OIC & TSUNAMI
NST on the 8th Jan 2005, reported in their article "ARE GULF STATES GIVING ENOUGH" that Oil-rich Gulf Arab states are under attack from commentators in the region for not giving more to victims of the Asian Tsunami. Gulf Government have so far offered donations of USD113 million out of global pledges of USD3.7 billion.
Kuwaiti write Shamlan al-Issa said: “We have money and surplus from high oil prices. Our contribution is not enough. If it is not for the Asian workforce we would still be living in a desert.
Mohamed Ali al-Harfy, the columnist for Saudi newspaper al Watan said: “The sum is very weak compared to the size of the catastrophe and the riches of Gulf countries. There is no convincing answer as to why they haven’t donated more.”
Peter Bergen The New York Times Monday, January 10, 2005 article commented on the same issue as follows (abstract of the report):
"ZAKAT, the giving of charity, is one of the five pillars of Islam. The oil-rich nation of Saudi Arabia is contributing the most to TSUNAMI VICTIMS: a paltry $30 million. And no Arab governments participated in the conference in Jakarta on Thursday where major donors and aid organizations conferred over reconstruction efforts. This anemic effort on the part of the richest Islamic countries is emblematic of a wider political problem in the Islamic world. For all of the invocations by Muslim leaders of the ummah, or the global community of believers, they typically do little to help their fellow Muslims in times of crisis. Arab leaders and their toothless talking shops like the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference are excellent at denouncing problems in Palestine and Iraq, but most stood silent as a million died in the war between Iraq and Iran during the 1980s. Yet when Muslims are suffering, it is usually the West, and often the United States, that takes the lead in helping. So, when the Muslim countries are attacked, they supply oil but when the Muslim countries suffer, they gave the excuse that they already had spent too much in the Iraq war and thus ridiculous to help.
In the TURKISH PRESS.com on Jan 11, 2005, Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said claims that OIC members were not doing enough to help were inaccurate, (quoting the official Bernama news agency report). "This is not a question of religion but humanity. Aid will be given to those who need it and Malaysia has offered its expertise, besides a mobile hospital by its armed forces," he said. "Malaysia, through the prime minister (Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) had played an active role by contacting member states. "As such, we know they did their part and Turkey, as the chairman of OIC at the foreign ministers' level, had written to all the foreign ministers to contribute aid to victims of the earthquake and tsunami disaster in Asia," he said. Countries that could not provide humanitarian personnel to help the tsunami victims could always provide money, medicine or equipment, he said. "I think they should not just focus on whether they have volunteers or not. At present there are volunteers from many countries that have gone there and Malaysia is one of the countries that has sent volunteers. "I think what the governments need other than logistical support is a lot of money for reconstruction of areas affected. I think not all the countries have the capacity to provide the necessary volunteers or humanitarian assistance." Syed Hamid said the Islamic Development Bank had also pledged 500 million dollars in soft loans for reconstruction in countries affected by the December 26 earthquakes and tsunamis, which killed more than 157,000 people.
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