Meet the muslim student, Faatimah Knight, who raised $30,000 to help fix churches destroyed by fire
Faatimah Knight is pursuing an MA in Religious Studies at the Chicago Theological Seminary and holds a BA in Islamic Law and Theology from Zaytuna College.
Ms Knight’s campaign – carried out as Muslims around the world marked the festival of Ramadan – followed a smaller, more modest enterprise.
Days after the shooting dead of nine people at Charleston’s Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, she and some friends wanted to gather $500 to send flowers; they ended up raising $900.
And when she read about the series of churches that were burned down, Faatimah carried on her quest to help these churches in need.
“All houses of worship are sanctuaries, a place where all should feel safe, a place we can seek refuge when the world is too much to bear.”
She said that Islam taught of the need to protect the weak and vulnerable. She said while the black Christian communities of the South might not be weak, they were vulnerable.
“Traditionally, when we have been on our best behaviour, we have created space for other faiths, and let people worship as they see fit.”