When Elephants Excel the Arabs…

                                                         Jahed Ahmed

anondomela@...

I have just finished watching CNN Crossfire of today, 03 January 2005. One of the topics discussed was Muslim world’s response to Tsunami, the most catastrophic disaster of our time and beyond. The following list shows the financial aids so far announced by the Muslim and non-Muslim countries along with their per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP)*:

Non-Muslim Countries¹    Donation so far¹                  GDP per capita² (2002)

                                            (in million US $)                         (in US $)

Japan                                   $ 500 m                                       $ 31,299.5

USA                                     $ 350 m                                        $ 35,734.2

UK                                       $   96 m                                        $ 26,410.2

Italy                                     $   95 m                                         $ 20,528.2

Sweden                                $   80 m                                         $ 27,066.7

Spain                                   $   68.02 m                                    $ 15,935.8  

France                                 $   56.18 m                                    $ 23,893.1                     

Denmark                              $   54.88 m                                    $  32,330.4

Australia                              $  46 m                                         $  20,927.1

Netherlands                         $  34 m                                          $ 26,016.1

Canada                                $   33 m                                         $ 22,832.7

Germany                              $   27.21 m                                    $ 24,025

Switzerland                          $   23.81 m                                     $ 37,233.3

Norway                                $   16.53  m                                    $ 42,091.3

EU                                      $  40.81 m                                       ------------

World bank                          $ 250 m                                           -----------

(to view the complete list of non-Muslim countries that donated financial aids to Tsunami victims, please follow reference-1 at the bottom.)  

Arab/Muslim Countries¹        

Qatar                                  $ 25 m                                             $ 29,118.1    

Saudi Arab                         $ 10 m                                             $ 7993.2  

Kuwait                                $ 10 m                                             $ 14,490.4

UAE                                   $   2 m                                            $  24,174.3 

Bahrain                              $  2 m                                              $ 10,832.2

Algeria                               $  2  m                                             $ 17,87.9

Libya                                  $  2 m                                             $ 3,507.8

Turkey                               $  1.25 m                                         $ 2,616.7

       As we can see, - so far the largest aid announced by any Muslim country is  $ 25 millions and come from Qatar, next to which stand Saudi Kingdom and Kuwait- $ 10 million each. UAE, another affluent Arab country with per capita GDP about $ 24,000 has donated mere $ 2.6 millions, when its non-Muslim counterparts such as Italy, France, Australia- each with a lower per capita GDP than the UAE- have donated $ 95 millions, $ 56.18 millions, $ 46 millions, respectively. Spain, a country with per capita GDP $ 16,000 has donated $ 68 millions when the amount of donation made by Qatar is $ 25 millions, despite its per capita GDP being $ 29,118. Kuwait has donated $ 10 millions, although its GDP is only slightly lower than that of Spain. What could be a more shameful and denouncing attitude than this? Arab world, in my opinion, could have saved the Muslim dignity (if any) much better, had they kept these amounts to themselves instead of making such a farcical drama in the name of helping Tsunami victims. Why this stinginess, I wonder? Or, may be, this is not at all stinginess; it’s rather, a matter of perception- the way by which the Arab world views the rest of the world- a perspective which is not only provincial and self-centered, but one that also explicitly reflects Arabs’ cold-blooded apathy toward considering themselves a part of mankind.

          We wouldn’t compare American relief aid, which is so far $350 millions excluding military help and money that is being raised by two former presidents country wide, or $ 500 millions relief aid from Japan, with those of Arab world; yet it wouldn’t be irrelevant to raise a question, especially when image of America/West, and non-Muslim countries to many Arabs and Muslims is a tarnished one- the ‘kafir’, or infidel’s land: which are the countries that despite many of their flaws came forward to help the Tsunami victims who, not necessarily, share the same religion, or culture with them? Does such stingy response from Arab countries quite fit to their often heard preaching such as Islam-is-for-whole-mankind when mankind is facing such a massive and historic natural calamity? Muslims still believe- their Prophet Muhammad was the kindest and the most benevolent man the earth has ever produced. Why is Muhammad such a bad failure in inspiring Muslims and Arabs to get out of their own narrow circle and love whole of mankind?  I hope- with Tsunami Arabs and their brethren worldwide will now understand it better- why they are viewed as a sect not quite attached to the rest of the mankind. Will it then lead a revision of West’s image in Muslims’ mind? Well, I’m not so optimistic. Probably, some Muslims would still continue their belief: they (non-Muslims) may have done some good things, yet we would enter the heaven thousand years before they would. Bad beliefs may die, but they die hard. 

        Of course, we are not criticizing whole of Muslim world, and given their economic backgrounds, that wouldn’t be fair either. But who is not aware about the economic soundness of the Gulf countries and the lavish life style of their citizens? Is each of Gulf countries poorer than the Hollywood actress Sandra Bullock who alone has donated $ 1 million to Tsunami victims? Well, we know, generosity is more a matter of mentality than the status of one’s bank balance. Those who disagree may have missed the TV picture showing- even Elephants are helping Tsunami victims³. Had we had more number of elephants in the world than those affluent and apathetic Arabs, I guess- the mankind would have been served better! 

(The end)

New York

01.03.2005

* Since per capita GDP for 2003 is not available for all Arab countries, I’ve used the per capita GDP of 2002 as an indicator of a country’s economic status.

References:

1. http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/01/02/world.relief.contribution.reut/index.html

2. World Resource Institute

URL: http://earthtrends.wri.org/searchable_db/index.cfm?theme=5&variable_ID=638&action=select_countries

3. Click the link below to see the picture:

http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20050104101609990001

About the writer: Jahed Ahmed is a moderator at Mukto-Mona, an online discussion forum for South Asian humanists. Visit  www.mukto-mona.com 

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