Islamic Center leaders discuss fear, faith and community support in wake of fire

With tears in his eyes, Shafiq Malik did his best to lead the Fajr prayer on the first morning of Ramadan. Still, he could hear the sound of a fire destroying his house of worship next door.

While the building has been declared a total loss, the faithfulness of those gathered Friday morning remains very much intact.

When asked about damages from the Friday fire, local imam and Southeast Missouri State University professor Tahsin Khalid quoted Chapter 2, Verse 155 of the Quran.

“And be sure, we shall test you with some fear and hunger, some loss of goods or life or fruits of your hard work, but give glad news to those who patiently persevere.”

In the 48 hours after the incident, headlines about the suspicious fire began appearing in national and global news outlets, including the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the New York Times and Al Jazeera, and garnering the attention Gov. Mike Parson, who condemned the attack as “cowardly” on social media.

After taking time to collect his emotions after the incident, Malik sat with a group of local leaders within the Islamic Center’s community before sundown Sunday and echoed Khalid’s beliefs.

“We believe in God’s almighty wisdom in every action,” Malik said. “... It’s a trial on us — how we react to it, how we deal with it, how we deal with the community, how we deal with one another. It’s a trial on us, so we have to be steadfast in our beliefs and stick together and be strong.”

Even with their continued religious confidence, the group acknowledged feelings of pain, fear and terror among themselves, their families and their community.

“It terrified us, and it terrorized our children,” one member of the group said with Malik in agreement. “If you want to call it a terrorist act, that’s up to you.”

While also acknowledging their pain, Karen Aroesty, director of the Anti-Defamation League Heartland Regional Office, emphasized the importance of letting the ongoing local, state and federal investigations run their course before making conclusions as to any alleged arsonist’s potential motives.

A message expressing support of the local Muslim community is seen Sunday at Christ Episcopal Church in Cape Girardeau.BEN MATTHEWS

“It wounded everybody to the core, as a community. And that’s the thing about a hate crime,” Aroesty said. “Whether it is officially, legally a hate crime or not, it still is going to have an extraordinary impact.”

The City of Cape Girardeau acknowledged that impact and expressed its support of the local Islamic community in video form by sharing a video on social media Friday night featuring messages of support from local leaders of all backgrounds.

Some members of the community left flowers outside of the now-condemned place of worship, and a GoFundMe campaign started by the local Islamic Center has received more than $116,000 from more than 1,500 donors as of Monday evening.

Nearby at Christ Episcopal Church, the Rev. Edie Bird used her church’s billboard as a medium for a message of unity, and many members of the community have requested yard signs bearing similar messages.

“It really does make a difference when you’ve had a terribly traumatic thing happen,” Bird said. “It makes a big difference to the community.”

With united help from local interfaith communities and support throughout the city, Malik said there is now only one thing the local Muslim community is really asking for from residents.

“We do have a GoFundMe, but at the same time, the more important thing is the love we’ve been getting from the community. It’s not the money that’s doing that. It’s the expression of love and care, and that’s more comforting to us than anything else.”

To donate to the Islamic Center’s fundraising campaign on GoFundMe, visit www.gofundme.com/f/fundraiser-for-islamic-center-of-cape-girardeau.