In the aftermath of the horrific events in Paris, there has been an unfortunate rise in Islamophobic sentiment and attacks across the globe.
One such place is Pflugerville in Texas where worshippers were shocked to find their mosque vandalised on Monday morning.
Faisal Neem, a board member at the place of worship described the shock and fear felt by the Muslim community of the small Texas town to KXAN: ‘The fear factor is definitely there. It’s an open space and the fear is somebody who is armed takes the next step and walks in, that’s a problem.’
Flowers left outside the mosque- Source: ABC
However an act of kindness by a local boy Jack Swanson was warmly received by the community. The seven year old and his mother Laura stopped to help, and he gave a very generous gift to the centre. He donated the entire contents of his piggybank, $20 (all in pennies) to help go towards to the cleanup.
Neem described Jack’s $20 being ‘worth 20 million bucks to me and our community.’(KXAN)
This kind and selfless deed is a touching response to the Islamophobia and hatred that has unfortunately resurfaced once again.
Watch the report here.
