All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Dear brother, thank you very much for having confidence in us, and we implore Allah, from the depth of our hearts, to guide Muslims to support one another in order to rescue the Muslim Ummah from the danger it faces everywhere.

As for your question, it is the duty of all Muslims to back and support their fellow Muslims who are suffering anywhere. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said, "The Muslim is the brother of his fellow Muslim. So he should never oppress him or hand him over (to his enemies) or forsake him (in times of difficulty)." Forms of support and backing differ according to each one's circumstances and conditions.

Regarding the current war in Somalia, all Muslim governments, rulers, scholars, and non-governmental institutions have role to play. They are asked to back justice and maintain it by all possible means. They have to rush to help and aid all suffering and needy people, irrespective of their faith, race, gender, color, etc. They have to make concerted efforts to put an end to this war and to help the Somali people seek unity and maintain peace.

In his response to your question, Dr. Monzer Kahf, a prominent economist and counselor states the following:

Dear brother, yes, giving zakah to people who suffer from both poverty and miseries of war is more important than giving it to the poor who are not under such miseries because the former is double relief. Zakah can and should be given to the poor Somalis who are affected by the current war. The best way to reach them is through Islamic non-profit charitable organizations.

Moreover, Sheikh `Abdul-Majeed Subh, a prominent Al-Azhar scholar, states the following:

It is permissible to transfer zakah money to the Somali people who are suffering under the current miserable war. As for non-governmental institutions, their main role is to help and take care of the weak, and back and support the oppressed. The negligence of governmental and non-governmental institutions with regard to helping the poor, the weak, and the oppressed is one of the reasons that nations are backward.

So we call upon Muslim and non-Muslim governmental and non-governmental institutions to play their assigned role to defend the right, back the oppressed, and help the afflicted, irrespective of their race, religion, color, etc.

May Allah guide us to see truth as truth and to back it, and to see evil as evil and to stop it!