http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article96153.ece
'Charity money may end up in wrong hands'
By ARAB NEWS
Published: Aug 5, 2010 23:00 Updated: Aug 5, 2010 23:00
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is popularly known as the "Kingdom of Humanity" and
Saudis are known across the world for helping the poor, the needy and
victims of calamities.
As a result, beggars can often be seen collecting money in the Kingdom,
especially outside mosques, Qur'an schools and in shopping districts.
Many of these beggars are also women.
Most people who give alms do so with the intention of reward from Allah.
However, there is hardly any way of verifying whether these people
deserve the alms they receive. In fact, there is a possibility such
money ends up in the hands of terrorists.
In March this year, police arrested a woman in Buraidah, Haila
Al-Qusayyer, where she had been collecting donations for Al-Qaeda in the
Arabian Peninsula claiming the money would go toward building mosques
and orphanages in Yemen. She also played a significant role in helping
Wafa Al-Shehri, the wife of Al-Qaeda's No. 2 in Yemen Saeed Al-Shehri,
enter Yemeni territory. On account of this, some people oppose giving
alms to people they meet on the street, Al-Riyadh newspaper reported.
Amal Muhammad, an employee in the private sector, recalled that her
mother, who is studying at a Qur'an school, mentioned that a teacher
asked her to bring donations. "The teacher was raising funds to open a
new Qur'an school. I told my mother not to give any money as most Qur'an
schools already receive endowment funds. There is no need for Qur'an
learning centers to collect money from students to buy furniture and
stuff like that," she added.
Secondary school teacher Sara Al-Ajami says she has often encountered
female preachers engaged in collecting donations. "We don't know whether
they have been entrusted by somebody to collect money or they're just
doing it on their own. I'm afraid of giving charity to such people who
could be involved with terrorists, especially in light of recent
revelations about terrorists planning to use women," she said.
She added that there is a need to work out a proper mechanism to collect
and distribute donations. "The security bodies should question women
involved in collecting donations without the permission of concerned
government bodies," she said.
Teacher Al-Anoud Khaled said she used to hand out alms to women beggars
but stopped after hearing of Al-Qusayyer. "Some of these women may be
collecting money for terrorists, and there's no way we can verify this.
Therefore, the best way is to give donations through reliable government
or private agencies and organizations," she said.
Laila Za'azou, a researcher who specializes in criminology, said
terrorists use women to collect donations. "These deviant people see
women as effective ways to collect money from the general public. The
authorities should come out with a robust mechanism to collect and
distribute donations and monitor where the money is spent," she said.
Saham Al-Azzam, assistant undersecretary at the Department of Sociology
and Community Services at Riyadh's Imam Muhammad bin Saud University, is
of the same view. She underscored the need to set up an independent
government agency that will be responsible for collecting donations and
distributing them through charities in a more organized and effective
manner.
She said that there are some people who are engaged in collecting
donations by exploiting the soft nature of women. "These people
frequently visit places where women gather, like shopping areas,
hospitals and schools, and even make home visits to collect donations.
They also misuse occasions such as marriage parties and funerals," she
added.
'Charity money may end up in wrong hands'
By ARAB NEWS
Published: Aug 5, 2010 23:00 Updated: Aug 5, 2010 23:00
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is popularly known as the "Kingdom of Humanity" and
Saudis are known across the world for helping the poor, the needy and
victims of calamities.
As a result, beggars can often be seen collecting money in the Kingdom,
especially outside mosques, Qur'an schools and in shopping districts.
Many of these beggars are also women.
Most people who give alms do so with the intention of reward from Allah.
However, there is hardly any way of verifying whether these people
deserve the alms they receive. In fact, there is a possibility such
money ends up in the hands of terrorists.
In March this year, police arrested a woman in Buraidah, Haila
Al-Qusayyer, where she had been collecting donations for Al-Qaeda in the
Arabian Peninsula claiming the money would go toward building mosques
and orphanages in Yemen. She also played a significant role in helping
Wafa Al-Shehri, the wife of Al-Qaeda's No. 2 in Yemen Saeed Al-Shehri,
enter Yemeni territory. On account of this, some people oppose giving
alms to people they meet on the street, Al-Riyadh newspaper reported.
Amal Muhammad, an employee in the private sector, recalled that her
mother, who is studying at a Qur'an school, mentioned that a teacher
asked her to bring donations. "The teacher was raising funds to open a
new Qur'an school. I told my mother not to give any money as most Qur'an
schools already receive endowment funds. There is no need for Qur'an
learning centers to collect money from students to buy furniture and
stuff like that," she added.
Secondary school teacher Sara Al-Ajami says she has often encountered
female preachers engaged in collecting donations. "We don't know whether
they have been entrusted by somebody to collect money or they're just
doing it on their own. I'm afraid of giving charity to such people who
could be involved with terrorists, especially in light of recent
revelations about terrorists planning to use women," she said.
She added that there is a need to work out a proper mechanism to collect
and distribute donations. "The security bodies should question women
involved in collecting donations without the permission of concerned
government bodies," she said.
Teacher Al-Anoud Khaled said she used to hand out alms to women beggars
but stopped after hearing of Al-Qusayyer. "Some of these women may be
collecting money for terrorists, and there's no way we can verify this.
Therefore, the best way is to give donations through reliable government
or private agencies and organizations," she said.
Laila Za'azou, a researcher who specializes in criminology, said
terrorists use women to collect donations. "These deviant people see
women as effective ways to collect money from the general public. The
authorities should come out with a robust mechanism to collect and
distribute donations and monitor where the money is spent," she said.
Saham Al-Azzam, assistant undersecretary at the Department of Sociology
and Community Services at Riyadh's Imam Muhammad bin Saud University, is
of the same view. She underscored the need to set up an independent
government agency that will be responsible for collecting donations and
distributing them through charities in a more organized and effective
manner.
She said that there are some people who are engaged in collecting
donations by exploiting the soft nature of women. "These people
frequently visit places where women gather, like shopping areas,
hospitals and schools, and even make home visits to collect donations.
They also misuse occasions such as marriage parties and funerals," she
added.
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