'We have more similarities than differences'
Canada synagogue opens doors to Muslim worshipers after mosque arson
The heads of the Beth Israel synagogue in Peterborough, Ontario offered to share their praying space with their Muslim neighbors after the only mosque in the city was set ablaze.
A synagogue in Canada has opened its doors to the local Muslim community this week after a nearby mosque was set ablaze in a hate crime following the terror attacks in Paris earlier this month.
The heads of the Beth Israel synagogue in Peterborough invited Muslim worshipers to pray at the synagogue after Molotov cocktails were thrown into Masjid Al-Salaa (Mosque of Peace).
The mosque, the only one in the city, suffered damages that were valued at $80,000.
Synagogue president Larry Gillman said that when he heard of the arson, he reached out to the synagogue's board of directors and asked them if they were willing to share their prayer space with the Muslim community. They unanimously voted in favor.
"As Canadians we have to stick together," Gillmantold CBC's Metro Morning. "It's not about religion, it's not about race. Canadians do this."
"Even though it came out of a tragedy, we are working together," said Kenzu Abdella, the president of the Kawartha Muslim Religious Association. "We have more similarities than differences... At the end of the day, it's a house of God."
This week, the Muslim worshipers came to pray at the synagogue twice, and the two communities held a dinner party together.
The local community also managed to raise $110,000 for the reconstruction of the mosque, $30,000 more than what was needed.
