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| The Latest News and Articles of the Mosque Foundation
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Wednesday, October 28, 2009 |
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Message from the President
By CM @ 11:59 AM :: 1185 Views :: Mosque Foundation, A Message From the President, Featured Articles
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Message From the President (part 2)
2. Prohibiting hoarding of possessions and money while encouraging investment and recycling wealth: We should not treat our possessions as idols and thereby neglect giving. The Quran says, "Those who hoard gold and silver and don’t spend them in the causes of God, then warn them of a severe punishment." People are encouraged to circulate capital by investing, employing others, and trading, while discouraged from gaining interest on their capital sitting in the savings accounts. The Arabic word for Charity is Sadaqa. The word Sadaqa originates from Sedq, which means truthfulness or truth. So the difference between a true believer and a hypocrite is the Charity they give. Another word used frequently in Arabic for spending is Infak, which is from the same root of Nifak or hypocrisy. Stinginess and Miserliness are attributes of the hypocrites, or people with weak faith. On the other hand, Generosity and altruism are attributes of the believers. God says in the Holy Quran, "Those who can avoid the miserliness of their souls, are the ones who attain success."
- Moderation in spending and in lifestyle: We are not required to live like hermits, but we should not exceed the limit of spending and waste. The Quran states, "The servants of the Merciful are those who, when they spend, are neither lavish nor miserly and who find a fair measure between the two." We should aim to leave smaller “ecological footprints” while expanding our spiritual and knowledge footprints.
- Prohibition of Usury (or Riba in Arabic) as it was prohibited by other religions: The Quran says, "O you who have attained to faith, do not gorge yourselves in usury, doubling and redoubling it-but remain conscious of God, so that you may attain to a happy state." The Bible also compares the usurer to someone who “is a thief, a murderer, who oppresses the poor and the needy.” At the foundation of our country, most states had usury laws that limited interest rate to 6%, not 25% or even 100% as we see now. Usury leads to concentration of wealth in the hands of few people, few banks, or few countries and lead to disparity in wealth. It is estimated that for every $1 in aid a developing country receives, over $25 is spent on debt repayment. The CIOGC is a member of a nationwide campaign against usury started by Industrial Area Foundation and its partners with the aim of cutting the maximum interest rate to a more realistic level of 10%. You can learn about the campaign at www.10percentisenough.org.
- Instituting Zakat: Zakat is the third Pillar of Islam. The word Zakat means purification. Muslims believe that paying Zakat purifies their wealth. Zakat is a mandatory charity that the wealthy should pay every year to the needy, and it ranges between 2.5-10% of savings based on the school of jurisprudence. From the financial point of view, Zakat was the first regulated tax ever imposed in the world. Before that, taxes were imposed according to the whims of rulers. The exaction of such taxes was affected by the ruler’s need for money to achieve personal ambitions. The burden of taxation used to fall on the poor rather than on the rich, and very often the taxes were collected from the common people alone. Islam organized the collection of taxes and prescribed a maximum percentage which may not be exceeded in ordinary circumstances. Taxes were imposed on the rich and middle classes but the poor were exempted.
After 911, American Muslims were prevented from paying their Zakat freely to their charities, as many of the US-based Islamic charities were closed by the government and their assets were frozen without due process. Over 10 million dollars of charity was prevented from reaching the hands of the intended poor and needy recipients. The CIOGC, working with our partners and allies especially ICIRR, Catholic Conference of Illinois , Jewish Council on Urban Affairs led a campaign called "Charity Without Fear," that resulted in the Illinois Assembly adopting an unprecedented resolution “supporting the rights of American Muslims to donate to the charities of their choice without fear.” This year, American Muslims were pleased when President Obama declared in his Speech in Cairo, “…I’m committed to working with American Muslims to ensure that they can fulfill Zakat." In the first week of Ramadan, the Treasury Department issued a statement “recognizing the particular importance of charitable giving throughout the holy month of Ramadan for Muslims in America and around the world." During the same week, a federal judge in Toledo, Ohio, ruled that the federal government violated the rights of a Muslim charity, Kindhearts, when it froze its assets in 2006.
American Muslims are contributing to the ongoing debate and effort to eradicate poverty and hunger in the US and in the world, by providing practical solutions based on tested Islamic and universal values. The work of CIOGC Zakat Chicago, IMAN, ICNA, Compassionate Care Network, Islamic Relief, Zakat Foundation, and many other Islamic charities, Islamic food pantries and Islamic-based financial institutions is only a start.
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