Eight Black churches have been set on fire by arsonists and burned down since the Charleston shootings at a historic Black church, Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, which is the oldest AME church in the South. A group of Muslim charities has vowed to help the congregants rebuild their houses of worship.

The network of Muslim activists and organizations, including Muslim ARC, the Arab American Association of New York, Imam Zaid Shakir, and Ummah Wide, launched the “Respond with Love: Rebuild Black Churches, Support Victims of Arson across the South” project last Thursday and have already raised more than their $20,000 goal.

Here’s how the activists explain their initiative:

“All houses of worship are sanctuaries, a place where all should feel safe, a place we can seek refuge when the world is too much to bear.

“We are calling on you to help add our support to faith communities across the country pooling their resources to rebuild these churches.

“As Muslims we know the importance of protecting the vulnerable and respecting people who call on God in their various tongues.”

Three of the fires at the churches has been deemed arson and the others are under investigation to determine who is responsible and their motives are, according to FBI spokesman Paul Bresson who spoke to BuzzFeed News.

“We want to let our African American brothers and sisters know that we stand in solidarity with them during this dark hour,” said Imam Shakir.

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