Journal of Muslim Philanthropy & Civil Society

Acknowledgement

2023-06-01

The Problems and Perils of Muslims Condemning Terrorism

Todd H. Green — 2023-06-01

Calls for Muslims to condemn terrorist attacks are commonplace in the United States and Europe. These calls emanate from public figures and media outlets across the political and ideological spectrum. This article briefly surveys efforts primarily from Muslim scholars, leaders, and organizations to heed these calls and to communicate, in word and in deed, their rejection of terrorist attacks supposedly carried out in the name of Islam. The article raises questions about whether these efforts make a difference in improving attitudes toward Muslims who live in the United States and Europe. The article argues that Muslim attempts to condemn terrorism inadvertently reinforce Islamophobia, in part because such efforts involve tacit acceptance that Muslims should be presumed guilty of harboring violent tendencies and terrorist sympathies until proven otherwise, in part because such efforts keep the focus on Muslims and violence so that white and white Christian Americans and Europeans need not come to terms with their own violent past and their ongoing complicity in a violent world order.

Dissent and Democracy in Contemporary India: Visions of Education, Versions of Citizenship, and Variants of Jihad

Nitasha Kaul — 2023-06-01

The post-2014 period in India has seen a clear political shift under the leadership of Modi-led BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), a ruling party ideologically parented by the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh), a right-wing Hindu-nationalist paramilitary volunteer organization that has millions of members nationwide. These years have been marked by a resurgent Hindu nationalism referred to as Hindutva. Hindutva as an ideology of majoritarian nationalism claims to make India a strong nation and gain international recognition as a rising power. However, both domestically and internationally, it is evident that contemporary that India is marked by a consistent erosion of liberal democratic norms whereby constitutionally guaranteed rights continue to be steadily qualified, undermined, and diminished, alongside a lack of promised improvement in global rankings on various indicators. Moreover, there has been an increase in anti-minority targeting, which is multidimensional and pursued through non/violent and extra/legal means. In this article, I explain the broad backdrop to political transformation and increased violence in India and then specifically focus on explicating two key dynamics—one, the multiple ways in which changes in the sphere of education have been crucial to how dissent is securitized in India and two, how the internalized hierarchical ordering of ideas of citizenship within Hindutva means that Hindu males are seen as the normative citizens and Muslims as the radical Other that can be targeted with exclusion, discrimination, humiliation, even lynching. Using the example of the multiplying vocabularies of “Jihad,” I highlight how any aspect of Muslim life or livelihood can be interpreted as a form of sinister “Jihad” deserving a justifiably violent response and/or economic marginalization. I conclude by referring to the sustained and ongoing nature of this transformation of India and call for us to recognize and challenge it.

Philanthropy, Demographics, and Growth in US Islamic Nonprofits: Evidence from IRS Form 990

Eiman Osseilan — 2023-06-01

An analysis of national-level data shows that Muslim nonprofits are relatively younger, smaller, located in more diverse urban settings, and growing more rapidly both in number and in contributions received compared with other religious and nonreligious nonprofits. No prior studies appear to have summarized national-level data on giving to US charitable organizations affiliated with Islam. As a first attempt to address this gap, this descriptive study compares the characteristics of Muslim-affiliated nonprofits to those of Christian-affiliated, Jewish-affiliated, and all other nonprofits using a dataset of e-filed IRS Form 990s with classifications using keywords appearing in organizational names or mission statements. Muslim nonprofits grew in number at a faster rate, were newer, spent less on fundraising as a percentage of total contributions, and received less in total contributions. However, when controlling for other organizational factors, Muslim nonprofits experienced significantly greater growth in total contributions than did Christian, Jewish, or other nonprofits. Finally, Muslim-affiliated organization were more likely to be headquartered in demographically younger, more diverse, urban settings.

The Landscape of the Third Sector in the United Arab Emirates

Meera Al Kaabi — 2023-06-01

Since the country achieved statehood in 1971, the United Arab Emirates’ propulsion into modernity has witnessed the steep growth of the third sector (MOCD, 2019). The UAE’s global economic outlook has also attracted numerous third sector organizations (TSOs) to establish chapters in the UAE (International Humanitarian City, 2020). While the TSOs established in the UAE serve a wide array of public purposes, a large proportion of them were grounded in charitable work. Although the third sector has been steadily growing in the UAE, literary efforts to document this sector were not found in the literature. This paper aims at presenting a preliminary understanding of the current status of TSOs in the UAE. Taking the contextual factors of the UAE into consideration, this paper explores the process of establishing a TSO across various legal frameworks found in the UAE and identifies the differences between them. This paper also includes a classification of TSOs based on their operational roles and a description of their geographical distribution across the UAE.

Muslim Philanthropy: What’s in the name?

Hisham E. Nourin — 2023-06-01

Vatican Reflection May 5th, 2023

Sayyeda Mirza — 2023-06-01

Transformation in Muslim Philanthropy Movement

Amelia Fauzia — 2023-06-01

Empowering Charity: A New Narrative of Philanthropy by Froswa' Booker-Drew (2022)

Salma Taman — 2023-06-01

Islamic Wealth and the SDGs: Global Strategies for Socio-economic Impact by Mohd Ma'Sum Billah (2021)

Mohammed Abu Asaker — 2023-06-01

Capitalist Humanitarianism by Lucia Hulsether (2023)

Massumeh H. Toosi — 2023-06-01