It is more than "a shame" to have the poor in our midst. For a Muslim, to mingle with the poor offends sensibilities and the Muslim has a mandate to do something about it. In fact, Muslims' eternal salvation depends on their response to justice. Where Christianity historically has been concerned about right doctrine (orthodoxy), Islam was from its inception primarily a way of right living (orthopraxy). In fact, not only could one argue that Islam is a response to pagan Arabia's failure to deal with poverty, but it is also a "reformation" of sixth-century Christian and Jewish indifference to the inequalities between rich and poor.
— Mary Margaret Funk, Islam Is