Does my original post look like I want a war?  It was very carefully worded to not do so.

I didn´t say you were happy with Canli´s answer.  Don´t put words in my mouth.  And what is "graceful" about adding " Boring" at the end of your reply to Canli?  

  How does this mean that they don´t also give personal donations to aid?

You can spout all you want about how you don´t want East, West, blah blah blah confrontational discussions, but the proof of who you really are and what you really are about is in the tone and content of your posts.  

I think you would do better to ask your questions http://www.islamicboard.com/ rather than expect Canli to answer on all things Islam. 

Next will be your usual argument about all things religious, especially Islam, and how atheists have the moral high ground.

The one where you put a disclaimer at the beginning and ended with a slight sledgehammer? 

You aren´t very good at cycling, you get your feet tangled in the pedals.  I suggest you trade you bicycle in for a donkey . . .  or perhaps a moose!!!

You´ll be glad to know I´ve made all the points I want to make to you.

Have a great day.

My post is not about moral high ground - it is about putting PEOPLE before propaganda.  That is the only point I am making.  Anyway, whoopy doo!  Saudi Arabia has pledged 1 billion, and Islamic Aid raised 3 million.

Drops in the ocean...

I was very interested to see the low levels of aid from muslim countries.  During the tsunami, the reason for their lack of assistance was Islam - they do not want to donate money in case any part of it assists non-mulims (even non-muslim children), but I don´t understand what the problem is THIS time

Two examples of questions and answers on IslamOnline at the time, begger belief:

Name Mary -

Profession

Question It is permissible for us, as Muslims, to make du`aa’ for those human beings afflicted there even if those people include Muslims and non-Muslims?

Answer In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Thank you.

There is no harm or prohibition to pray for those people who lost their lives in that natural disaster. However, your beloved Muslim brothers and sisters deserve more and more of prayers and du´aa’. They deserve your moral and financial assistances. You should share their sorrow and difficult time and do invoke Allah to accept them among the Shuhada’ or martyrs on the day of Judgment.

You can also read:

Du`aa’: Worship and Resort of the Helpless

Helping Disaster Victims (Special File)

Allah Almighty knows best.

Name Hakim -

Profession

Question Can we give those afflicted people a portion of our zakah money even if they are non-Muslims? How about giving them charity?

Answer In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Thank you. The receivers of Zakah money are clearly mentioned in the Qur´an. Among them, the poor and needy people. Looking at the situation of those people who are afflicted, one can conclude that the Muslims among them fall under the category of needy people.

In this regard, those Muslims deserve to receive a portion of Zakah. As for non-Muslims, they might deserve donation or any other form of assistance but not Zakah.

Thus, Zakah should be given to poor and needy Muslims. Some non-Muslims may receive a portion of Zakah if there is hope that by giving them Zakah that might lead to their conversion into Islam. They would be then considered under the category of mu´allafati qulubuhun or those whose hearts are inclined to accept Islam.

 this is a killer post, thanks!

No it isn´t! I´m sure it´s misinterpretation, lack of perspective or extensive knowledge of the subject! (as always ) Waiting for Alameda´s links to show it´s not true that Muslims prefer to help Muslims rather than people in general

Of course Muslims prefer to help Muslims.  Do you have a problem with that?

The analogy would be,  helping one´s  own family members first, not go to the family down the street.

Yeap I do, it means that they do not care what happens to non-Muslims - unlike people in secular countries who send help to those who need it, not only those who have the same lifestyle.

It´s a missed analogy - you don´t know all the Muslims and I´m sure they are those who you´d hate to meet. It´s a group of people sharing one belief, not blood. Plus, in a family you do not offer bribes so that other people joined in

 Or...put in simpler terms, you choose who is worth saving and who is worth dying.  A muslim child is worth more than a non-muslim?  Nice religion you have got yourself there...

I´m only going to comment on what I witness myself.  In school, 50% of our children are Muslim, from India, Pakistan, Kenya, Iraq, Iran, Croatia and Serbia.  We often have fundraising activities for charity and we never have trouble with lack of donations from Muslim families.  In fact quite a few  parents donate more than is asked for on non uniform days.  They also give more often than the parents of the white indigenous children at our school.  The sad thing I find about that is that those children don´t get the chance to experience what it´s like to give and be part of something.  The sense of community working together is being eroded in some sectors of society in the UK.

The local muslim community also gave gifts to the childrens ward at the local hospital when it was Eid.  They gave to all the children and in fact it was a logistical nightmare because the organisers had gone to the trouble of finding out the ages and gender of the children in order to match gifts as best they could.  This meant a lot of last minute shopping and they also bought extra for any children that had been admitted to the hospital on the day.

Personally, the charities that I give to regularly aren´t determined by my faith entirely, but by my personal life and family experiences.