Interfaith, civil rights leaders gather in St. Louis to show support for Joplin's Islamic community

Julie Bierach — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 17:24:43 +0000

Interfaith and civil rights leaders gathered in Ballwin this morning to show support for the congregation of the Islamic Society of Joplin, which was destroyed by a suspicious fire earlier this month.

Although the FBI is still investigating the cause, the St. Louis chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person that set the fire.

Muslims remember 9/11 with prayer, community service

Rachel Lippmann — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 20:00:00 +0000

Members of many faiths gathered at the grounds of the Gateway Arch on Sunday to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks.

The St. Louis office of the Council of American-Islamic Relations organized the event, which included a recitation of the Muslim afternoon prayer.

After 9/11, members of the Muslim community were blamed for the attacks simply because of their religion, said Faizan Syed, CAIR's executive director here in St. Louis.