Interfaith Alliance fighting hate after the Islamic Center fire

Three years ago, the Cape Girardeau Interfaith Alliance (CGIA) began to distribute 500 window and yard signs following the federal government’s travel ban on refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries.

The signs state “Hate Has No Home Here” and are rendered in a half-dozen languages — English, Hebrew, Arabic, Spanish, Korean and Urdu.

“We sold (the signs) to raise money for the Alliance,” said CGIA representative Debbie Lee-DiStefano.

“They’re almost all gone now, except for a few that survived (Friday’s) fire at the mosque,” she added, referring to the April 24 blaze at the Islamic Center of Cape Girardeau, which coincided with the start of the month-long Muslim observance of Ramadan. Nicholas Proffitt, 42, of Cape Girardeau was arrested Monday night, and among the criminal charges he faces is first-degree arson.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), in a statement Tuesday, praised Proffitt’s arrest and urged federal officials to file hate-crime charges against the suspect.

CAIR noted Proffitt was convicted and served time for two felony property-damage counts in 2009 for vandalizing the Islamic Center.

“People are asking (on social media) for more signs,” said Lee-DiStefano, “and we’ll probably order more but there are no immediate plans to do so.

“The Islamic community needs its space and time to grieve,” Lee-Distefano added. “We’re all still finding our footing here.”

The Islamic Center, 298 N. West End Blvd., was effectively destroyed.

“The Islamic Center paid for the entire (2017) sign order,” said Lee-DiStefano, a professor of Spanish in Southeast’s Communication Studies and Modern Languages Department.

Lee-DiStefano, 50, hopes the fire’s aftermath will lead to a “resurgence” of purpose in the Cape Girardeau community to combat hate.

“But we get complacent,” said Lee-DiStefano, who has taught at Southeast for the last 16 years. “We get caught up in our own lives and consistent effort is sometimes lost.”

The local Interfaith Alliance has sponsored five dinners since 2017 to enhance understanding among religious groups, the most recent one in the fall at Southeast’s International Center.

“We should (always) stand together,” said Lee-DiStefano, “not just in times of tragedy.”

Bruce Skinner, associate vice president for student life at Southeast, founded a Facebook group seven years ago now known as Living Virtually at Southeast, with more than 6,000 members.

On Sunday, in the wake of the gutting of the Islamic Center, Skinner, 47, made the group’s profile picture “Hate Has No Home Here.”

“We have a responsibility to care for each other,” said Skinner, “and the change in picture we knew would make a statement.”

Skinner said the intent of the change is not to be “overly political nor is it an attempt to ask for donations.”

Contributions to a GoFundMe page to rebuild the Islamic Center have reached almost $124,000, from more than 1,600 donors as of 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Lee-DiStefano said the fire starkly illustrates the CGIA’s guiding precept, culled from the Christian New Testament, to love one’s neighbor.

“The goal here is not tolerance,” she said, “because this too often means I just have to put up with you.

“We desire acceptance, focusing on the best aspects of everybody and a better humanity.”