Medieval Christian observers noted Muslim charitable endowments for dogs, birds, and captives

Evidence

It is obvious that Ricoldo was constrained to an awed and almost uncomprehending admiration; but it is curious that he should only barely have mentioned gifts to religious trusts (awgqaf) for purposes more familiar in the West: not only the redemption of captives, but also the endowment of mosques, hospitals and hostels. Similar accounts would become commoner in later centuries when there was more travelling and so more personal observation of Islam. — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 1248