Beyond the coverage of the tragedy of the Asian tsunami, there has been much talk in the press of the “stinginess” of Arab countries and their people. Saudi Arabia in particular has been criticized for an apparent lack of generosity in its public and private aid contributions to the ravaged Asian countries. I do not like where this criticism is coming from but I have to say: Please keep it coming, if only it would increase the competition between countries to give more.
Many articles in the American media have tried to emphasize that it is a radical form of Islam sponsored by Saudi Arabia that is at the root of an indifference of Saudi Arabians to the suffering of others. Yes, it is true that certain radical clerics have spoken against giving aid to people whom they do not consider to be Muslims. But these clerics represent an extreme minority of Saudis and their views are at odds with those of the Saudi government and Saudi society at large. It is precisely these clerics we are trying to combat and any criticism is welcome in helping us reduce their influence on our people; but please do not mistake their views for ours.
Yes, there is most definitely a crisis of charity in Saudi Arabia, but not of the type described by the Western media. Of course aid is not tax deductible as it is in the West, but more to the point, since Sept. 11 charitable donations of any kind have become stigmatized in Saudi Arabia. People are wary of giving to charities, especially Muslim charities, for fear of being accused of financing terrorism. While criticism seems to be telling Arabs that they are suspicious both when they give and when they don’t give, it may still help clear the air and allow Arabs once again to go about their charitable giving as their consciences, not Western opinion, tell them that they should.
Despite these difficulties and the drone of Western criticism, Saudi citizens pledged close to $100 million in 12 hours of televised charity drive, while Saudi imams underlined that their fellow Saudis should give (and were giving) without distinctions of religion or nationality. Despite far lower incomes, private Saudi donations per capita, at $3.85, far exceed those of Americans, at $1.19. Even Saudi government’s contribution compared to GDP is three times higher than that of the United States.
But of course the point is not who is giving more aid or whose aid is more generous. The point is that the world stands as one in response to this tragedy of an unseen scale. What the numbers do show is that Western criticism of Saudi generosity and aid contributions is unfounded, that Saudis stand as all other people in humility and generosity.
Yet we welcome constructive criticism because hopefully it will help our society to reclaim its charitable instinct, damaged by Sept.11 and ensuing suspicion, and to free itself from those intolerant preachers who claim to be speaking for Saudi society. Criticism however would be far more useful if it were directed at the right targets, and on those we all agree.
— Hassan Yassin is a Saudi businessman based in Riyadh.
