35,000 to be sent to islamic boarding schools

[Chardok]

NPR link. you can listen to the story

January 11, 2005 · The Indonesian government temporarily bans all adoptions of 35,000 children who were orphaned or separated from their parents by the tsunami. They government draws up plans to place orphans in Islamic boarding schools. But the schools have yet to be built and Acehnese families have been taking neighborhood orphans into their homes. NPR's Adam Davidson reports.

I wonder if the children were islamic to begin with....

[Wicked Pilot]

I would be particularly amused if the Bush Administration came out saying this was a bad idea.

[Darth Wong]

No doubt a pro-religionist would try to spin-doctor this into an assertion that Islam is good because it's taking care of these kids. The fact that religious charities so often have an ulterior motive in swooping down like vultures to take advantage of potential recruits when they're most vulnerable is, of course, not mentioned.

[RedImperator]

The temporary ban on adoptions might be to buy the government time to stablize the situation before child traffickers can swoop in. There's a chance the tsunami could turn Aceh province into an orphan Wal-Mart. I don't like the Muslim boarding schools, but they might be the only option the government has.

[Darth Wong]

The temporary ban on adoptions might be to buy the government time to stablize the situation before child traffickers can swoop in. There's a chance the tsunami could turn Aceh province into an orphan Wal-Mart. I don't like the Muslim boarding schools, but they might be the only option the government has.

That makes sense, but it also highlights the problem with allowing religious organizations to dominate the charitable organizations in any given country. They want to put themselves in a position where the vulnerable must go to them.

[RedImperator]

The temporary ban on adoptions might be to buy the government time to stablize the situation before child traffickers can swoop in. There's a chance the tsunami could turn Aceh province into an orphan Wal-Mart. I don't like the Muslim boarding schools, but they might be the only option the government has.

That makes sense, but it also highlights the problem with allowing religious organizations to dominate the charitable organizations in any given country. They want to put themselves in a position where the vulnerable must go to them.

In a place like Indonesia, especially a backwater part of Indonesia, it's not really a question of allowing anything. The religious organizations are often the only stable institutions with the resources to get anything done, and Islam has a built-in advantage in requiring all worshippers to tithe to charity, so even a small mosque in the middle of nowhere has some cash with which to play. This does have advantages--ulterior motive or not, religious charities DO do good work, and in many places, without them people would be in far worse shape than they already are. It would be better if they were being served by secular charities, or the state, or better yet, didn't need charity at all, but that's simply not an option right now and won't be for a long time in many places.

You see the same thing in rural communities in North America, especially in earlier times. The local church is the backbone of the community because it's bigger than any of the local businesses and the local government, by virtue of its long-term stability and the fact the majority of the community is a member. Before the welfare state, the church might be the only thing between a family fallen on hard times and starvation. Even with state assistance, the church can improve the quality of life for its hard-luck members because it has money, can mobilize the rest of the community, and has a much better understanding of the situation on the ground than a county welfare officer. The downside, of course, is well known and often discussed in this forum.

[Chmee]

That makes sense, but it also highlights the problem with allowing religious organizations to dominate the charitable organizations in any given country. They want to put themselves in a position where the vulnerable must go to them.

When you have a religion like Islam that makes charitable donation one of the 'pillars' of the religion, it's unavoidable that it's going to be a major influence in charitable projects.

[Darth Wong]

That makes sense, but it also highlights the problem with allowing religious organizations to dominate the charitable organizations in any given country. They want to put themselves in a position where the vulnerable must go to them.

When you have a religion like Islam that makes charitable donation one of the 'pillars' of the religion, it's unavoidable that it's going to be a major influence in charitable projects.

Of course. And in an Islamic society where tithing is mandatory, the church virtually represents another government, complete with a taxation base.