Islamic Perspective On Charity

The tragedy and resulting tempest of September 11, 2001 forever changed the global scope and mechanics of nonprofit organizations in the US and around the world. In the aftermath of this tragedy, the nonprofit world changed forever and all nonprofits found themselves the focus of attention from the government, the media and the public at large. Muslim nonprofits found themselves under intense scrutiny with their operations being under a cloud of suspicion. Unfortunately, a number of large Muslim charities were closed administratively on the basis of what many in the Muslim and Arab community consider weak evidence or no evidence of wrongdoing and without due process. There is a need to educate the public on the concept of Muslim charity, on how Muslim charities operate and to offer a guide on how to operate a successful charity that is professional, open and transparent. Visualizing this need, Dr. Khalil Jassemm, one of the leading figures in the Muslim and Arab NGO sector with more than 15 years of experience, offers the reader a comprehensive guide for understanding Islamic charity and for running a successful nonprofit in the US. By taking the reader through an overview of the concept and significance of charity in Islam in a comparative context and the primary phases of founding, organization, management and practice, this book addresses important issues facing nonprofit organizations operating in the post-9/11 world. Charity work is not simple work. To many in the lay public, charity work is perceived as simply accepting donations and giving that money away. To professionals, it is about properly acquiring the donation, managing it, spending it, and publicizing the work. This book will be an invaluable nonprofit organizational and management reference tool, while also providing a comparative perspective on the act of Islamic charity. Regardless of mission type, this text will provide guidance for all nonprofits to becoming more professional and effective. Thought-provoking and groundbreaking, Islamic Perspective on Charity: A Comprehensive Guide for Running a Muslim Nonprofit in the US is essential reading for anyone interested in learning about the Islamic perspective on charity, how Muslim organizations operate in the US, and how to run a successful nonprofit. We hope for two outcomes from reading this book. We hope this book would make the general reader an informed donor that is aware of Muslim charities and their work, and we pray that this book would be a refresher course to professionals in this field to improve their knowledge and skills.

Exploring one of the five essential pillars of Islam, this guide to zakat explains how this Muslim practice plays a key role in preserving a peaceful economic balance within a Muslim society and how it encourages individuals to share with the less fortunate. This book is a must for Muslims who seek to observe this obligation fully and can also serve as a resource for non-Muslims as a comprehensive manual for one of its cornerstone features.

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.

Philanthropy is a vital lens through which to examine the dynamics of the Muslim world. Islamic charities harness enormous material and human resources, as well as organizational capacity. Many in the West view Muslim philanthropic enterprises with considerable skepticism because of accusations of material support for, or condoning of, acts of violence against civilians. Drawing on CSIS's regional and functional expertise, Understanding Islamic Charities explores the variety of roles that Muslim philanthropies play in different countries, their interactions with national and international institutions, and the boundaries and connections between their philanthropic roles and their political impacts.

The Journal of Muslim Philanthropy & Civil Society (JMPCS), is a bi-annual, peer reviewed, open access journal published by the Center on Muslim Philanthropy in partnership with the IUPUI University Library Center for Digital Scholarship, and the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University. JMPCS seeks original academic research examining the broad scope of Muslim philanthropy and civil society. This peer reviewed online academic journal will publish research related to Muslim nonprofit, philanthropic and voluntary action. The terms "Muslim" and "philanthropy" are defined broadly to be inclusive of cutting-edge research from across the world and disciplines. JMPCS is intended to shed light on the dynamic practice and understanding of Muslim Philanthropy. We seek to draw articles by researchers from across disciplines (History, Political Science, Religious Studies, Sociology, Public Affairs, Nonprofit Management, Business, Philanthropy etc.) and practitioners throughout the world working in this emerging field.

"Since 9/11 and the global War on Terror, practitioners of Islam in Europe and beyond have been scrutinised and surveyed under suspicion of disloyalty and as potential disrupters of national social cohesion. Seemingly benign, altruistic practices, such as charity, are viewed as potential threats to national security and have increasingly become subject to counter-terrorism policies. This work seeks to critically assess the assumptions behind the lesser-known financial War on Terror, through exploration of the effects of current policies on Muslim charitable practices in the UK. The consequences of current policies are multi-faceted - from the stigmatization and suspicion of Muslim charities and communities, individual loss of status and financial standing, to a decrease of living standards and/or loss of lives. Engaging with the everyday socio-political activities of Muslim individuals, this book gives voice to the motivations, apprehensions and challenges faced by Muslim charitable practitioners. A must read for anyone wanting to challenge policy assumptions behind increased surveillance of charities and individual donors, whilst outlining the repercussions of current policies on Muslim individuals and charities."--

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.

'The State of Giving Research in Europe' provides an overview of current philanthropic research in Europe. This overview gives much-anticipated insights into the study of philanthropy in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.