NOEL, Mo. (AP) — Donations have topped $40,000 to help rebuild a Missouri mosque destroyed by fire earlier this week.
The Joplin Globe reports that the Islamic Society of Joplin launched the social media fundraiser Tuesday, a day after a fire in Noel, Missouri, destroyed the African Grocery Store and the mosque next door.
Both the store and the mosque were gathering places for refugees.
The state fire marshal is investigating the cause of the fire.
The incident hits close to home for the Islamic Society of Joplin, whose own mosque burned to the ground in 2012.
Joplin resident Jedediah Stout pleaded guilty to arson.
