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Accused mass killer Alek Minassian was charged with 10 counts of murder and 13 counts of attempted murder on Tuesday after he plowed a rental van into pedestrians on a crowded Toronto sidewalk.<\/p>\n
TORONTO – Canadian Muslim charities are leading fundraising efforts to help victims of Monday\u2019s van attack in Toronto and their families cope with medical and funeral costs, teaming up with Toronto\u2019s city government.<\/p>\n
Suspect Alek Minassian, 25, was charged with 10 counts of murder and 13 counts of attempted murder on Tuesday after he plowed a rental van into pedestrians on a crowded Toronto sidewalk.<\/p>\n
Charity Canada Zakat had collected more than C$145,000 (about $113,000) as of late morning Wednesday through a GoFundMe campaign, while Islamic Relief Canada, which provides emergency relief following disasters, had received C$6,500 in donations on Launchgood.com, a Muslim fundraising platform.<\/p>\n
These charities\u2019 efforts were spurred by donor feedback from fundraising following a January 2017 shooting at a Quebec City mosque and are the most high profile since then.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne donor said \u2018if this ever happens again, you guys should be out there again, regardless of who the perpetrator is, who the victim is\u2019,\u201d said Zaid Al-Rawni, chief executive of Islamic Relief Canada. \u201cThat was the main driver for this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Human Concern International, another Muslim charity, and Islamic Circle of North America\u2019s Canadian relief arm are also raising funds, according to their websites.<\/p>\n
Most of the charities began the campaigns before the identity of the attacker was confirmed and said social media speculation that he was Muslim had little bearing on their decision to raise funds.<\/p>\n
The police have not disclosed the suspect\u2019s background, and the attack does not appear to have been motivated by religion. Minassian is an Armenian surname.<\/p>\n
Al-Rawni said Islamic Relief Canada will funnel the money into a fund set up by the city of Toronto and Toronto Foundation, a philanthropic organization. Toronto Mayor John Tory said on Tuesday the fund will ensure that donations can be distributed in an orderly fashion.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy assumption is that because they realized they have the ear of generous community members in the Muslim community, they knew they\u2019d be able to have an impact here,\u201d said Julia Howell, a spokeswoman for the Toronto Foundation, adding Victim Services will be among the recipients.<\/p>\n
Sana Khawaja, a spokeswoman for Canada Zakat, said the Canadian Muslim community needs to make it apparent how much service is a part of the faith. \u201cWe\u2019re a strong population here, let\u2019s do what we can.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Accused mass killer Alek Minassian was charged with 10 counts of murder and 13 counts of attempted murder on Tuesday after he plowed a rental van into pedestrians on a crowded Toronto sidewalk. TORONTO – Canadian Muslim charities are leading fundraising efforts to help victims of Monday\u2019s van attack in Toronto and their families cope […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n