Muslim-Americans raise funds for California suicide victims

A fundraising campaign started by Muslim-Americans to help the families of those killed in last week's mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, has raised nearly $175,000, Voice of America reported on Saturday.

Faisal Qazi, a neurologist who works for a private, nonprofit organization in San Bernardino, began a local online campaign "Muslims United for San Bernardino" on the crowdfunding website LaunchGood, which is dedicated to assisting Muslim initiatives in the United States and abroad.

As the campaign neared its initial fundraising goal, Qazi and his friends took the campaign national, and donations to the LaunchGood website rose dramatically, with many large donations coming from Muslim-American advocacy groups.

Tarek El-Messidi, the campaign's fundraising director, said another goal of the campaign is to show the public that Muslim-Americans are active contributors to American society.

A U.S.-born Muslim man and his Pakistani-born wife opened fire at a government resource center for developmentally disabled people last week, leaving 14 dead and 21 others wounded.

Sources: MENA