It's hard to know which caused more shock and awe: the events of 9/11 or the Asia tidal wave. There has been a lot of media coverage and the world has sent a lot of donations and pledges of assistance to the Asia victims but whether the Asia tidal wave victims will remain in our collective memory for long, remains to be seen.

Somewhere between all the confusion, shock and dismay mankind made a collective effort to give – in varying degrees – to helpless, homeless, and often hopeless people. The plight of the Asia earthquake/tidal wave victims should draw sympathy from any onlooker. Most of them were simple, poor people living near some of the world's most beautiful coastline. The wealth of their countries not reflected in their lifestyles. But the troubling question is: What is it that led some Muslims to sit back and choose not to take part in the global effort to give?

There has been some confusion about whether or not Muslims should help non-Muslims. The whole discussion on this subject made one sad fact very clear: There are some Muslims who fail to comprehend the universal nature of the message of Islam. Because of this confusion some Muslims held back and left the arena of giving and supporting the victims to non-Muslims thus, casting a shadow of misunderstanding on Islam. The fact that Muslims (on the surface) have failed to give has led many non-Muslims now to believe that Muslims only help Muslims and that Islam doesn't call for love, kindness and generosity to all mankind. It is situations like this that teach us our real state and how we have to develop ourselves and put our lives in line with the Qu'ran and Sunnah.

It is so important that we do not forget our responsibility in front of Allah the Almighty to reach out to the poor and needy; that we do not forget our responsibility to give the call to Islam in every place – what better da'wah than giving and showing mercy? We must all be careful that we do not get wrapped up in our joy of life and fear of death that we think only of ourselves, instead of beautifying our lives with piety and making our lives a symbol of service to mankind.

The response of Muslims living in the West cannot be measured accurately because they might have given through the regular channels on the charity network or privately through the local mosque. One particular mosque raised more than $250,000 in 24 hours for the Asia victims. These are not necessarily isolated instances as Muslims often work quietly and directly with the people they wish to help. It is known that much of the aid collected through big corporations and organizations gets lost in bureaucracy, so giving donations straight to the community based organizations in the stricken areas is usually the best way to help. Also many Muslims in Muslim countries donate individually and through mosques rather than through their governments, hence, these efforts do not show-up in the media.

Islam gives us all a target that we must take care not to miss. Our job is to worship Allah Most High, to follow His commands and keep away from His prohibitions, to take care of ourselves (meaning to respect every aspect of our being; body, mind, and spirit) and to respect the essential goodness in mankind. We are required to give the message of Islam by means of beautiful preaching and being a fine and noble example as well as advising each other, reaching out to others, helping the poor and needy, and stopping the waves of corruption by spreading goodness and mercy and sometimes by removing it forcibly.