MAKKAH, 25 November 2001 — We’ve seen them all so many times: a man with an amputated arm; a woman with no legs who puts her hands in her slippers and crawls along the ground; a bare-footed child wearing torn and filthy clothes with some sort of scar; a man who rides a bicycle (of kinds) but uses his hands to pedal instead of his feet — because he has no legs.

These people are unfortunately disabled. Whether they were born with their disabilities or have self-afflicted themselves to beg we do not know. What we do know is that there are organizations who can help them in their countries and that no matter what the reason is, one should not sellout his dignity.

At a time when Muslims all over the world take advantage of the holy month to purify their souls and ask God for his forgiveness, these beggars are taking advantage of the month for devious purposes. They are here in the Kingdom and have come to the two holiest cities for a reason. Their mission: to play on Muslim sympathy and collect as much money as possible.

Let’s not fool ourselves. Most of these beggars are professionals. They often come in groups and pinpoint their prey. They gather near the Grand Mosque, where hundreds of thousands of worshippers pray to God, or outside other mosques and malls — or anywhere else where there are throngs of people.

Visitors to the Grand Mosque in Makkah are easy targets for these predators. Beggars send the children of their group to spot new visitors. After spotting you, they cling to you until you have given them a riyal or two. If you’re a Saudi, they’ll start uttering prayers your ears love to win your heart. "God help you get married. God help you find a beautiful wife. God bring you blessed children."

Of course, that’s all part of the trick. Even if you get rid of these beggars, you had better watch out for your wallet when you leave to the Grand Mosque. There are professional thieves who come to the holiest place on earth at the moment when Muslims crowd in Tawaf (circulation around the Kaa’ba ). Their mission? To slash your pockets with razors and steal your money.

Many acquaintances of mine have been victims of such crimes in the Grand Mosque. They have lost their money, ATM and ID cards.

Sadly, even some Saudis — though they have different methods of begging — have decided to join the calvary. But instead of using the old techniques adopted by their foreign partners in crime, they use slyer ways to trap the ignorant.

Some months ago, I gathered with some colleagues from the Ministry of Information and other Saudi newspapers to chat over a bite to eat at a fast food restaurant. Suddenly, a Saudi appeared at our table. He handed one of us a piece of paper. He then stepped aside and gave us time to read it.

It read: "It beings me great shame and embarrassment to stand here in front of you. However, my bad fortune has forced me to do this. I had a car accident which several people were injured. I now have to pay the public debt a hug sum of money of SR30,000. Please help me with whatever you have."

He came to collect the paper afterwards and anything we had to offer. I refused to give the crook a riyal and said "no thank you." I realized he was dumb enough to write a name at the end of the letter. I noticed that he was from a tribal family. Had everyone in his tribe paid SR5, he wouldn’t need to "play the poor person" in a restaurant.

This Saudi beggar, however, was smarter than the others because he knew and understood the Saudi way of life. He knew that Saudis love to eat at fast food restaurants. He also knew that by writing he had been in a car crash he would gain some sympathy. Let’s start thinking about how we can outsmart these professional beggars by making sure we’re a step ahead of the game.

Some feel sorry for these beggars and give them handouts. Others sympathize with them and so do not report them to the authorities. But we should not sympathize with people who take advantage of the holy month and the goodness of Muslims to beg, steal and commit other shameful acts.

They do not deserve a place in our society.

I am sure that the anti-begging authorities in the Kingdom are working hard to detain such beggars. But they will never be able to work 24 hours a day, strolling through every ally in every neighborhood. Each of us should consider himself an anti-begging agent. It is up to us, the public, to put a stop to this activity once and for all.

By refusing to give them handouts and reporting them to the authorities, we will do ourselves and the public a favor.

If we all do a little, we can do a lot.

* The anti-begging committee’s number in Jeddah is (6871762). Their number in Makkah is (5600342).