January 3, 2003
Source: The Columbus Dispatch
On January 3, 2003 The Columbus Dispatch reported that "workers have installed fresh wallboard where ceilings and walls were bowed after water gushed from smashed pipes. Heartsick worshippers pulled up soaked carpeting, only to discover oak floors beneath the threadbare rugs. Volunteers -- engineers, schoolchildren, housewives -- came as news spread about the desecration of the center at 1428 E. Broad St. An estimated $379,000 repair bill was cut to $140,000.'Yes, something good has come from something bad,' said Al-Akhras, president of the Ohio office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations."