Muslim countries are, in fact, helping Haiti

Gregg Carlstrom

First, if you can, give something to help with relief efforts in Haiti -- and if you're donating to a specific charity, consider making an unrestricted donation.

Now: I was wondering how long it would take for American conservatives to blame the Muslim world for its perceived lack of aid to Haiti. Didn't take long: Jamie Allman, a talk radio host from St. Louis, says the Muslim world is "missing" from the list of donors to Haiti. (And I'm sure he isn't the only one to make this claim.)

Allman is lying. We've put together a partial list of donations from Muslim countries -- it's after the jump -- all of it culled from English-language news reports. Allman had access to the same information, if he'd actually bothered to do any research.

Bahrain: The government has donated $1 million to relief efforts.

Jordan: A Jordanian air force plane carrying a military field hospital and 6 tons of food and supplies left Amman on January 14. A second plane carrying Jordanian medics left the following day.

Iran: Iran's Red Crescent society sent 30 tons of humanitarian aid, including food, tents and medicine, on January 16.

Kuwait: Kuwait donated $1 million to relief efforts; the Red Crescent is preparing 100 tons of food, medical supplies, tents and blankets to fly to Haiti.

Lebanon: Lebanon is loading a plane with 25 tons of tents and 3 tons of medical supplies; it leaves tomorrow.

Morocco: Two planes carrying 24 tons of aid left the city of Kenitra on January 16. The Moroccan government has pledged $1 million in aid to Haiti.

Qatar: A Qatari C-17 aircraft loaded with 50 tons of aid left for Port-au-Prince on January 14. The Qatari government also sent a rescue team to set up a field hospital; the Red Crescent will sent another $100,000.

Turkey: Three cargo planes -- carrying search-and-rescue teams, a mobile hospital and aid materials -- left for Haiti on January 16. Another two planes left yesterday. Turkey has also donated $1 million in cash.

United Arab Emirates: The UAE sent two planes loaded with tents, and a team from the UAE's Red Crescent will arrive in the Dominican Republic tomorrow to buy $500,000 worth of supplies and truck them to Haiti. Another 50 tons of emergency supplies will be air-lifted from Abu Dhabi tomorrow.

And these are just the countries in our area of interest -- I didn't include majority-Muslim countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, which have also made contributions. Oh, and the Islamic Society of North America set up a fund for Haiti, too.

(One notable omission from the list: Saudi Arabia hasn't announced a donation yet, which is really inexcusable for a country with that kind of oil reserves.)

http://www.themajlis.org/2010/01/18/muslim-countries-are-in-fact-helping-haiti