Hard-Line Islam Fills Void in Pakistan’s Flood Response - NYTimes.com

Hard-Line Islam Fills Void in Pakistan’s Flood Response

Behrouz Mehri/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

An Islamic charity distributed food to people displaced by flooding in Pakistan at a camp set up on the outskirts of Charsadda this week. The charities have responded efficiently to the crisis.

By ADAM B. ELLICK and PIR ZUBAIR SHAH

Published: August 6, 2010

CHARSADDA, Pakistan — As public anger rises over the government’s slow and chaotic response to Pakistan’s worst flooding in 80 years, hard-line Islamic charities have stepped into the breach with a grass-roots efficiency that is earning them new support among Pakistan’s beleaguered masses.