local Muslim doctor's views of healh care reform

The Helping Hands of the Community for the Poor
by Dr. Amer Araim,
President of the Islamic Community Outreach of California.


The current debate on health care for all should avoid accusing or labeling those concerned about the poor and needy as "socialist". In all faith traditions, which preceded the socialist thoughts that have emerged in Europe and the United States since the eighteenth century, there has been and is still emphasis on the the responsibility of the community to take care of the poor and the needy. While for some, the charity and alms giving are considered personal or private initiative, in Islamic tradition they are both a private responsibility of the individual before Allah as well as it is the responsibility of the community. Therefore in Islam alms giving is called Zakat, which means purification of the wealth by sharing it with the poor and the needy. The Quran (the Holy Scripture of Islam) commands Muslims that there is an obligation toward the poor and the needy as in the following text: "There is a known right in their wealth for the needy both for those who asked and those who do not ask." The Prophet of Islam Muhammad took care of the slaves, the poor and the needy and established the tradition for the community to do so. He said " The best among the people are those who benefit other people the most." The term people describes all people and on non-discriminatory basis. The Rightly Guided caliphs who followed Prophet Muhammad maintained that tradition of helping the poor and the needy.

Today, there are accusatory voices trying to prevent the government from proceeding with health care reform and other social programs by labeling such initiatives as socialist or aiming at eliminating private ownership or private initiative. For me the issue is how to take care of the poor and the needy. All the proposals on the table are not aiming at harming medical practices. On the contrary, these proposals particularly "the public option" are providing insurance coverage for more than forty million Americans who are without insurance today. This will enhance medical practice and relieve the burden from the local authorities. More than sixty percent of physicians approve "the public option."

As I stated before we established the Islamic Community Outreach of California to help the poor and the needy and to cooperate with members of the community to achieve that goal.

We hope that debates on economic and social issues avoid labeling others. Such debate should concentrate on the best ways to serve the community.