7-year-old donates money in piggy bank to vandalized mosque

AUSTIN, Texas -- When a local mosque in Pflugerville, Texas, was vandalized with feces over the weekend, community members of all faiths and backgrounds stopped by the center to donate money for the cleanup and lay flowers at the doorstep.

But one donation stood out among the rest. It came from 7-year-old Jack.

Laura Swanson brought her son Jack to the Islamic Center to teach him a lesson about kindness and acceptance, reports CBS affiliate KEYE.

"What happened in Paris is not what is happening in Pflugerville," Swanson told KEYE. "We should all be here supporting each other."

Swanson and her son gathered what money they had, $20, to donate to the Islamic Center in hopes to help cleanup what vandals left behind. But if you ask Board Member at the Islamic Center in Pflugerville, Faisal Naeem, it means so much more than that.

"It's $20 bucks but coming from Jack, collecting his pennies, it's worth 20 million bucks to me and to our community," he said.

The Pflugerville Police Department is searching for the vandal or vandals responsible for vandalism at the Islamic Center of Pflugerville on Windermere Drive. Investigators say a member of the center arrived just before 6 a.m. Monday to find a torn apart Quran with a large amount of feces on it at the front entrance of the mosque.

Police have classified this case as a hate crime. A spokesperson for the police department said there have not been any previous known threats to the center, KEYE reports.

The last time anyone was at the Islamic Center was on Sunday night around 10:00 p.m.

There was no physical damage to the facility, and the clean up costs were estimated to be approximately $150.

"They are brothers and sisters in humanity and that is first and foremost," said one Christian woman who brought flowers and signs in support of the center.

Several Muslims from different Mosques around Austin also showed up Monday night.

"We wanted to express our support and say we are hear for you as your Muslim brothers and sisters," said a Muslim woman.

Naeem tells KEYE that misconceptions about Muslims and Islam may be the root of the vandalism.

"This is very unexpected and quite honestly, shocking," said Naeem.

With vandalism also comes fear, Naeem explained.

"Can something like Wisconsin, the Sikh temple thing, happen here? If you would have asked me this question yesterday I would have said, no, this is Austin," said Naeem. "But, that is no longer true."

Naeem said the fear extends to his children -- born and raised in the United States -- who will struggle to understand the hatred they may face.

"What do I tell them? That they are Americans, but not quite?" Naeem said.