HOUSTON MUSLIMS FIGHT FIRE WITH HOPE
Houston, 5 Jumadil Awwal 1436/24 February 2015 (MINA) – In a touching move from Houston Muslims, leaders of the Islamic religious center, burned in a suspected arson, urged prosecutors to drop the charges lodged against a homeless man accused of setting it on fire, asserting Islam’s true message of forgiveness.
“We always preach forgiveness,” Ahsan Zahid, assistant imam at the Quba Islamic Institute, told Houston Chronicle, On Islam quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.
“Our God is forgiving. Our prophet was always forgiving, and God tells us we should do as we expected to be treated by others. We should forgive, and that is the request we made.”
The mosque leaders made their public request at a news conference called by Interfaith Ministries, attended by clergy from Jewish and Christian congregations.
Fire broke out at Quba Islamic Institute in Houston, Texas, 10 days ago at around 5 am, gutting a 3,000-square-foot prefabricated metal building being modified for use as a cafeteria and recreation center.
“The building has been described in the media as a storage building,” Zahid said, “and that makes it sound like a shack out back. To be honest, it was completely insulated; it had central heating and air.”
According to the institute administration, no one was hurt although one of the three buildings at the center was totally damaged by fire. Police preliminary investigation showed that the fire appeared to be arson as accelerant, like gasoline, was found on the scene.
Last Monday, police announced the arrest of Darryl Ferguson, a 56-year-old man, charging him with arson for a fire at the Islamic center. Receiving the request of the mosque leaders, Harris County District Attorney’s spokesman Jeff McShan confirmed that his office would consider it.
“At this time, Darryl Ferguson’s first-degree arson charge will remain. The investigation into the fire is ongoing. No final decisions have been made and will not be made over the weekend,” he added.
Connections
Expecting reconstruction to cost about $200,000, Zahid said $20,000 has been donated so far for replacement of the burned building
Morale among Muslims associated with the center has been “excellent,” Zahid said.
“There are no tears. It was tragic. We lost a lot, but what we lost pales in comparison of what we have gained. What we have is the support, the love, the camaraderie of a host of communities, religious and non-religious.”
Participating in Friday’s Interfaith Ministries event, Rabbi Steve Morgan of Congregation Beth Yeshurun expressed solidarity with the Islamic center leaders. “When one person is hurt, it hurts all of us in the community,” he said.
“We need to stand in solidarity together and break down the barriers that divide us.”
Morgan stressed on the values the three Abrahamic faiths share.
“In each, God created only one human being,” he said.
“Out of that flows the moral message that we are all related to each other. We have the responsibility to take care of each other and not hurt each other. We were created in the divine image, in God’s image … and each of us has a spark of God’s holiness.”
Shaukat Zakaria, vice chairman of the Interfaith Ministries board of directors, said Friday’s session was called to express solidarity with the Quba Islamic Institute.
“Whether this was a hate crime or not,” he said, “we wanted to use this opportunity to bring the overall community together under one roof.”
“We want to make sure everyone understands that the faith community stands together on this and make sure this is not condoned by anyone.” (T/P011/R03)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
