Now that the initial shock of Southeast Asia’s overwhelming earthquake and tsunami is over, the why question looms large. Why would a benevolent God allow such suffering? It challenges our view of God and it challenges our view of suffering. But while these questions should be asked, it must not take precedence over our response in love for those in need.

However, even our Western response of aid is somewhat suspect in other parts of the world. Religious bickering has started. One people group doubts another group’s motivation for giving aid.

It is interesting to note that the tsunami wasn’t the deadliest catastrophe in memory. A 1970 cyclone in Bangladesh killed 300,000 and a 1976 quake in China killed more than 240,000. The tsunami, however, spanned 11 nations and struck a tropical band popular with tourists.

Public awareness and tsunami relief provides an important opportunity for Christians to educate themselves about other religious worldviews as well as South Asian geography. North American media leave religious views out of most of their coverage. That is not happening in Asia. We need to be aware of how their leaders and media there are responding. We can provide aid most effective if we understand the culture into which we are stepping.

Religion at the core
As Carl Ince of the Barbados Advocate writes, “The epicentre of the earthquake is surrounded by Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim peoples, minus Christians, as no other expanse of water is. The Buddhists and Hindus…acknowledge no personal god but rather that disasters are experiences that must be transcended by refusing to cling on to material objects or relationships. Certainly, if the West were really interested in the people and not the politics, the media would have investigated early how the diametrically opposed religious differences had influenced responses to the suffering.”

Muslims in Indonesia have accused Christians of trying to convert Muslims with aid and offers to build orphanages. Christians in India and Sri Lanka are accusing Hindus and Tamils of diverting or hindering aid meant for the poor, the Christian minority and the “untouchable” caste.

There are clear signals that the Muslims are blaming Western “infidels.” The following is an excerpt from Muslim Sheik Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi on Qatar TV, as translated on the MEMRI TV (Middle East Media Research TV monitor) web site.

“People must ask themselves why this earthquake occurred in this area and not in others. Why did it occur at this time and not another? Why? Whoever examines these areas discovers that they are tourism areas. Tourism areas are areas where the forbidden acts are widespread, as well as alcohol consumption, drug use and acts of abomination.”

As Christians we cannot simply walk into their territory, give them food and win them to Christ. Traditionally, conversion from Islam is strictly forbidden. It is punishable by death. When a Hindu converts to Christianity, that person is stigmatized by his family and in extreme cases may be persecuted, if not physically attacked.

So how should we as Christians provide aid in such hostile cultures? Do we “hide our light under our bushel”? And what of our simplistic view that suffering should never happen? If we search our own Scriptures, we will find this view is not biblical.

Vernon Brewer, president of WorldHelp, who has been denied permission to build an orphanage in Anceh, Indonesia, tries to combine faith and assistance.

“Our faith compels us to share our faith. But this time of disaster is not a time for Christian evangelism. It’s a time to meet basic survival needs of human beings who’ve lost all hope,” Brewer told the Associated Press. “If that earns us the right to be heard as Christians, then so be it.”

Loving others and caring regardless of religion, race, or political stripe is what Christians are called to do. “We love because He [God] first loved us.” Yes, we must ask the hard questions, but we must also support the weak and poor in their time of need, regardless of whether we are misunderstood.

As Francis of Assisi said, “Preach always, if necessary use words.”