The Myth of Muslim Generosity
It is day 8 of our Disney vacation and day 4 of Ramadan 2010 and day 17 since Pakistan was hit by the worst monsoon floods in decades which to date has killed more than 1500 Muslims. I write 'Muslims' instead of 'Pakistanis' because I want to make a point about Muslim generosity.
Pakistan is 95% Muslim and so we should expect substantial aid from the following Muslim majority nations: Nigeria, Bangladesh, Iran, Mauritania, Indonesia, Comoros, Kosovo, The Gambia, Djibouti, Maldives, Eritrea, Lebanon, Yemen, Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Syria, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt, Niger, Mali, Senegal, Tajikistan, Jordan, Guinea, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Chad, Bahrain, Burkina Faso, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Sudan, Oman, Libya, Qatar, Kuwait, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, Turkmenistan, Brunei, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. But of all those only Kuwait donated anything substantial to help Pakistan (1).
One of the Five Pillars of Islam is Zakat or the practice of charitable giving. Right now, is there any group of Muslims more poor or needy than the 14 million people affected by the flooding?
So tonight the Muslim faithful will perform the tarawih salah, the extra prayers performed by Muslims at night in the Islamic month of Ramadan. I wonder if they will be praying for their poor Muslim brothers and sisters in Pakistan. Certainly their wallets so far have not shown any thought for them.
Truth be told, why should Muslims worry when the world has America to rely on? The US, with less than 1% of its population Muslim, has already committed $55 million to flood relief efforts and announced it was contributing another $16.2 million to the UN refugee agency and the International Red Cross. On the other hand, the Organization of The Islamic Conference representing more than a billion Muslims has made an appeal (2) to its member states to aid the victims of the worst floods in 80 years in Pakistan, but so far, except for Kuwait, aid has not been flowing like oil from their wells.
Why should Muslims help their fellow Muslims? Because I believe if anyone saves a single life, it would be as if he saved the life of all mankind.
ENDNOTES
(1):
DiveDesk, Islam: Today starts the holy month of Ramadan
Kuwait being the only muslim country to donate anything substantial to the aid of Pakistan. After Kuwait you’ll find only the UAE has donated a pittance for aid. Infact Jack being a man of meager means could match UAE’s contribution if he chose to … that is how little the muslim community has given to date.
In fact the Soho Property manangement company alone paid more for the property they plan to build the mosque on close to WTC than all “muslim” aid to Pakistan combined.
(2):
H.E. Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in view of the vital need for effective action to alleviate the ordeal faced by the Pakistani people, is initiating action to stimulate, unify and streamline efforts in aid of the victims of the worst floods in 80 years in Pakistan. He is hereby launching a Flash Appeal to the Member States of the OIC, their citizens, philanthropists, civil society organizations, and to all people of good will in the international community at large to generously partake in the relief effort and contribute towards the alleviation of the plight of floods victims in Pakistan. To this end, donations in cash and kind are all welcome.
