Islamic charity to Haiti helps…mosques

Zakat is paid by Muslims for Muslims.  Sahih Bukhari says that sadaqa or zakat is “to be taken from the rich amongst them and given to the poor amongst them” (5.59.634).  Non-Muslims are ineligible to receive the zakat.

The only possible exception is that zakat may be used to attract new converts to Islam, or “those whose hearts are to be won over” to Islam (Koran 9:60).

The prohibition is why relief from Muslim nations to Haiti has been meager compared to European, North American, and Japanese donations.

A news release from the U.S. State Department bears that out.  Mosques and Islamic charities are giving money to Haiti, but it is going to Haiti’s Muslim leadership, mostly in Cap-Haitien (the where the largest Haitian Muslim population is located) for distribution at mosques.  Here’s an excerpt from the State Department piece:

Abu Bakr Xavier, founder of the Haitian American Islamic Community Inc., met Imam Haneef on his recent relief trip to Haiti and is trying to send supplies to Cap-Haitien and to the rest of the country. On temporary leave from his job to help with Haitian humanitarian relief, the Muslim American of Haitian descent said a lack of centralized government is felt everywhere.

“If Port-au-Prince is in shambles, areas like those around Cap-Haitien take a back seat in terms of attention and services,” Xavier told America.gov after returning from a five-day relief tour of Haiti.

Xavier said supplies and doctors from Cap-Haitien have traveled to Port-au-Prince while many Haitians have fled north from the city, returning to their areas of origin. The lack of medical supplies and doctors, coupled with the sudden influx of people, is placing stress on smaller cities like Cap-Haitien. 

After flying to Cap-Haitien and visiting Bilal Mosque, Xavier traveled to Port-au-Prince with his medical supplies — bandages, antiseptics, gloves and surgical masks — to deliver them to local aid group A.I.M.E.R. Haiti for distribution.

Mosques in Haiti are also playing a vital role in distributing humanitarian relief. Locals are flocking to Muslim houses of worship for food and medical aid supplied by organizations like Islamic Relief USA.

Read the whole article here.  I’m sure the recipients appreciate the aid.  That’s what the imams are counting on.  But is the zakat to Haiti like ordinary secular disaster relief?  No, in this instance, it’s for Muslims and for those whose hearts may be won to Islam.