Aspects of giving good and giving alms in the UAE are more than mentioned, and the state has provided many and many ways and means for this in all parts, in addition to facilitating donation or giving charity with the available technical means.
Some wrong practices were on the lookout for the state, not the last of which was the decision of the Ministry of Community Development to activate the articles of Federal Law No. 3 of 2021, regulating donations and its executive regulations, which are in line with the traditions and culture of the UAE and allow community members to make in-kind or financial donations to licensed charities, or deposit Donations in boxes available in commercial centers and public places, preparing or buying food and distributing it to families in the neighborhood, or distributing breakfast meals and dates to passers-by, or placing water boxes in mosques; All of these authentic customs do not violate the law, as long as no type of money-raising or donations for illegal purposes occurs through them.
The ministry prevented restaurants from playing a role that is not assigned to them in the first place, and prohibited them from outsourcing the preparation of a fasting meal, in return for an amount paid to the restaurant, which is an explicit violation of the law, as it is not possible to ensure that the assistance reaches those who deserve it. It is also not within the competence of restaurants to search for the needy or distribute donations of food and drink, which makes donors vulnerable to fraud and exploitation.
With this act, the Ministry did not close the doors of doing good, but it made it in its proper place, in implementation of the text of the law that “it is prohibited for a natural person to perform or perform any action, with the aim of collecting donations or accepting them from the public by any means of collection, except after obtaining a permit specifying a mechanism.” collection and its channels.
The aim of the Law on Organizing Donations and Protecting Donors’ Money is to deliver donations to the beneficiaries, and the law specifies for those found to be in violation of the provisions and regulations provided for, the penalty of imprisonment and a fine of up to 500 thousand dirhams.
Whoever wants to feed a fasting person is entitled to that, and whoever wants to donate a meal “breaking the fast” is also entitled to that, and whoever wants to clothe an orphan or dig a well or educate children, or be kind to parents, or all kinds of alms, it has become a “press of a button” away from his phone. And we all know how many charities and institutions concerned with charitable work are scattered throughout the country, and they have sufficient powers, logistical services, and full knowledge of the poor and needy inside and outside the country.
These institutions have saved a lot for the benefactors, and it is also possible through them, such as the “One Billion Meals” initiative, that the good deed that we seek is sustainable, with the endowment that it launched.
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