In Terror War, Not All Names Are Equal

POLITICS-US:
In Terror War, Not All Names Are Equal
William Fisher

This was a fascinating piece, I thought, highlighting the different treatment received by charity groups vs commercial groups when accused of doing business with terrorist regimes. The real question, to me anyway, this article raises is why does Halliburton get to continue operating while under investigation for business with Iran, a state sponsor of terror, but charities who are accused of the same thing have their funds seized, and operations shut down.

It might be worth noting that OXFAM and similar charities may simply not be acceptable to true Muslim donators, and the reason for it is simple. OXFAM, or Save the Children, operate in the western world of Judeo-Christian values. As I've pointed out in posts before, one of the fundamental tenets of Islam is that usury is morally wrong ... charging interest, collecting interest, offering interest are all scripturally forbidden for a true Muslim. OXFAM and Save the Children, operating in the western, Christian world, almost certainly make use of interest bearing accounts to store donated funds, where as true Muslim charities like the Benevolence International Foundation would not. For Muslims to contribute to a charity which will use their funds in a morally unacceptable way is not a reasonable expectation. Contributing to OXFAM may very well be breaking a very sacred tenet of Islamic faith, by giving your money to someone who would then submit it to usury ... its unreasonable for us to expect Muslims to contribute through Christian, or Christian-based charities, especially when they can't guarantee upholding Muslim values.

I know some people may be thinking this is a small issue, and perhaps it is. There are lots of folks in the world who think the Catholic stand on birth control is small issue, and that a charity that does good work but also hands out condoms, for instance, would be an acceptable place for a Catholic to donate their funds. The Pope would vehemently disagree, saying that any charity which also hands out condoms is anti-Catholic, and Catholics should be very careful about contributing to any cause that makes such a mockery of a strongly-held belief. The Islamic prohibition on usury is just as strong as the Catholic issues with condoms, if not more so. Asking a Muslim to contribute to OXFAM is akin to expecting a Catholic to be happy with a charity that hands out condoms ... it is only our ethnocentric views that make us see it differently.