Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans, and miss it each night and day? Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans when that's where you left your heart? Mahdi Bray, the Poor Old Country Muslim from Norfolk, Virginia, doesn't. He is taking up a collection for the victims of Katrina, but in an unsurprising manifestation of Islam's sharp and all-encompassing distinction between believers and unbelievers, he seems to be chiefly concerned about the Muslim victims. In this press release from the Muslim American Society (thanks to the one who sent this), he says: "It is critical that we all pull together to help the thousands of Muslims and their neighbors who have been devastated by Katrina."
Imagine the outcry that would ensue if any charitable organization declared, "It is critical that we all pull together to help the thousands of Christians and their neighbors who have been devastated by Katrina," or "It is critical that we all pull together to help the thousands of Jews and their neighbors who have been devastated by Katrina." Other groups help everybody they can, without asking about their religion first. But not Good Old Mahdi's MAS.
MUSLIM ORGANIZATIONS AND CHARITY ANNOUNCE MAJOR RELIEF EFFORT AT HOUSTON ASTRODOME PRESS CONFERENCERelocated Hurricane Victims Join MAS and Islamic Relief in Responding to Needs of Thousands Devastated by Katrina
http://www.masnet.org/pressroom_release.asp?id=2726(Washington, D.C.) - The Muslim American Society (MAS),
(http://www.masnet.org/) and its Freedom Foundation (http://www.masnet.org/index_publicaffairs.asp), and Islamic Relief USA (http://www.irw.org/katrina/), will hold a press conference on Friday, September 2 at 3:00 p.m. in front of the Holiday Inn across from the Houston Astrodome to announce ongoing relief efforts to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina.MAS, America's largest grassroots Muslim organization with over fifty
chapters, including those in Houston, Dallas and New Orleans, has teamed up with Islamic Relief USA, a U.N. NGO and member of the U.N. Economic and Social Council, with its offices in 30 countries.MAS and its Freedom Foundation will announce major ongoing efforts initiated by the organization and Islamic Relief to mobilize the American Muslim community in order to work in concert with other national relief organizations, religious charities, government officials, and the private sector, to assist victims.
The press conference will be held in front of the Holiday ! Inn across from the Houston Astrodome at Reliant Park, 8111 Kirby D rive, Houston, TX, at 3:00 p.m.
Also attending the press conference will be Muslims who were evacuated from New Orleans and the surrounding area.
"There are three basic components to our work," stated MAS Freedom
Foundation Executive Director Mahdi Bray."To encourage Muslims to open their mosques and homes to victims as well as adopting a family and renting an apartment for displaced families. Second, to collect and assist with the distribution of food and other consumable necessities to shelters and other temporary lodging facilities. And lastly, to insure that Islamic Relief has the resources to provide the high caliber assistance that they have provided throughout the years to victims of natural catastrophes here in the United States and abroad."
"It is critical that we all pull together to help the thousands of Muslims and their neighbors who have been devastated by Katrina," concluded Bray.
Granted, most relief orgs wouldn't inject religion like that, and granted, if someone were to substitute "Christians" or "Jews" and make a similar announcement, there would be hell to pay, but since muslims state that they are loyal first and foremost to the "RoP", this isn't that remarkable.
What will interest me is if they collect donations under the illusion of helping all, and then only aid muslims(THAT wouldn't surprise me), and additionally, will aid money be skimmed and/or redirected to less benevolent uses.
Hmm. It's slightly ambiguous, because it talks about 'Muslims and their neighbours'. Actions speak louder than words; let's see where the help actually goes.
The general point is valid, though, about Muslim 'charity'.
We need to keep in mind that there is no such thing as the golden rule in islam. Only muslims are worthy and even then it depends on which sect they belong to and which sect the giver is from.
This just brings to mind the differences in the Red Cross and the Red Cresent. The Red Cross helps all, the Red Cressent only muslims. Surprise , surprise!
Not to mention that the other aid organizations, religious and non-religious, are NOT holding press conferences about their work. They're collecting funds and helping people, not trying to score good PR.
Check the Press Relase here:
http://www.masnet.org/pressroom_release.asp?id=2726
It now says: "“It is critical that we all pull together to help the thousands who have been devastated by Katrina," concluded Bray."
I hope somebody told Bray that true charity is helping your fellow man/woman with no regard to his/her religion, and he asked that the quote be retracted and changed. Somehow, I doubt it, and their PR people changed the site after somebody complained.
i mean who and what is bush? who is this guy? how many weeks holidays in a year does a person need?
"there is a house in new orleans.." - know the song?
change the lyrics - "there WAS a house in new orleans..."
and a job
and a life
and a happy one
what a total shambles now
millions of christians like me voted for him. if id been a yank i might have done the same, given the other idiot that was on offer
has he given them prayer in school yet
whats he done about abortion
whats he done about gay marriages
whats he done about ISLAM?
bugger all sfar as i can make out
still on the ranch is he
lassooing stray cattle and such like
freddie;
POTUS isn't exactly the kind of job you take a "vacation" from. Everything that he does in DC, he's doing in Crawford.
Well, to be fair, it does say "Muslims and their neighbors." Are we to assume that all neighbors of Muslims are Muslims too? That would logically mean that the entire city of N'Orleans was Muslim.
Yes, distinctions like this are odious, but at least their trying to help.
And by the way, I have received plenty of appeals in the past that were targeted solely for the help of, say, Orthodox Christians in Jerusalem.
yes i know t-ham, but people in the position of potus (and believe it or not ive only just worked out what this stands for) are paid to be seen to be in action. hes had long enough to lie about down there
at least yanks knew where he was, which is more than could be said for bliar. he went totally awol for 2 days till he got sussed out on a beach in barbados, where ive been led to believe, hes been checking out property for himself
Indeed, let's see what happens. I have all reasons to suspect that the infidels will not be considered human beings once again, but I really hope to be proven wrong.
-----------------------------
dolphin, CAGE co-founder.
http://www.acage.org
Islam instructs Muslims to offer aid, ordinarily, only to fellow Muslims. However, if in offering aid to non-Muslims, one can thereby strengthen Islam, or help the cause of Islam in any way, then such aid may be permitted. Mahdi Bray always takes care to have his picture in The Boston Globe -- as last year, seeming to be delivering a large amount (in reality, a few cartons) of goods to some charity. I do not know whether The Globe photographer who took the picture realized that she was involved in a carefully-planned propaganda effort, but of course she was. And there will be more from the "little old country Muslim -- chanting for Hamas, all smiles and sweetness-and-light at one of Robert's lectures in a synagogue over there --all things are possible if it is done to promote the cause of the Believers, on the path of Allah, for not-quite-cameleontic Mahdi Bray.
Katrina is God send punishment to Kafirs for their Kufr(Not believing in Allah and Muhammad). Muslims have suffered due to unavoidable collateral damage. Therefore only muslims should get relief. Only Islam gives wisdom to do the correct things. This explains (American foolishness of) helping (Indonesian) Asian Tsunami victims. To help Americans it is advisable that they should immediately convert into islam and enjoy the Arabic living of Mohammad's time.
That last post by iqbal, if for real, really proves to me that the koran has not been divinely inspired. The Creator, being a loving God, even when exating punishment of biblical proportions, always spared the believer, for He loves his creation too much to have any concept of collateral damage. If islamic wisdom deems the correct thing to do when girls are in a burning building is to trap them inside to suffer a most horrible of death while male firefighters are prevented by islamic police from rescuing the girls because the girls were not wearing a veil, then the concepts of compassion, wisdom and correctness, as these terms are widely understood by all who are not islamic, have become totally fubar in islam.
"I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink..... Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my bretheren, ye have done it to me"
Matthew 25:35-41
And if anyone should query Who is my brother, or neighbour? then try Luke 10:25
Need any more be said?
What will interest me is if they collect donations under the illusion of helping all, and then only aid muslims(THAT wouldn't surprise me), and additionally, will aid money be skimmed and/or redirected to less benevolent uses.
Posted by: t-ham at September 2, 2005 02:01 P
Please pardon my skepticism,but I see this as an exploitation of the hurricane disaster and a way for Islamic "charities" to funnel more money to jihad warriors and their rabid "spiritual" gurus.It is also a clever public relations ploy to fool Americans into thinking that muslims give a damn about America and all hurricane victims.
It would be unheard of for Christian or non-denominational charities to earmark their relief funds for a specific group of people. That's not how we do things here muslims, and you of all people should know that since you are so often on the receiving end of charity. Oops, I forgot. It's not charity when you get it; it's your rightful claim to our wealth because you are muslims. Sorry!
Let me do a quick edit.
"It is critical that we all pull together to help the thousands of Muslims and their neighbors who have been devastated by Katrina," Bray brayed.
Call me cynical, but I wouldnt' doubt some of that money collected goes to support the many, many Muslim brothas and sistas in the Middle East who were "affected" by Katrina too. ;-)