Undoubtedly, people are undergoing difficult times and many don not have shelter and basic food. The crisis of homelessness and poverty has increased in recent years.

This has given rise to street begging. There are who look to taking advantage of the situation by donning themselves in Islamic attire to appeal to Muslim road users for their charity. By donning the Islamic garb they give the impression that they are Muslim, which may not always be the case.
Unfortunately, the Muslim attire is being used as a guise to gain sympathy of the public and theryby receive some contribution. This ploy is creating a negative impression for Muslims. It makes it seem that Muslims and Islam encourage street beggars and begging. This is not a good image for the community.

The street beggar, who is not a Muslim, now dons the 'Islamic garb' and also greets with the Islamic greeting to create a further impression that he is a Muslim. This further reinforces the false impression about Muslims and begging. This also creates the false impression that Muslims are neglectful of the needy Muslim in the community and the poor need to stand at public places to beg. Some of these beggars can also be a nuisance to road users and at times also pose a safety danger.

This situation, if not addressed effectively can lead to a bigger crisis. Therefore, as a general rule, it will be best to make one's contributions to bonafide organisations and direct these beggars to the organisation. In this way the plight of the poor will be addressed and the safety of road uses will not be compromised. Also the false impression of Islam being a 'religion that promotes begging' will be averted.