The Problem
with Us
By Perwaiz Ahmad
Fullerton, CA
Anyone who saw Nightline’s
program on famine in Africa a couple of weeks back
would have been horrified and devastated. A British
journalist covered the famine in a two-segment documentary
describing events six months apart. Children were
seen eating grass and roasted rats after having
remained hungry for days.
It is a shame that with all the wealth that God
has blessed the Muslim countries with we look up
to the Western world for help. I was in Mecca last
Hajj and discovered that the amount of food that
goes to the trash is so profound that I felt sick
to my stomach. While some had no roof over their
head and were sitting and sleeping on sidewalks
others were living in ultra luxury in plush five
star hotels. Couldn’t the Saudi government
build basic accommodation for all, similar to Motel
6 with the billions of dollars they collect so that
everyone has a roof and access to basic amenities?
We talk about equality in Mecca during Hajj but
I could not see any; I am sorry to say that just
standing in prayers and during Tawaf side by side
is not what I had imagined or what is implied in
the Qur’an.
First and foremost, this state of affairs should
not exist if the rich and the so-called “poor”
Muslim nations spend on luxuries in a way as if
there is no tomorrow. Much, much more than their
counterparts in the Western world. Just look around.
It is not difficult for one to notice the ultra
luxury development in Dubai that has been going
on for decades. Then there are the super-rich Kuwaitis,
the Saudis and so on and so forth.
I visited a mosque recently in Southern California
and I was amazed with the humongous size of a chandelier
that was installed in the prayer room. The money
that was wasted to build a dome for a new mosque
in another center was scrapped and then monies were
donated to build another one. Who are we trying
to kid? The list goes on and on and on. The problem
with us is that we can see a hairline crack in the
Western world but we fail to notice an elephant
in our own front yard.
We can talk the talk but cannot walk the walk. This
is our basic problem. The famine in Africa did not
occur for the first time. It has occurred before
and every time after it passes the Muslim world
falls asleep only to be jolted by a western media
journalist. Just like you are involved in mitigating
the propaganda against the Muslims in America there
should be an organization to handle the basic needs
of starving men, women, and children all over the
world, not just in the Muslim countries.
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