Christians, Jews and other religious minorities face unspeakable persecution throughout the Islamic world. One doesn’t have to point to ISIS or Boko Haram to see this persecution played out. For example, in countries like Saudi Arabia where Sharia law has a significant influence in society, it’s not uncommon for Christians to receive prison time, to be beaten or even face death for their faith. In Pakistan, one case shows how Muslims who help Christians (even inadvertently) can also face many hardships.

A Pakistani doctor gave a Christian patient live-saving medical treatment with medicine supposedly donated through zakat (Islamic practice of giving to charity) only to incur the harassment of his co-workers. The nurse allegedly told the doctor that Islamic alms were not intended for non-Muslims. The doctor describes how he was harassed so badly that he was compelled to move out of the country – settling in America:

I promptly replaced the medicine, which cost around $20. But it didn’t end there. The representative of a conservative Islamic NGO, which was a donor to the clinic, was furious about what I had done. They attributed my lack of knowledge about the alms laws to the fact that I belong to a minority Muslim sect.

A departmental inquiry followed and I was discriminated throughout the entire process. The workplace discrimination gave way to threatening phone calls and vandalism of my car and bike. They found out my family lived in America and that I was alone. This made me an easy target. I was threatened with death at a medical conference hosted by the chair of the same NGO which had complained about me.

It’s amazing a person’s life wasn’t even worth twenty dollars of medicine (which was replaced). The Quran lays out the groups of people that are eligible for zakat, which includes:

Zakah expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy and for those employed to collect [zakah] and for bringing hearts together [for Islam] and for freeing captives [or slaves] and for those in debt and for the cause of Allah and for the [stranded] traveler – an obligation [imposed] by Allah. And Allah is Knowing and Wise. –Quran 9:60

It is disputed among Muslim scholars if non-Muslims are allowed or not to receive zakat. However, in keeping with the spirit of Sharia law and the ‘rights’ of non-Muslims, it is easy to see how non-Muslims especially in places like Pakistan, could be excluded from zakat funding even to the point where a person’s life was dependent on it. We can see the dangers of Sharia just by examining the type of culture it produces – persecution of Christians, Jews, women, and many others. Furthermore, Sharia is bad for Muslims. It’s time to expose this danger to humanity.