Muslim Stinginess for tsunami Disaster?

[ralph124c]

Well, the nubers are out, and it is a bit embarrassing: Saudia Arabia has given all of $10 million, Quatar $20 million. And that cheapskate Quadafi (Libya) checks in at $5 million. Such generosity! I mean, the Christian west is giving BILLION! And the evil USA-using the navy (at a cost of Millions/minute) to aid these unfortunates.
What are the oil-rich, corrupt Muslim states not being criticized for this? SA pulls in $30 million/ minute-can't they spare anything for fellow muslims? What the silence? It's OK to accuse the USA of being stingy-why do the Mulahs escape criticism?
Oh, and has Osama Bin Laden given anythging?

[GorillaMan]

You do realise that Qatar has half the population of Manhattan? So the similar per-capita figure for the US would total 8 trillion dollars?

[GorillaMan]

Actually, make that $10 trillion. Qatar's figure is $25m.

And $31m was raised in Saudi private donations in one night, easily outdoing the American private donations on a per capita basis.

[Jake the Plumber]

Saudi telethon raises $77 million (http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/01/06/saudi.telethon/)

Indonesia: At least 94,200 dead and 77,000 missing, the health ministry said Saturday. / Somalia: 114, according to the United Nations. ... etc (http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/28/tsunami.deaths/)

Yea, those Muslim bastards and their greed.

You may have a valid point about the Sauds, but that family is corrupt anyway.

[don't ask]

The last I saw the Saudi government had given $30 million to Indonesia - the world's largest Muslim population. They had explained their original offer of $10 million as being caused by the US investigating their charities after 9/11.

F1 driver Michael Schumacher gave $13 million on his own.

[ParentalAdvisory]

Such generosity!


Well, they donated didn't they?

[fortytwo]

Well, they donated didn't they?

If you're waiting for an answer from Ralph don't hold your breath.

[Jake the Plumber]

If you're waiting for an answer from Ralph don't hold your breath.
Shouldn't drive-by inflammatory postings be against the forum guidelines for GD?

[Futile Gesture]

Charity league tables, it's the new sporting craze. Caring too.

Go christian USA!

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[Jake the Plumber]

Charity league tables, it's the new sporting craze. Caring too.

Go christian USA!

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
I can see it now: "Yahoo! Fantasy Charity Relief Efforts"... pick from among your favorite foreign policy officials and build your dream charity country!

[Malodorous]

It's kinda weird how this tsunami things has sort of turned into a pissing contest between nations over who can give the most. I guess it's a good thing, but its kind of embarassing.

Also, I'll note that one of the pillars of Islam is charity, musliums are expected to give a large chunk of their income to orphanages and the like, so that many "good works" institutions in muslium contries rely more on private then public donations then is the case in other countries. So I'd say the difference in public/private donations in muslium countries is atleast partially a cultural difference in where relief money should come from, rather then the gov'ts of those counties not "giving a damn".

Out of curiosity, how much is Iraq giving? Does a country already recieving billions of dollars of aid feel inclined to join the pissing contest and donate cash?

[Polycarp]

Shouldn't drive-by inflammatory postings be against the forum guidelines for GD?

They're not, at present, except when perpetrated by trolls (i.e., people whose sole purpose at the SD is to make inflammatory postings). While I would suicide if forced to live in the world that actually was structured as Ralph apparently sees it, I think you need to give him credit for posting consistently and reasonably if slightly inflammatorily according to his understanding of how the world goes. He is not, intentionally, trolling, though I'm sure "why virtually everyone disagrees with his reasonable perspective" is a mystery to him.

[ralph124c]

You would think I was evil incarnate! You folks are SO PC! I asked a very reasonable question: Saudi Arabia, Quatar, Libya, etc. are very wealthy countries..with oil revenues coming in at the rate of Billions of $ per day. Plus, they are co-religionists with many of the victims of the tsunami..and yet, their response is somewhat less than stunning.
Any truth to a story heard (that Sri Lanka refused an Israeli offer of a team of 50 emergency-care physicians)?
Hey. I'm all for helping our fellow man..but let's face it. SA alone could do FAR more than what they are doing.

[threemae]

Hey. I'm all for helping our fellow man..but let's face it. SA alone could do FAR more than what they are doing.

Yes, as could we, but as it stands, they do seem to be giving far more both on a per-capita basis as well as a portion of their GDP

[Jake the Plumber]

You would think I was evil incarnate! You folks are SO PC! I asked a very reasonable question: Saudi Arabia, Quatar, Libya, etc. are very wealthy countries.
When is the last time you visited Libya? :rolleyes:

They are very wealthy countries in the sense that they have great natural resources. However, those resources are mostly controlled by an insanely small amount of the population (in Saudi Arabia, you may recognize the Sauds and the bin Ladens as major deposts of black gold wealth). Additionally, a lot of it is owned by foreign companies - they pay the ruling class to get contracts to exploit the oil. The average Joe never sees a penny, and usually is living in poverty by international standards. It isn't surprising for them not to be able to donate that much money.

If you want to blame Muslims for being uncharitable, you might want to start with the Bush family's good friends and business partners.

[GorillaMan]

You folks are SO PC!
Is this neo-Godwinism?

Saudi Arabia, Quatar, Libya, etc. are very wealthy countries..with oil revenues coming in at the rate of Billions of $ per day. Plus, they are co-religionists with many of the victims of the tsunami..and yet, their response is somewhat less than stunning.
Did you fucking well read my immediate replies to your OP? If so, please respond to them rather than ignore them.

[WindFish]

FWIW, UPI is running a story (http://www.washtimes.com/upi-breaking/20050105-034356-3545r.htm) where many Middle East media are self-critical of the amount of contributions made from their countries to the tsunami affected areas.

A similar story is also by the LA Times (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002142562_gulf06.html):
Newspapers in Kuwait and Lebanon have been among the most outspoken critics of the Arab response.

"Caricatures of white-robed sheiks sailing their luxury yachts on seas of oil and using $100 bills to light their Havana cigars will only be reinforced in the face of collective miserliness in this hour of human need," warned an editorial in Lebanon's Daily Star newspaper. "Especially if the petroleum-rich Gulf states do not dig a bit deeper into pockets that have become quite deep indeed over the last few years of high oil prices."

The rumblings came to a head in Kuwait, where a leading newspaper, al Qabas, published an editorial criticizing the government's offering and reminded Kuwaitis of the intimate links that bind the desert nation to Southeast Asia.

[Tamerlane]

Would have posted this earlier but I lost my connectivity and I see others have made essentially the same point. However just to add to the comparisons...

Saudi Arabia, Quatar, Libya, etc. are very wealthy countries..with oil revenues coming in at the rate of Billions of $ per day.


They aren't, really, except compared to the rest of the Third World. SA has a smaller GDP than Belgium, with ~2.5x Belgium's population. Maybe they're giving a lot less than Belgium, I don't know.

Qatar has only 2/3 of the GDP of Luxemburg, with twice the population.

Libya has the same size GDP as the island of Puerto Rico, again with ~1.5x the population.

What makes these states seem wealthy ( other than comparing them to their truly dirt-poor neighbors ) is the uneven distribution of capital, which allows some wealthy members of the elite to spend lavishly, giving the impression of enormously wealthy countries. And in fact those wealthy elites do have the disposable cash that maybe they could be doing more as private individuals ( perhaps they are, I haven't investigated ). Perhaps there is a valid criticism to be made on that point. But really they shouldn't have those funds to spare, which ideally should be being better distributed and invested than they are.

- Tamerlane

[Mehitabel]

The NY Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/08/opinion/08bergen.html?n=Top%2fOpinion%2fEditorials%20and%20Op%2dEd%2fOp%2dEd) has a similar Op-Ed piece today.