident occurred at the Tree of Life Congregation Synagogue in Pittsburgh at around 10 a.m. local time (1400GMT).

Police have taken the assailant, 46-year-old U.S. citizen Robert Bowers, into custody.