Rebecca Taylor expresses the sorrow we’re all feeling after the fatal shootings at Pittsburgh Synagogue

We are shocked and devastated by the tragic events that took place last Friday at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh and we send our deepest condolences to the Pittsburgh community. Our thoughts are with you. Mass support for the community has poured in from around the world – including a huge fund-raising campaign led by American Muslims. An online drive (at launchgood.com) organised by two US Muslim groups has raised over $200,000 since Saturday to help contribute towards the funerals and medical bills of the families of those killed and injured in the synagogue shooting.

“We wish to respond to evil with good, as our Islamic faith teaches us, and send a powerful message of compassion to the Jewish community – our Abrahamic cousins,” said Tarek El-Messidi, director of CelebrateMercy, one of the groups taking part in the campaign. Any proceeds leftover from the fundraising will go towards Jewish-Muslim initiatives for collaboration and dialogue. At a time when the world feels darker and more divided than ever by senseless hatred, this demonstration of interfaith solidarity is a small glimmer of light to be cherished.

Donations to the Muslims Unite campaign to help the victims and victims’ families can be made here: launchgood.com