British Muslims Are Among The Top Ten Most Generous People In The World

By Shofi Ahmed:

Muslims in Britain are remarkably generous. We reign the charity landscape especially in the holy month of Ramadan. More than seven out of ten Muslims give to charity. According to The World Giving Index, the United Kingdom is the eighth most charitable nation in the world. And The Times has already proclaimed back in 2013 that Muslims are Britain’s top charity givers. A recent ICM poll stated that Muslims give an average of £371 per year, Jewish givers average £270 per person; Protestants £202, Roman Catholics £178 and atheists only £116.  So practically indeed we are in the top ten of the world donors’ leagues.

As our philanthropic outpouring is second to none Muslims continue to rank as the most generous charity givers in British surveys. Nonetheless, while our donation volumes bar hits top spot in the graph, what percentage of it actually reaches out to the targeted receivers and places remains questionable. The picture could be bleak. It appeared that big slices of it are eaten up in fees. These can be taken away by TV channels and many fundraisers to cover their airing and admin costs.
Charging a fee, whatever that’s, for raising donations is a norm practiced by mainstream fundraisers across the country too. According to The Guardian, Donors were shocked to discover that JustGiving.com earned tens of thousands of pounds from public contributions in raising funds for the family of Keith Palmer, the police officer killed in the Westminster attack.
Rhys Goode, a spokesman for JustGiving, says the website’s charges have been designed to cover the cost of running a large operation that employs 125 people. “Our staff work hard to help the site raise as much money for good causes as possible,” he says. “All the charities we work with are aware of what we charge, but believe we can help them raise the maximum possible money.”

The point to note is that every pound we donate chances are the targeted receivers receive much less. It’s our money that we give therefore it’s our responsibility to do the necessary due diligence. To find the better fundraisers, fundraising sites and TV channels whose fees is a lot less.

Our biggest fundraising platforms are our community TV channels. These have become a vital fundraising stream for charities. To make an informed choice to donate through which channels. The donor has the right to know their fees and presenters fees. We should do that more often to ensure that our target beneficiaries receive the bigger slice of our donations.

Our charity outlets are far more than the ranges of TV channels. “Especially in the odd ones of the last ten Ramadan nights. I saw the shine before my eyes. Sisters were filling the charity buckets throwing their golds in it, said Ayesha Ahmed an attendee at Al-Risalah Mosque, Holloway Road north London. This is an ideal scenario gives a stunning snapshot of an exuberant example of Muslim charity flow in the holy month of Ramadan.

These donations, The Muslim Charities Forum (MCF) estimates that £100M during every Ramadan, however, are for people and things in need. Good that we care. Nonetheless caring should be for everyone and without a bound as the beloved prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) said giving someone a smile is an act of charity.

Comes Ramadan and we hand out millions of charity quids every night. How do we perhaps share our such stunning altruistic bandwidth rather with the nation than just the needy ones? This will virtually release more doves of Islam across Britain from our very same hands. How each and every one of us can do it? And we should do it for us for the welfare of our new generations.

So what should we throw at everyone around us Muslims and non-Muslims alike? What indeed could light the incense of the Muslims and spread the fragrance in British soil? It’s simple and very doable. It’s good manners. It’s ‘akhlaq’ one of the four core components of Islam.

More and more mosques are opening doors across the British soils. Besides churches are turning to mosques. But these alone don’t spread our best message by default. Islam is more than an institutional ideal is a complete code of life. It’s modern always new thus its best message rests on practice rather than on the words alone. Likewise, every Muslim is an ambassador of Islam and his and her best message is ‘good manners’. Throw it at everyone. It gives a better expression of Islam