I, Toumane Sane, Vice-President of the Republic, hereby declare, from this day forward and effective immediately, that all of the city’s beggars- the poor, homeless, impaired, ill, tabilés, bàttu, are unconditionally welcomed into the city to live in peace. Transportation will be provided from wherever they may now reside in the outskirts of the city. Construction shall begin today on comfortable homes for the beggars, that they may have a place to rest their heads at the end of the day. These homes shall include bedrooms, kitchens, sitting rooms, restrooms, and housemaids to cook and clean. Food will always be in abundance, as well as clothing and supplies. The homes shall be well maintained. Furthermore, all beggars are to be treated with respect by all citizens. Violations of this law will be considered a crime and punished as such. Donations of insignificant amount (such as handfuls of rice or single francs) are considered an insult and are not to be accepted by any beggars, as this is below their dignity. All donations must be made in significant amounts or contributions will be accepted for the construction and maintenance of the new homes. Clothing and household items will also be accepted and are encouraged. These donations make up part of Zakat but are also encouraged outside of Zakat as acts of kindness.
In exchange for the new policies enacted in this decree, the city asks nothing more from the beggars but that they please remain visible on the streets at the traditional and expected begging locations for at least a small portion of each day, and that they please accept any and all gifts that are offered to them by the good people of this city.
That is all.

I was inspired to write this decree following the surprising and comedic turn of events in The Beggar’s Strike where the unnamed African city is successful at expelling the “unattractive” beggars from their city to make it look cleaner, but when it is time to do their duty as good Muslims and give alms to the poor, there is no one close by to give alms to. This especially affects Mour Ndiaye, whose job it was to rid the streets of the beggars but whose promotion to vice president of the republic depends on the giving of alms to the beggars in their usual location on the streets. He is not the only one affected. The people line up in the outskirts of the city to donate. I imagine that this would eventually become such a problem and inconvenience that the beggars would eventually be asked back. However, they would have no reason to go back because they were treated quite poorly in the city and receive more gifts now that they are out of the city and in “high demand.” They would need a real incentive to return to their posts. Because they naturally receive Zakat anyway, the administration has decided to channel that into a highly organized effort to make the beggar’s as comfortable as possible in the city, as well as giving them more respect. Because they ironically have no other incentive to help the poor other than needing to help the poor for Zakat, all they ask the beggars in exchange for helping them is to let them help them. I think this starts a good discussion of why people give. People are not really selfless, as discovered in the story. They give out of self-interest and self-preservation. The beggars are part of the means through which they find God. Therefore the beggars are more important than they seem.