European Muslim Charities: From British Roots to an Original French Islamic Philanthropy

Abstract

This article contributes to an understudied research topic: the policies and politics of Islamic non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Europe. Through ethnographic observations of Muslim NGOs between 2017 and 2021, in France and the United Kingdom (UK), it aims to critically analyze the reciprocal relationships between the Muslim humanitarianisms belonging to both countries and the ways in which different visions of humanitarianism can coexist within international organizations. These countries serve as case studies, in which relationships between Islamic charitable organizations in both countries are examined, with special attention to the growth and evolution of these organizations in two secularized sociopolitical contexts. This article also illuminates how different visions of philanthropy can coexist within one international organization. The research aims to nuance the typical opposition between France and the UK by focusing on two major trends: different approaches to the management of Islam and distinct charitable traditions. The study compares and contrasts how Muslim humanitarian organizations deal with these issues. The main argument of the article is that there is no universal definition of Islamic humanitarianism. The Islamic charitable market is global. Yet in each country it operates differently. It thus seems more promising to think of how the Islamic obligation to give (with the examples of the categories of zakat and sadaqa) manifests itself in different historical, social and political contexts.