Islam And Social Policy

This book examines social policy in Muslim countries across the world and the status and role of Islamic teachings in such policies. It fills a gap in the literature by reviewing and comparing the experience of several Muslim countries from across the world. The existing social policy literature lacks a comprehensive appraisal of the social policy scene in Muslim societies, especially from a comparative perspective. This book will be of interest to a wide audience in the academic and policy forums related to and interested in Muslim societies and communities.

At a time when more nuanced understandings of Muslim countries and their legal and social practices are urgently needed in the West, the appearance of this collection is especially welcome. In these illuminating and accessible essays, the contributors explain how Islam sees itself in terms of social policy, how it treats women, and how it encourages charity, education, and general social welfare. The essays encompass many regional cultures and draw on court records and legal debates, field work on government ministries, and an extensive reading of Islamic law. In his overview of waqf (similar to the Western idea of a foundation, in which an endowment is set aside in perpetuity for specified purposes), Ahmad Dallal explains how charity, a central organizing principle in Islam, is itself organized and how waqf, traditionally a source of revenue for charitable purposes, can also become a source of tension and conflict. Donna Lee Bowen, in her essay on the position of women in Islamic law, points out the crucial differences between the Islamic principles of family equity and the Western notion of individual equality. In a subsequent essay, Bowen addresses the problems surrounding family planning and the dilemmas that have arisen within the Muslim world over differing ideas about birth control. The two final essays look at specific instances of how the modern state has treated Islamic social policy. Gail Richardson examines zakat, an Islamic tax used to assist the poor, and its administration in Pakistan. Carol Underwood, meanwhile, explores public health policy in Iran, both before and after the Islamic revolution that deposed the Shah. Addressing some of the most profound misunderstandings between Islamic and Western societies, Islam and Social Policy will be of vital interest not only to scholars and policymakers but to anyone concerned with Islam's critical place in the modern world.

This is a new examination of how Shari’a law affects public policy both theoretically and in practice, across a wide range of public policy areas, including for example human rights and family law. The process by which public policy is decided - through elections, debates, political processes, and political discourse - has an additional dimension in the Islamic world. This is because Shari'a (divine law) has a great deal to say on many mundane matters of everyday life and must be taken into account in matters of public policy. In addition, matters are complicated further by the fact that there are differing interpretations of the Shari'a and how it should be applied to contemporary social issues. Written by leading experts in their field, this is the first comprehensive single volume analysis of Islam and public policy in the English language and offers further understanding of Islam and its wider social and political implications.

This open access book addresses, for the first time, Islamic social work as an emerging concept at the interface of Islamic thought and social sciences. Applying a multidisciplinary approach it explores, on the one hand, the discourse that provides religious legitimisation to social work activities and, on the other hand, case studies of practical fields of Islamic social work including educational programmes, family counselling, and resettlement of prisoners. Although in many cases, these activities are oriented towards Muslim clients, more often than not they go beyond the boundaries of Muslim communities to benefit society as a whole. Muslim actors are also starting to professionalise their services and to negotiate the ways in which they can become fully recognised service-providers within the welfare state. At a more general level, the volume also shows that in contrast to the widespread processes of secularisation of social work and its separation from religious communities, new types of activities are now emerging, which bring back to the public arena both an increased sensitivity to the religious identities of the beneficiaries and the religious motivations of the benefactors. The edited volume will be of interest to researchers in Islamic Studies, Social and Political Sciences, Social Work, and Religious Studies. This is an open access book.

There has been much scholarly debate on the politically disruptive capabilities of Islam and the threats to global security posed by or to Muslim states and societies, but within this dialogue there has been little recognition of the role of population policies in security issues. Katrina Riddell's study focuses specifically on Islam and the securitization of population policies and sustainability. Opening with a discussion of contemporary population discourses and their historical foundations, the book examines how population growth has become an international security issue. The author takes the examples of Pakistan and Iran to provide a nuanced understanding of Muslim states' interaction with global debates on sustainability. She also explores how Muslim and non-Muslim states, societies and agents perceive issues of population growth and control. Providing an innovative approach to the pursuit of global sustainability and security, this book presents useful material to scholars whose research focuses on Islam and the future.

This edited collection explores contemporary developments in social and welfare policy in Islamic countries from an indigenous and academic perspective, rather than through the hegemonic lens of Western social policy frameworks. The importance of this book lies in the diversity of insights and case studies drawn from a wide range of societies in the Islamic world, demonstrating how local services are responding to changing needs under the impact of globalisation, socio-religio-political developments, and often significant levels of civil conflict. This is the thrid in the new series 'Critical Studies in Socio-cultural Diversity'.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgements -- Abbreviations -- Maps -- 1. Introduction -- The colonial encounter: Civil state and religious society -- The comparative approach: Five case studies, one core story -- Parameters of analysis -- Ideologies of modernity -- Ideologies of Salafi radicalism -- Case studies -- Note on methodology -- Notes -- 2. Burkina Faso: Secrets of quiescence -- Future Burkina -- The birth of Burkina's religious balance -- Consensual secularism in a new society -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 3. Niger: Ebbing frontier of radicalism -- Future Niger -- Colonial Islamisation -- The state's own Islam -- Intimations of a religious society -- Intimations of a civil Islam -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 4. Senegal: Sufi country -- Future Senegal -- The colony: Sufi ascendancy, Salafi marginality -- Senegal's religio-political chessboard -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 5. Mali: On the edge -- Future Mali -- Islamisation and its discontents -- The road to crisis -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 6. Nigeria: Breakdowns -- Future Arewa -- Colonial revolution and ideology -- From persuasion to violence -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 7. Conclusion -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index