EDITORIAL: Response to mosque fire shows the goodness in people

Jan. 31--The cause of the weekend mosque fire in Victoria is for investigators to determine. But if it turns out to have been intentional, the perpetrator must be sorely disappointed with the response.

From Victoria to the other side of the world, people of differing faiths and opinions about the existence and form of a higher power have rallied to embrace and protect Victoria's Muslim congregation and help its members rebuild. The mere thought that the fire could have been intentional has brought out the best in people, inspiring them to set aside what divides them -- religion, race, ethnicity, politics -- and to unite instead for the cause of humanity.

The members of the Victoria Islamic Center showed grace and gratitude and cautioned against assuming the worst about the fire -- whether it was arson -- urging that fire investigators be allowed to do their work.

A mosque spokesman asked, also, not to "politicize the situation." And if there is any request by the victims of this fire that the rest of us should strive to honor, that's the one. The show of support for the mosque is not a political statement. It is a human one.

As of Monday morning, a fund-raising effort already had topped $800,000. Money is nice and can solve a lot of problems. But the way we see it, the most meaningful show of support came from local churches and a synagogue. They offered their houses of worship as a temporary house of worship to the Islamic congregation.

Think about it: Christians and Jews, who built houses of worship in Victoria so they could worship God in the specific ways they go about worshiping God, invited the displaced Muslims of Victoria to come inside and worship God the way Muslims worship God.

That gesture by those local religious organizations is a profound statement. It says they have one thing in common. It says the one thing they have in common is good. It says that their shared belief in a God makes them, fundamentally, the same. It says let's embrace and get over our differences. And that, most assuredly, is not political.

There's no ignoring the political tinderbox that prompted people to assume automatically that the fire was arson. The day before, President Donald Trump announced an executive order denying U.S. entry by people from seven Muslim-majority countries. Trump exploited hatred of Muslims during his campaign -- and won. Earlier this month, a fire at a Bellevue, Washington, mosque was identified as arson.

But the Victoria fire, whether it turns out to have been deliberate or not, has had a cleansing, transcending effect. It was not a two-sided issue. People for Trump and against him are for the members of the Victoria Islamic Center and against what happened to their mosque. One of our region's most prominent Trump supporters, U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Corpus Christi, issued a statement in a tone similar to the Victoria Islamic Center's: "While we wait for law enforcement to complete a thorough investigation, I would remind residents that Victoria is a caring community and a wonderful place to live. I truly hope this was an accident and not something done out of misguided anger."

The world's dominant religions encourage caring communities and discourage misguided anger. If the fire was meant to spread hate, it failed.

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