--A study in unintended consequences     

Louisiana: the "wrath" of Katrina

Afghanistan: the wrath of Bush

The writers for this website are well aware that this piece's title alone is pretty provocative; perhaps enough to raise some accusations of political incorrectness, insensitivity or worse. However, this is not their intent: instead they ask the readership for a full and patient hearing.

It all began when one of them attended a Jumuah khutbah where the khatib gave a great speech about combating shaytan. The first part provided listeners with great new tools to combat the Enemy of Muslims and all Mankind. However, the imam ended his speech by linking the war with shaytan with contributing to the hurricane fund. Short of giving an all-out endorsement for Muslims to send their cash (I presume he wanted to avoid a backlash from Muslims), he conveniently mentioned he had a fatwa on his website about the permissibility of giving aid to the victims, especially the ones who weren't Muslim.

Helping non-Muslims in difficulty is not haram. If an independent and responsible Muslim government is the agent, it can even show that "Islam works" for everybody. But under the present world disorder, Muslims must use their intelligence; they must never let their money or themselves be tools for a society of kufr. We recognize that many Muslims are sincere and good-hearted as they contribute to the Katrina fund; but they need to look a little closer to see what their money might be used for. There are other ways to misuse charity money besides spending it on those who use bombs.

Giving sadaqah is as much a political act as it is a benevolent one. If our readers doubt this, they should consider the words of Tarek Fatah, a self-described Pakistani leftist who recently called upon his followers not to give money to Islamic organizations serving the survivors of the recent Pakistan earthquake disaster. Instead, he says, "All aid and donations should be given to non-sectarian agencies so that vulnerable people, facing homelessness and starvation, are not made into pawns and recruits for political agendas."

Among other organizations, Mr. Fatah recommends World Vision, a group that provides "Christian education" to children under its care.

The leadership of big Muslim organizations in the USA can't be accused, however, of nurturing radicals. Their advertising, their willingness to jump up as if to say, "Look at us! We are good American Muslims giving to the Katrina fund too!" made it embarrassingly clear that they were running a public relations stunt. They were just trying to please an American establishment that now uses "bad" Muslims and "bad" Islam as bogeymen to justify Washington's control of the world. It didn't really work: ISNA is still under pressure for its Saudi connections, and CAIR spokesmen in the boondocks still have to explain-for the thousandth time-why they haven't done enough to "denounce the terrorists." Meanwhile, Islam doesn't gain points for raising the money-the kufr system gets credit instead, by allowing "people of all different religions to work together in the American Way." Perhaps this is one reason that interest in hurricane relief so suddenly subsided after the South Asian earthquake.

Once more, we Muslims missed a teaching moment. Many people in the disaster zone are angry. They ask: how can Washington waste so much blood and money ruling the Middle East when it can't even run its own country right? What an opportunity to educate Americans about the built-in injustice of the capitalist system that makes most non-whites "losers," forces them to live in low-lying areas, and exploits them as cheap labor! It's typical that Barbara Bush (pharaoh's mom) said, in all seriousness, about refugees in the Superdome, "…It is actually better to be living (in the shelters) than how they lived before."

Muslims in the USA are called upon to repudiate the car-bombers. But they must expose the even deadlier arrogance of this country's rulers as well.

As it stands now, the American political elite face an embarrassing domestic catastrophe. It happened because Washington spent money on big bombs rather than New Orleans' levees. It happened because Bush and his predecessors had billions for Israel, Husni Mubarak, Islam Karimov and Iraqi occupation, but never enough for poor people in the 9th Ward. The pattern likely will continue: billions of taxpayers' dollars are needed to clean up New Orleans; the money probably will be siphoned from domestic social programs while the military, the puppet dictators, and Halliburton will get their usual cuts. It will be easier for Washington to get away with such neglect because the money of private donors-Muslims included-will actually make it easier for the American government to ignore the needs of its own people. No wonder two former presidents, Poppa Bush and Bill Clinton, are beating drums for the Katrina fund.

In truth, Muslims are doing nobody any favors by helping to prop up a political system in failure. Let Bush and his peers deal with the mess they created, now that it is finally leaking out of America's ghettos and "decent" people can't ignore it any more. In times like this, Muslims' resources are better used introducing America to a system, based on God-given principles, which will work for everybody, Muslim and otherwise.

Figure 1: "Happy Ramadan" from the USAF to Afghanistan. (Look closely at the picture.) Muslim contributions to the government-sponsored Katrina Fund make it easier for Washington to divert taxpayers' money from social programs and infrastructure repairs to big bombs. With this in mind, how can Muslims contribute to such a fund? How can scholars press their followers' buttons and make them think that they are helping fellow human beings, when in fact their contributions aid Washington's oppression of Muslims. When we remember the ayat that encourage us to do good and give sadaqah, we mustn't forget that the Prophet (SAAW) also said: "The believer does not get bitten from the same hole twice." This is clear advice that we should not be made fools.

Since the dawn, of time societies and civilizations have struggled against one another. Today is no exception. Capitalism is fighting against Islam and playing for keeps. Muslims must not forget this and let their generosity, kindness, and compassion become exploited to aid the very establishment at war with them. They must make themselves aware of the political dimensions of everything to avoid getting tricked. (Submitted 11/12/2005)