This little boy donated his piggy bank money to a vandalised mosque
A little boy's kind gesture to a vandalised Islamic centre has gone viral.
On Monday, torn-up pieces of the Qur'an and faeces were found outside the Islamic Center of Pflugerville in Texas. Police are investigating it as a hate crime.
One local boy heard about the vandalism and showed up to the msoque to donate €20 dollars that he had collected as pennies over time in his piggy bank.
Mad Respect to this little guy, Terrorism isnt a religion. #jackswanson #hope #respect pic.twitter.com/aXEINuLAbT
— Kieran (@AsendanceCrypto) November 19, 2015
Jack's mother explained why they decided to make the donation.
"We got together our pennies and it came out to $20 bucks so we did what we could," she said.
"It doesn't matter what you believe or I believe or he believes or anybody believes. All faith is important. And especially peaceful faith I mean what happened in Paris is not what's happening in Pflugerville. We should all be here supporting each other."
Faisal Naeem, a board member at the mosque, said that the vandalism was "very unexpected and quite honestly shocking".
He added that while he didn't want to assume the vandalism was related to the Paris attacks until police finish their investigation, he was frustrated by "generalizations" that are often applied to the Muslim community after such extremist attacks.
"It's become so commonplace where something goes wrong somewhere and people want to blame all Muslims," he said. "If anything, it's a pointing indictment of the logical fallacy in our society's way of thinking."
Although there was no physical damage to the building, clean up costs are estimated to be about $150. Flowers have since been left outside.
Naeem said that the Swanson's donations gave him hope.
"Jack's $20 are worth $20 million to us because it's the thought that counts," Naeem told ABC News today.
"Jack is just a little older than my son, Ibrahim. If we have more kind-hearted kids like them in the world, I have hope for our future.
