While Islam conaiders charity an obligation, and expects it both from individuals and societies / governments, an in most Muslim countries people do take it very seriously, this unified fundamen has already started to crumble.
The very rich Arabic countries employ lots of Muslim immigrants to do work which citizens so not want to do. But even though they are also Muslim, they are treated as slaves, and cannot expect any kind of charity or support, or treatment like normal employees from the locals and the authorities.
Then there is economy and politics - and Muslim countries are perfectly happy to trade with countries which treat Muslims as subhuman. Like Pakistan's large scale economic relationships wiith China, where the treatment of (Muslim!) Uyghurs in China is of absolutely no importance to Pakistan authorities, and is probably not even an item in the collective consciousness of Pakistani people.
And then there is Afghanistan, where the authorities seem to be completely devoid of any human feelings to its citizens.
So, while certainly much more serious than in the Protestant culture of the US, the treatment of charity by Muslims is getting more and more selective, with looking away whenever convenient.
And I'm not even mentioning genocidal wars between Muslim people in Africa, where (as used to be the case with Christianity in Europe some hundreds of years ago) the biggest enemy is not atheists or non-Muslims but Sunni to Shia or Shia to Sunni.
So with regard to Muslim treatment of charity - your mileage may vary, and by a lot.
This is really about three things: individuals' attitudes toward the poor, the policies people support politically, and their general worldview on the government's role in addressing poverty. How these things play out in practice — or the hypocrisy involved — is an entirely separate matter.
Well, the ignorance of what Muslim countries are doing to immigrant Muslim people (like in Saudi Arabia) or what non-Muslim countries do (nationwide ignorance in Pakistan of the fate of Uyghur in China) is individuals' attitudes - of selective charity.
In Arabic countries, most charity goes through social institutions and authorities - individuals contribute financially more than with personal acts of charity like for instance in Pakistan. So policies towards the poor are relevant, as here individuals could not care less about what finally happens with the money they contribute (even though they do contribute honestly).
I do agree that nowadays the individual charity is widely visible in Muslim countries and atrophied in Christian, but unlike in the past - it is selective, and looks as if in the process of changing towards what it is already in Protestant countries.
It may last longer, as in Quran this is a very simply stated obligation, while the Bible is only suggesting it through parables which is much easier to ignore.
But in my opinion we are observing a gradual convergence and collapse, like with the other analogies between Evangelicals and Muslim you discussed earlier.
Back in 1970s in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, I was invited to dinner by a Saudi prince, nephew of the then king.
I went along to his palace, if that's the right word, and they laid on a veritable banquet for me as his honoured guest.
There must have been two dozen around the table, all strangers except for the prince and his secretary. I was looking at them, and began to notice that some seemed very badly dressed, little more than rags.
I asked the prince about it & he casually said they were beggars, the poor, & he simply said that it was normal to invite them to dinner, then changed the subject. It was obviously standard practice.
While Islam conaiders charity an obligation, and expects it both from individuals and societies / governments, an in most Muslim countries people do take it very seriously, this unified fundamen has already started to crumble.
The very rich Arabic countries employ lots of Muslim immigrants to do work which citizens so not want to do. But even though they are also Muslim, they are treated as slaves, and cannot expect any kind of charity or support, or treatment like normal employees from the locals and the authorities.
Then there is economy and politics - and Muslim countries are perfectly happy to trade with countries which treat Muslims as subhuman. Like Pakistan's large scale economic relationships wiith China, where the treatment of (Muslim!) Uyghurs in China is of absolutely no importance to Pakistan authorities, and is probably not even an item in the collective consciousness of Pakistani people.
And then there is Afghanistan, where the authorities seem to be completely devoid of any human feelings to its citizens.
So, while certainly much more serious than in the Protestant culture of the US, the treatment of charity by Muslims is getting more and more selective, with looking away whenever convenient.
And I'm not even mentioning genocidal wars between Muslim people in Africa, where (as used to be the case with Christianity in Europe some hundreds of years ago) the biggest enemy is not atheists or non-Muslims but Sunni to Shia or Shia to Sunni.
So with regard to Muslim treatment of charity - your mileage may vary, and by a lot.
Hi Grzegorz,
This is really about three things: individuals' attitudes toward the poor, the policies people support politically, and their general worldview on the government's role in addressing poverty. How these things play out in practice — or the hypocrisy involved — is an entirely separate matter.
Well, the ignorance of what Muslim countries are doing to immigrant Muslim people (like in Saudi Arabia) or what non-Muslim countries do (nationwide ignorance in Pakistan of the fate of Uyghur in China) is individuals' attitudes - of selective charity.
In Arabic countries, most charity goes through social institutions and authorities - individuals contribute financially more than with personal acts of charity like for instance in Pakistan. So policies towards the poor are relevant, as here individuals could not care less about what finally happens with the money they contribute (even though they do contribute honestly).
I do agree that nowadays the individual charity is widely visible in Muslim countries and atrophied in Christian, but unlike in the past - it is selective, and looks as if in the process of changing towards what it is already in Protestant countries.
It may last longer, as in Quran this is a very simply stated obligation, while the Bible is only suggesting it through parables which is much easier to ignore.
But in my opinion we are observing a gradual convergence and collapse, like with the other analogies between Evangelicals and Muslim you discussed earlier.
Back in 1970s in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, I was invited to dinner by a Saudi prince, nephew of the then king.
I went along to his palace, if that's the right word, and they laid on a veritable banquet for me as his honoured guest.
There must have been two dozen around the table, all strangers except for the prince and his secretary. I was looking at them, and began to notice that some seemed very badly dressed, little more than rags.
I asked the prince about it & he casually said they were beggars, the poor, & he simply said that it was normal to invite them to dinner, then changed the subject. It was obviously standard practice.