Sarene wrote...
kaimax wrote...
Just watched it today. Sad. :(
To make it clear, this wasn't a normal charity event. This event is called a
Zakat charity.
It's now Ramadhan and muslims go into fastings and self-restraint for a month. And in Ramadhan muslims are obligated to give zakat.
This tragedy happens because there are no queuing lines, no security and unorganized charity system.
Muslims don't perform zakat (Arabic for "charity," I believe) only during Ramadan. Zakat is a year long contribution, where one donates approx. 10% of his/her earnings to a charity.
At the end of Ramadan, there's an Eid (a celebration), where Muslims are obligated to feed the poor in an orderly fashion. This is the first time I've ever heard of simply throwing money into a crowd. Then again, culture and national bg shape the practice of religion.
-still confused-
You're right in saying it can be done at any time of the year, but because of the customs associated with Ramadan, many choose to pay it then. Zakaah is the Islamic practice of paying alms. Those who qualify for it are required to pay whatever exceeds their nisab, an amount equal to the essential needs of that person or family for one year. I'm not Muslim and I'm not an expert on the customs, so anyone who knows more, feel free to correct me where I'm wrong.
They weren't just throwing money out into a crowd. Its not something new, the family does the same thing every year and they give each person an equal amount. So, I'm supposing they have come up with some method to make sure that the money is distributed as equally and fairly as possible. The only reason why this happened is because there were far more people there in previous years and everyone was afraid that they wouldn't get some of money. The fact that the family is being blamed for the impatience and greed of the people, is fucking bullshit. The family was giving away what they could and just because the people were poor and were given an opportunity didn't mean that each person was individually entitled to a portion.
To me its just another example of humans being human. Being poor doesn't mean that you can just fucking go nuts whenever there's a chance to get a bit of money.