Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Islamabad (Agenzia Fides) – Radical Islamic groups are taking hold and gaining ground in the aid operations among displaced persons: this is the alarming report that has reached Fides via the world of NGOs, Catholic volunteers and leaders, and the civilian institutions in Pakistan. While the rains and floods continue in the south, and the government is in trouble, "Islamic groups are filling the void left by the government institutions. The government-organized camps, administered by civil protection, are not capable of accommodating all the evacuees. Much of the work is carried out by the international agencies and private NGOs. In this situation, the charities directly run by radical Islamist groups infiltrate under a different name," Fides was told bya member of the Commission on Human Rights in Pakistan, a well-known Pakistani NGO.
"There are still millions of people exposed to hunger and malnutrition," said Valerie Amos, UN special envoy in Pakistan, yesterday. Seven weeks after the tragedy, there are growing fears that radical Islamic groups may use humanitarian assistance to gain consensus and recruit new volunteers.
According to the Institute for Conflict Management (ICF), a think tank specializing in southern Asia, groups that have been declared illegal on an international level are also present in the area: "Militant groups like Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JEM), Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HUM), Jama'at-ud-Da'awa (JUD), Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), and Islamic extremist formations like Jamaat-e-Islami (JEI) are taking advantage of the situation of the floods, raising money for the flood victims."
Aid from Muslim countries and Muslims around the world have multiplied during the month of Ramadan, through the “Zakah,” the obligatory alms that every Muslim is obliged to pay, especially at the end of Ramadan (the “Zakat al-Fitr”), alms for the needy.
The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), consisting of 57 Muslim countries, has announced aid of over a billion dollars coming mostly from countries like Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Kuwait, UAE, and Qatar, without specifying whether such aid passes through the Pakistani government or independent organizations. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has openly criticized the donations made to NGOs. On the other hand, members of the Muslim “Falah Insaniat Foundation,” very active in helping displaced persons throughout the area and linked to the “Jamaat au-Dawa” have openly told the press: "People trust us more than the government."
Many observers argue that Islamic organizations, legal or illegal, are working very effectively. "To combat Islamic extremism, we need a comprehensive and coordinated humanitarian action among state, international agencies, and NGOs, to leave little room for this opportunism," Catholic volunteers working on the ground told Fides. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 16/09/2010)
