AMERICAN MUSLIM GROUPS PROVIDE HELP FOR BOSTON VICTIMS

     Boston, 10 Jumadil Akhir 2013/19 April 1434 (MINA) – In a show of solidarity with their fellow Americans, Muslim groups have joined hands to launch a fund to provide help for victims of deadly twin bombings in Boston.

     “The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and other Muslim organizations join in solidarity with the Boston community during this difficult time,” ISNA said in a statement obtained by OnIslam.net on Thursday, April 18. According to OnIslam_net news report monitored by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA).

      The fund will provide help for victims of the deadly blasts that rocked Boston Marathon on Monday and killed three people and injured scores.

      “As many people are looking for a way to help, ISNA, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations are pleased to announce the “Boston Solidarity Fund” created to assist the victims of the terrible tragedy in Boston,” ISNA said.

     “The Boston authorities have also created a fund for the victims and ISNA encourages everyone to contribute.” Muslims in America and around the world have strongly condemned the Boston bombings and offered condolences to families of the victims.

       No one had claimed responsibility for the attacks, US investigators believe the Boston bombs were fashioned out of pressure cookers and packed with shrapnel.

       Ten victims lost limbs, and emergency room doctors reported plucking nails and ball bearing from the wounded. US investigators said they have spotted a suspect from security video taken before the two blasts ripped through the city.

       No arrests had been made, and the suspect in the video had not been identified by name. US President Barack Obama on Thursday vowed to bring those behind the attacks to justice. “We will find you,” Obama said at a memorial service for victims of the Boston attacks. “We will hold you accountable.”

Unity

        Muslim leaders have also joined hands with other faith leaders to call for unity and help to bring the perpetrators to justice. “Throughout the history of our country and our respective faiths, we have been challenged with trials that can tear both apart,” read a statement signed by a host of faith leaders.

       “Yet our mandate to unite in the midst of turmoil, and our need to stare down the eye of peril, is an imperative for survival and growth, for our collective defense and our social prosperity.

       “And this is what brings us together today as we try to make sense of the senseless and heinous terrorist attack on the Boston Marathon.”

       The statement was signed by a host of faith leaders, including ISNA President Imam Mohamed Magid, President of the Muslim Public Afffairs Council Salam Al-Marayati and John Hodson, Director of Church Security for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

        Also signing were Lee Baca, Sheriff of Los Angeles County, Police Chief of Dearborn Ronald Haddad, Founder of Hindu American Seva Charities Anju Bhargava and Mohamed Elibiary, Founder of Lone Star Intelligence.

        Signatories called for partnership with law enforcement authorities to help bring perpetrators of the Boston attacks to justice. “It is our faith and our country that brings us together,” the statement said.

        “And we make a collective prayer to heal our wounds, to strengthen our moral fiber, and to unite under our Creator, for our nation.” The United States is home to a Muslim community of six to eight million. (T/P012/E1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)