Do Muslims and their mosques mobilize to help out victims of natural disaster?
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Matt-
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I'm not talking about monetary donations, i'm talking about actually going out and putting feet on the ground. I know that there aren't near as many Muslims in America as their are Christians or most any other religion, but whenever some ? goes down in America, whether it be a hurricane, flood, earthquake, etc... it seems that all kinds of churches from all over America go to those places to help out. And even when disasters happen in other countries, churches send people over there in large numbers. Are Muslims/mosques doing the same thing and we just don't hear about it? Or does Islam just not put a priority on those types of things? Or do they just prefer to blow ? up and let others clean up?
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Don't know if they do.
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I thought this was genuine post until the last comments but i guess people do get misguided via media so i guess its natural...
All im saying is charity is obligatory in Islam, its part of the five pillars, so it's not a case of waiting for natural disasters you have to do it year by year till your death day.
Also i am aware of a verse in the quran which states if you save one human life it is as if you have saved the whole of humanity....
So really the answer is yes and not just for natural disasters...
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f.cashflow99 wrote: »I thought this was genuine post until the last comments but i guess people do get misguided via media so i guess its natural...
All im saying is charity is obligatory in Islam, its part of the five pillars, so it's not a case of waiting for natural disasters you have to do it year by year till your death day.
Also i am aware of a verse in the quran which states if you save one human life it is as if you have saved the whole of humanity....
So really the answer is yes and not just for natural disasters...
it was a genuine post. and i guess the question does extend beyond just natural disasters. helping out the poor, the sick, the homeless, etc... But do the mosques just focus on the are where they live, or is it pretty common for them to get a group together and say go help out after Katrina or the Haiti earthquake and work amongst the Christians. Or would they take a trip to some poor neighborhood in another state and distribute meals, food..stuff like that? -
actually they do
they aren't any different than any other major religion in that regard
9/11 have people thinking the 2nd largest religion in the world is some kind of cult freak show (waits for atheist irony)
they give in every aspect that Christians do -
9/11 doesn't really change how i view charity with Islam. It's just that you mostly hear about churches and christians doing those types of things. but like i said, its probably more to do with this being a 'christian' nation. I'd imagine that if I lived in some Muslim nation, that I would hear about mosques organizing groups to come over to NYC and help out with the recovery, and i'm sure that even the mosques within the US came and helped out with Katrina and some of the floods in the midwest
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the Nation of Islam never waited until a crisis to hit to help people out
(not that you really care to know)
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9/11 doesn't really change how i view charity with Islam. It's just that you mostly hear about churches and christians doing those types of things. but like i said, its probably more to do with this being a 'christian' nation. I'd imagine that if I lived in some Muslim nation, that I would hear about mosques organizing groups to come over to NYC and help out with the recovery, and i'm sure that even the mosques within the US came and helped out with Katrina and some of the floods in the midwest
hahaha
come on,
you don't really give a ? to find out what they do outside of "what you mostly hear"
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It would be hard to paint a group of people as enemies of the state and terrorists that want to destroy freedom if you depicted their religion as caring, charitable and sympathetic in the media. Kind of defeats the whole propaganda thing.
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9/11 doesn't really change how i view charity with Islam. It's just that you mostly hear about churches and christians doing those types of things. but like i said, its probably more to do with this being a 'christian' nation. I'd imagine that if I lived in some Muslim nation, that I would hear about mosques organizing groups to come over to NYC and help out with the recovery, and i'm sure that even the mosques within the US came and helped out with Katrina and some of the floods in the midwest
Bingo. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, American media can be very biased/one-sided. You'd be amazed at the unbiased truth about a lot of things once American bias is lifted. Like how Israel is not the angelic victim of the "Islamic barbarism" that some American news want you to believe.
good question though. i didn't really know the answer either. these types of questions should be asked regularly. -
the Nation of Islam never waited until a crisis to hit to help people out
(not that you really care to know)
and Christians don't wait for a crisis to help people out. no religion does that that i'm aware of. thats not the point and i really don't know why people are drawing that conclusion.
what I'm asking is, when these things happen. do they help out? and in what regard? like, would a group of muslims from, say England, go help out if something disasterous happened in some random country.
I guess really only Muslims should really answer these questions b/c they are probably the only ones who can give answers than are more than just speculation -
Who cares, they are equally evil and opportunistic imo. Trust me there is also a reason behind their actions, their whole objective is to recruit more people.
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wha...???
hey Matt just put that jug of kool-aide down buddy
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the media wont report on anything positive muslims do regardless
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CopperKing wrote: »the media wont report on anything positive muslims do regardless
that's why i'm asking the people. but i don't hear churches getting tons of coverage either. the only reason i'm aware of it going on is b/c i've been around it. -
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Sorry, too lazy to really check the credibitly of the source but i found this article: mediamonitors.net/riadabdelkarim3.html
Complete article:As our nation approaches the one-year anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, American Muslims around the country will join their fellow citizens in pausing and reflecting upon the horrors of that day and its aftermath. Some media pundits and other well-known figures-including notable evangelist Franklin Graham-have recently accused Muslims of remaining silent after the terrorist attacks. Such charges, which have been covered widely but superficially in the mainstream media, deserve serious analysis.
In reality, even a cursory review of press releases, newspaper articles, opinion pieces, and internet websites reveals that Muslims were uniformly shocked, saddened, and outraged at the vicious attack on our own soil-and they did not hesitate to voice their unequivocal condemnation. In fact, American Muslim and Arab-American organizations and leaders were among the first to react in an organized fashion to condemn the terrorist attacks on that very same day, long before it became clear that individuals calling themselves Muslims were involved in the attacks.
On September 11, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest grassroots American Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, distributed a statement which read: "We condemn in the strongest terms possible what are apparently vicious and cowardly acts of terrorism against innocent civilians. We join with all Americans in calling for the swift apprehension and punishment of the perpetrators. No cause could ever be assisted by such immoral acts. All members of the Muslim community are asked to offer whatever help they can to the victims and their families. Muslim medical professionals should go to the scenes of the attacks to offer aid and comfort to the victims."
CAIR also issued an alert to the Muslim community on September 11, urging that the following additional actions be taken: "Muslim relief agencies should contact their counterparts to offer support in the recovery efforts. Individual Muslims should donate blood by contacting the local office of the Red Cross…They should also send donations to those relief agencies that are on the scene of the attacks."
Similarly, the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) issued the following unequivocal statement: "We feel that our country, the United States, is under attack. All Americans should stand together to bring the perpetrators to justice. We warn against any generalizations that will only serve to help the criminals and incriminate the innocent. We offer our resources and resolve to help the victims of these intolerable acts, and we pray to ? to protect and bless America."
And in a September 11 letter to President Bush, community leaders stated: "American Muslims, who unequivocally condemned today's terrorist attacks on our nation, call on you to alert fellow citizens to the fact that now is a time for all of us to stand together in the face of this heinous crime." This letter was signed by the leaders of CAIR, MPAC, the American Muslim Alliance, the American Muslim Council, the Muslim American Society, the Islamic Society of North America, the Islamic Circle of North America, the Muslim Alliance in North America, and American Muslims for Jerusalem. These groups represent most of the seven million Muslims in the United States.
Muslims abroad were also unequivocal in their condemnation of the attacks. The 57 member Organization of Islamic Conference issued a communiqué stating: "The Conference strongly condemned the brutal terror acts that befell the United States….It further reaffirmed that these terror acts ran counter to the teachings of the divine religions as well as ethical and human values…."
In the West Bank thousands of Palestinians attended candlelight vigils to express their grief and solidarity with the victims of the attacks, and Palestinian school children observed five minutes of silence. In Tehran, Iran (one third of the President's proclaimed "axis of evil"), the main soccer stadium observed one minute of silence in sympathy with the victims of the attacks.
Despite the unanimous and vocal condemnations by American Muslim and Arab-American group and leaders nationwide, some in our country were not satisfied. In subsequent weeks and months, numerous unsubstantiated references appeared in newspaper opinion columns and on television talk shows about American Muslims' alleged "silence" after the terrorist attacks. Such claims were clearly not based on facts, but rather were the products of either outright ignorance-which is inexcusable-or deliberate defamation by some with thinly-veiled Islamophobic agendas-which is utterly deplorable.
This accusation of silence in the face of the September 11 attacks is now coupled with increasingly aggressive rhetoric about Islam being an "evil" religion and Muslims a "fifth column." Efforts to even teach about Islam in public schools and universities are now routinely attacked if they do not focus on the most extreme interpretations. When Muslims try to correct uninformed statements about Islam, we are labeled apologists. Open and honest discussion about Islam in the public is increasingly silenced by the bigoted attacks of individuals like Franklin Graham, who recently called for Muslims to apologize for the 9/11 attacks.
While Muslims join most Americans in seeking unity and solace with their fellow citizens, some Americans are sowing seeds of hatred and ignorance. As Americans we are all confronted by a number of daunting challenges that we must face together, including concentrated efforts to tear us apart from within. Bigots seem to be the biggest winners in the post-September 11 environment. If they win, then we all lose.
Yet still, what did the idiot box show you? A few groups of radical/brainwashed Muslims celebrating 9/11 and burning American flags. -
nah, its all good they condemned the attacks and offered assistance. but i really just don't want the thread to turn into all that kind of stuff. I'm not interested in media converage and bias' that americans have against muslims. that's really not the issue.
i'm more concerned with generalities, as far as when they form a group and go help out in certain situations. if they don't, then thats cool. and if they do. then great. but i'd just like some clarity -
They got bean pies for hungry people
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C'mon.. this is America. They try to paint Muslims in the most evil way possible, especially after 9/11. I heard this white man say the other day that he was scared Obama would get into office again and bring all his "muslim buddies". Dumb Americans are terrified of Muslims right now. The media ain't gonna help. They tryin to get views, and right now people want to hear about CHRISTIANS helping out, not Muslims.
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i'm not fully understanding you now. ok, you want to focus on natural disasters? cool, my bad. but why do you still think that this has nothing to do with media coverage and bias? i think that's very relevant. *shrugs*
ok, i think that this article hopefully might be slightly more appropriate and insightful: "Terrorist Offers Hurricane Sandy Aid, US Says No Thanks" - abcnews.go.com/Blotter/terrorist-offers-hurricane-aid-us/story?id=17607455
Excerpt:The U.S. has turned down an offer of post-Hurricane Sandy assistance from one of the world's most wanted men, a Pakistani terror leader with a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head.
Hafiz Saeed, an Islamist militant who is alleged to have masterminded the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks that left more than 160 people dead, issued a written statement Wednesday saying his organization was willing to send supplies and volunteers to help the U.S. East Coast recover.
"We are ready to send food items, medicines and doctors to the U.S. for the people affected by the storm," said Saeed. "America [may] fix bounties on our heads but as followers of the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him), we feel it is our Islamic duty to help Americans trapped in a catastrophe." Saeed noted that the charity he heads had provided aid in Sri Lanka and Indonesia after the 2004 tsunami.
Saeed is the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a terror group banned by the Pakistani government, and still heads its charity wing, Jamaat ud Dawa. Earlier this year the U.S. State Department offered a $10 million reward for information leading to his capture or arrest.
After Saeed's offer of assistance, the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan declined his help via Twitter. "We respect the Islamic tradition of help to the needy," said the tweet, "but we can't take Hafiz Saeed's offer seriously." -
West Brooklyn wrote: »C'mon.. this is America. They try to paint Muslims in the most evil way possible, especially after 9/11. I heard this white man say the other day that he was scared Obama would get into office again and bring all his "muslim buddies". Dumb Americans are terrified of Muslims right now. The media ain't gonna help. They tryin to get views, and right now people want to hear about CHRISTIANS helping out, not Muslims.
the thing is, what i'm asking doesn't have anything to do with the media -
the thing is, what i'm asking doesn't have anything to do with the media
Ok yeah well this is what you said:It's just that you mostly hear about churches and christians doing those types of things. but like i said, its probably more to do with this being a 'christian' nation
Most of what we "hear" about what goes on in our nation is through media. You're asking your question based off what you HEAR, not what you personally KNOW. -
because i don't care what the media thinks. I already know what they think. i'm trying to understand what they actually do and don't do in regards to helping out during these events and in general.
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yes they do. the mosque in my city doubles as a red cross center for the area it's in. it's on the edge of the city, so it's actually quite a resource since there aren't many other building there (it's kinda rural). there's a presbyterian church near it, and they do a lot of it together
we're not monsters and terrorists like a lot of people and the media try and portray us to be. we actually care about our communities, and everybody in it, not just our people. people will have their assumptions tho i suppose. i swear i can't even count how often i hear "i can't believe you're muslim" from people, it's like they totally expect me to be arab and a religious zealot, it's shocking to them that i'm a normal person, which i find laughable
thank you. i know you aren't monsters. I just didn't know if it was a part of the religion to help out like that. i didn't know if they filled up buses and drove to other areas to build homes, clean up debris...? like that.
