Giving to God
Giving to God

Author: Amira Mittermaier

Publisher: University of California Press

Published: 2019-02-05

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 0520300823

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Giving to God examines the everyday practices of Islamic giving in post-revolutionary Egypt. From foods prepared in Sufi soup kitchens, to meals distributed by pious volunteers in slums, to almsgiving, these acts are ultimately about giving to God by giving to the poor. Surprisingly, many who practice such giving say that they do not care about the poor, instead framing their actions within a unique non-compassionate ethics of giving. At first, this form of giving may appear deeply selfish, but further consideration reveals that it avoids many of the problems associated with the idea of “charity.” Using the Egyptian uprising in 2011 and its call for social justice as a backdrop, this beautifully crafted ethnography suggests that “giving a man a fish” might ultimately be more revolutionary than “teaching a man to fish.”

Islam, Charity, and Activism
Islam, Charity, and Activism

Author: Janine A. Clark

Publisher: Indiana University Press

Published: 2004-01-01

Total Pages: 262

ISBN-13: 9780253110756

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Throughout the Middle East, Islamist charities and social welfare organizations play a major role in addressing the socioeconomic needs of Muslim societies, independently of the state. Through case studies of Islamic medical clinics in Egypt, the Islamic Center Charity Society in Jordan, and the Islah Women's Charitable Society in Yemen, Janine A. Clark examines the structure and dynamics of moderate Islamic institutions and their social and political impact. Questioning the widespread assumption that such organizations primarily serve the poorer classes, Clark argues that these organizations in fact are run by and for the middle class. Rather than the vertical recruitment or mobilization of the poor that they are often presumed to promote, Islamic social institutions play an important role in strengthening social networks that bind middle-class professionals, volunteers, and clients. Ties of solidarity that develop along these horizontal lines foster the development of new social networks and the diffusion of new ideas.

Charity in Islamic Societies
Charity in Islamic Societies

Author: Amy Singer

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2008-09-18

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 9780521529129

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Muslim beliefs have inspired charitable giving for over fourteen centuries, yet Islamic history has rarely been examined from this perspective. In Charity in Islamic Societies, Amy Singer explains the basic concepts and institutions of Muslim charity, including the obligation to give on an annual basis. Charitable endowments shaped Muslim societies and cultures in every era. This book demonstrates how historical circumstances, social status, gender, age and other factors interacted with religious ideals to create a rich variety of charitable practices, from the beginnings of Islam to the present day. Using written texts, buildings, images and objects to anchor the discussions in each chapter, the author explores the motivations for charity, its impact on the rich and the poor, and the politicisation of charity. This lucidly written book will capture the attention of anyone who is interested in the nature of Islamic society and the role of philanthropy throughout history.

God's Property
God's Property

Author: Nada Moumtaz

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2021-08-10

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 0520975782

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A free open access ebook is available upon publication. Learn more at www.luminosoa.org. Up to the twentieth century, Islamic charitable endowments provided the material foundation of the Muslim world. In Lebanon, with the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the imposition of French colonial rule, many of these endowments reverted to private property circulating in the marketplace. In contemporary Beirut, however, charitable endowments have resurfaced as mosques, Islamic centers, and nonprofit organizations. A historical anthropology in dialogue with Islamic law, God's Property demonstrates how these endowments have been drawn into secular logics—no longer the property of God but of the Muslim community—and shaped by the modern state and modern understandings of charity and property. Although these transformations have produced new kinds of loyalties and new ways of being in society, Moumtaz’s ethnography reveals the furtive persistence of endowment practices that perpetuate older ways of thinking of one’s self and one’s responsibilities toward family and state.

Gulf Charities and Islamic Philanthropy in the "Age of Terror" and Beyond
Gulf Charities and Islamic Philanthropy in the

Author: Jonathan Benthall

Publisher:

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9783940924339

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Gulf Charities and Islamic Philanthropy in the "Age of Terror" and Beyond is the first book to be published on the charities of Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Gulf, covering their work both domestic and international. From a diversity of viewpoints, the book addresses: 1) The historical roots of Islamic philanthropy in religious traditions and geopolitical movements 2) The interactions of the Gulf charities with "Western" relief and development institutions - now under pressure owing to budgetary constraints 3) Numerous case studies from the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia 4) The impact of violent extremism on the sector, with the legal repercussions that have followed - especially in the USA 5) The recent history of attempts to alleviate the obstacles faced by bona fide Islamic charities, whose absence from major conflict zones now leaves a vacuum for extremist groups to penetrate 6) The prospects for a less politicized Islamic charity sector when the so-called "war on terror" eventually loses its salience.

Charity and Giving in Monotheistic Religions
Charity and Giving in Monotheistic Religions

Author: Miriam Frenkel

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 431

ISBN-13: 3110209462

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This book deals with various manifestations of charity or giving in the contexts of the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim societies in Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages. Monotheistic charity and giving display many common features. These underlying similarities reflect a commonly shared view about God and his relations to mankind and what humans owe to God and expect from him. Nevertheless, the fact that the emphasis is placed on similarities does not mean that the uniqueness of the concepts of charity and giving in the three monotheistic religions is denied. The contributors of the book deal with such heterogeneous topics like the language of social justice in early Christian homilies as well as charity and pious endowments in medieval Syria, Egypt and al-Andalus during the 11th-15th centuries. This wide range of approaches distinguish the book from other works on charity and giving in monotheistic religions.

The Beauty of Charity
The Beauty of Charity

Author: Ahmed Ali Ahmed Ali al-Kuwaity -

Publisher:

Published: 2017-10-10

Total Pages: 102

ISBN-13: 9781977901514

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The spiritual and worldly benefits of charity to individuals and society as a whole. Includes stories of Prophets, Imams & Scholars who have sacrificed their wealth for Allah (swt).

Muslim Faith-Based Organizations and Social Welfare in Africa
Muslim Faith-Based Organizations and Social Welfare in Africa

Author: Holger Weiss

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-08-11

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 3030383083

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This book addresses the discourses, agendas and actions of Muslim faith-based organizations and activists to empower Muslim communities in contemporary sub-Saharan Africa. The individual chapters discuss how traditional Muslim welfare and charity institutions, zakat (obligatory or mandatory almsgiving), sadaqa (voluntary almsgiving and donations) and waqf (pious endowments), are used to improve social welfare, focusing on instrumentalization and institutionalization in the collection and distribution of zakat. The book includes case studies from West Africa (Ghana, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Senegal), the Horn of Africa (Somalia) and East Africa (Kenya and Tanzania), highlighting the role and interplay of local, national and international Sunni, Shia and Ahmadiyya Muslim faith-based organizations and NGOs. Chapters "Muslim NGOs, Zakat and the Provision of Social Welfare in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Introduction" and "Discourses on Zakat and Its Implementation in Contemporary Ghana" are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

Corporate Islam
Corporate Islam

Author: Patricia Sloane-White

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2017-03-30

Total Pages: 249

ISBN-13: 1316878716

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Compelling and original, this book offers a unique insight into the modern Islamic corporation, revealing how power, relationships, individual identities, gender roles, and practices - and often massive financial resources - are mobilized on behalf of Islam. Focusing on Muslims in Malaysia, Patricia Sloane-White argues that sharia principles in the region's Islamic economy produce a version of Islam that is increasingly conservative, financially and fiscally powerful, and committed to social control over Muslim and non-Muslim public and private lives. Packed with fascinating details, the book is essential reading for anyone with an interest in Islamic politics and culture in modern life.