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Brothers, as I'm sure you're aware our fellow brothers are in a fight in Syria against the Rajeem who are butchering our women and children, oppressing and trying to stay in power. What does Allah say about helping our brothers out? And, if it is our religious duty to help the mujahideen win their fight, why are some many muslims doing nothing?

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And what if the right is with the Syrian government? Not all the Syrian people are on the opposition side, you may like to acquire your news from different broadcastings. US is supporting the opposition and I have no doubt that US do not care the Syrian people (see the 99% opposition inside US and also many European countries, they care people?), they have lost Egypt and now want Syria instead. So the first thing to do is to make sure which side is righteous. – owari Oct 2 '12 at 12:08

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Of course it is the duty of every Muslim to support the side of truth, especially when it is being oppressed. The question is then, how does one extend that support.

With a lot of people who want to "do something" - the question they should ask themselves is whether they got up for tahajjud that morning and cried in salah asking Allah to ease the pain of the Syrian people. I don't need to know the answer for each individual person, but if it is no then how can a person who cannot sacrifice their sleep go to sacrifice much more "doing something"?

The reason I say this is because like everything, there is a well-established fiqh for defending Muslim lands. Praying for Syria also counts as "doing something" in the eyes of Allah. In fact it is the first thing that a Muslim starts with. Then if you're capable of doing more, you try to learn more and figure out what is the best way to help, whether it's economically, politically, or whatever else. What is obligatory for us is to provide help in the department that they need the most, not the department that we feel like participating in - we might just be exacerbating the problem. And secondly, to provide help in a way that is legal according to the country you live in because you don't have to make things difficult for yourself or your immediate community.

Shaykh Haitham al-Haddad of the UK recently published a very nice piece after consultation with Syrian scholars on what kind of help they need the most: http://www.islam21c.com/politics/5616-do-we-go-for-jihad-in-syria . I highly recommend that for further reading and as a reference to my answer.

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<comments deleted> This is not a forum for political discussion, assertions, or debates. – Ansari Jul 21 '12 at 17:33

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