Texan Muslims Creating Lasting Relationships

By TMO staff

The Muslim community of the Dallas Fort Worth Area presented a check of $20,000 to the Mayor of the City of Richardson and to the Police Chief of the Richardson Police Department. The money will go into the family fund of the late police officer, David Sherrard, who laid down his life on duty.

Over the past couple of years, the relationship between police officers and civilians, specifically with people of color, have been rough. The Muslim community in the city of Richardson has sought to fix this broken relationship. By speaking with the Richardson Police department, Muslims can tell the department about their concerns about their safety and about the community. This allows for open discussions to take place and ideas are passed around to ensure that everyone’s needs are met. Talking may not solve the racial and religious issues the country is facing, but it can start to change the way we approach these issues.

The Muslims living in this city believe that by helping one another during unfortunate times, they can overcome and grow stronger together.

An addition to helping police families, Muslims in this community would like everyone to know that this is the United States is their home too. For a while now, there is a rhetoric going around the nation that Muslims do not belong in this country because they cannot fit in. Because of that rhetoric, Muslims have been trying to show everyone that they do belong and that the religion of Islam is not so different that it contradicts American values.

Throughout the country, we hear stories of Muslims being attacked and being the victims of hate crimes. However, we also see the resilience and kindness of Muslim Americans. In September of 2017, Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, Texas and devastated the state’s coast. While the city was struggling to help everyone, all the mosques that were not damaged by the storm or its tornadoes, opened its doors to anyone who needed help.

The Muslims living in Texas have embraced the concept of southern hospitality and have combined it with the kindness that Islam preaches to create a warm and welcoming environment in the biggest state in the continental United States.