How's That Muslim Giving Coming Along?

As American, Japanese and Australian free Democracies -- two out of three of them Christian nations -- lead the relief efforts, Muslim dictatorships are showing little compassion at all, even though Indonesia is the most heavily populated Muslim nation on the planet.

I have a foggy memory that the Koran does not encourge charity like the Bible does ... anyone out there able to confirm this?

The Augusta Chronicle wrote a good editorial on the paucity of giving from the "star and crescent" set, including this:

Iran has coughed up less than $1 million. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and United Arab Emirates - the wealthiest Arab nations - combined have sent less that $100 million. Syria donated nothing; Libya, $2 million. Talk about stingy. Muslim nations have contributed less to the relief of their fellow Muslims, even on a per-capita basis, than at least eight democracies. Credit Japan with contributing $500 million.

This is why it's important that those who are recipients of relief know where it's coming from - to counter all the anti-American, anti-democratic propaganda. If we don't blow our horn, who will? Certainly not al-Jazeera or the United Nations.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan actually was upset that President Bush is spearheading a coalition of the willing, including India and Australia, to bring relief to tsunami-struck nations. But after the oil-for-food scam -where tens of billions in aid that was supposed to go to Iraq's suffering citizenry instead wound up in the pockets of Saddam Hussein and a bunch of U.N. bureaucrats - Bush was absolutely right not to trust the United Nations with relief dollars.

Our advice to private givers is to donate through established U.S. agencies [World Vision], not the United Nations, which is not to be trusted.

Where is the MSM? Where is Jan Egeland's cry of "Stingy!"? Why no criticism of the Arab nations for their heartless response to this catatrophe?

Oh, that's right. Only the US and Israel are open for criticism.