‘Let go of me, I let go off you’

Other Voices

TBy Ahmad alsarraf

he title of the article is an Egyptian expression used when two people fight and are in each other’s grip, and neither seems to prevail over either of them, here one of them says: ‘Let go of me, I let go off you’.

Some wrote and others tweeted – and all of them do not deserve even a mention of their names – repeatedly asking with strange urgency to know where money (one-fifth) collected by the Shiite charities goes.

They and others, whoever they are, also accused me of calling them sectarian and stirring up strife, as they called in their articles to monitor where the millions collected by one-fifth are spent. (In Islam, khums), literally meaning ‘one fifth’ refers to the required religious obligation of any Muslims to pay one-fifth of their acquired wealth from certain sources toward specified causes. (It is treated differently in Shiite and Sunni Islam).

There is no doubt this accusation is not only ridiculous and but also is not based on any evidence, but the opposite is true.

I did not limit myself to asking others about the fate of the khums money, but also shared all the doubts through many articles, about the source of the khums funds as to and why there is no clarity about where this money goes, such as good hospitals or advanced universities, or even clean toilets ... which is first.

Secondly, I originally do not count the group of khums or one-sixth, nor do I belong to it nor put a Sunni or Shiite turban on my head, and I do not know, truly and honestly, who pays the khums and who is paid and where that money is spent, other than what I hear, and therefore I do not know why people picked me to ask about something I have nothing to do with for more than sixty years ago.

There are two possibilities: Either the money is collected and sent to external parties, or spent locally. If there is such a thing, then they, like the Muslim Brotherhood or their tools share the same deception and should ask their representatives in Parliament to use their constitutional tools and hold the concerned parties accountable, and not direct their absurd questions and accusations at a person like me who has nothing but a pen and a column in a newspaper.

alsarraf

Assuming that on a daily basis I challenge the charity work, accusing it of terrorism, and calling on (the government) to crack down on their activities, this is a lie and the calumny that comes with it is a calumny, but I will assume its validity, so I wonder why do these ‘brothers’ don’t tell the truth by asking one charity society from the dozens of the societies they ‘administer’ to disclose their records and publish their financial statements and the sources of their funds and banks to put to shame the Shiite and also publishes their financial reports, and here again the Egyptian expression applies ‘Let go of me, I let go off you’.

The imagination has been blown away by a lot of big mouths about the ‘Faza’a Kuwait’ compaign, and how the world witnessed the charity work through the eyes of Nazaha and they forgot that the Minister of Social Affairs ‘was’ forced to assign the Integrity Commission, or the Anti-Corruption Commission to monitor the ‘Faza’a Kuwait’ campaign, and this is a precedent! The reason for this is due to suspicions or fear that what will be collected will not be spent in a proper way. Does the Brotherhood have another explanation?

In a tweet Haj Tariq Al Suwaidan sowed enthusiasm in the hearts of citizens to donate to the campaign ‘Faza’a Kuwait’ and literally stated: For every worker who lost his day sustenance .. and every family is suffering the expense of its day .. and every patient was unable to buy his medicine .. for all of these we say : We are with you.

Of course all of this is meaningless and has nothing to do with reality. If everything that was collected was devoted to feeding every worker, his day would be strengthened, and every family would be without alimony, and every patient, would not have left the balance of the ‘Faza’a Kuwait’ fund after less than a month, in addition to their need for clothing, rent, and more. I don’t know how long it will last?

Note: The Kuwaiti Humanitarian Friendship Society has proven that it is the only charity organization, so far that has reached out to hundreds of needy families, regardless of their nationalities or affiliations, and spent cash money, instead of giving them tomato paste and canned bean. Everyone who doubts the association’s efforts is entitled to visit its offices and see the heroic deeds of its volunteer team.

e-mail:

a.alsarraf@alqabas.com.kw