Journal of Muslim Philanthropy & Civil Society

Muslim Imaginations of Islam in India

Hilal Ahmed — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This paper explores two broad questions: (a) what is the nature of anti-Muslim discourse in contemporary India and (b) how does it impact their religious orientation and practices? Using survey data produced by CSDS-Lokniti and the Pew Research Center, the paper shows that the dominant assumption that anti-Muslim Hindutva eventually forces Muslims to take refuge in the realm of religion and make them more Islamic is not entirely correct. It is argued that everyday concerns and anxieties are not entirely interpreted through the prism of religion or religiosity. Instead, Muslim communities seem to interpret the growing intolerance in the country as a political phenomenon.

Amil Loyalty: The Role of Remuneration, Self-Efficacy, Satisfaction, and Organization Citizen Behavior

Efri Syamsul Bahri, Mohd Mizan bin Mohammad Aslam, Hendro Wibowo — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Amil loyalty is essential for successfully managing zakat collection and distribution. Therefore, this study examines the factors influencing amil loyalty: remuneration, self-efficacy, satisfaction, and organizational citizenship behavior. This study is quantitative, with data collected by distributing questionnaires to amil with 113 respondents from zakat governance entities in Indonesia. The test was performed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The collected data were processed using the SmartPLS software. The results showed that (a) remuneration, self-efficacy, satisfaction, and organizational citizenship behavior have positive influences on amil loyalty, and (b) satisfaction and organizational citizenship behavior have a positive and significant influence on amil loyalty. An r2 value of 0.624 indicates that Amil’s loyalty to zakat governance entities in Indonesia can be predicted with remuneration, self-efficacy, satisfaction, and organizational citizenship behavior variables of 62.4% in the medium category.

Minority Giving: The Philanthropic Motivations of Muslims in the United States

Hala Altamimi, Qiaozhen Liu — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This study analyzes the philanthropic motivations of Muslims in the United States using data from the 2021 Muslim American Giving Survey. The findings of logistic regression indicate that their giving is motivated by both altruistic and self-serving factors. While there is a predominant tendency toward altruistic motivations such as compassion for others, their giving pattern is also motivated by egoistic interests such as feeling needed and recognized. This study extends the nonprofit literature on donor motivations by focusing on Muslim-American philanthropy and discusses implications for nonprofit organizations that rely on their contributions.

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

Lucas Faure — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

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.

Dynamics of an International Islamic FBO’s Healthcare Interventions during COVID-19: An Ethnographic Case Study of Direct Aid in Urban Tanzania

Mara Leichtman, Mussa Muhoja — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Despite changing COVID-19 policies and political leaders in Tanzania during the pandemic, Direct Aid (formerly Africa Muslims Agency), a Kuwaiti charitable organization, enhanced healthcare services while adapting safe measures. This ethnographic study explores the dynamics of Direct Aid’s healthcare interventions in the context of COVID-19 in urban Dar es Salaam. Since 2020, the international charity received additional Gulf funding to distribute soap, sanitizer, and personal protective equipment (PPE) to its centers, aid recipients, and government offices. This article examines how Islamic ideas, practices, and meanings are crucial to the design and execution of Direct Aid programs while intertwined with constantly changing public health dynamics in Tanzania. We argue that the interventions of the faith-based organization (FBO), including collaborations with Tanzania’s Ministry of Health, are designed to help bridge inequities and gaps in healthcare access. Yet Direct Aid’s contributions to local and national health plans—a form of transnational humanitarian governmentality—simultaneously strengthen its social, religious, and political agenda in Tanzania.

The Impact of Religiosity on Giving in Times of Uncertainty: Lessons from COVID-19

Mohannad Mofawaz, Jehanzeb Rashid Cheema — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Prior research suggests that giving behaviors and attitudes toward giving can change during times of uncertainty. This makes it important to understand the dynamics of giving and perceptions of donors during such events. In this study we examine the role of uncertainty intolerance in the relationship between religiosity and giving. We explore two competing hypotheses with uncertainty intolerance playing the roles of mediator and moderator in this relationship. Although our empirical results (n = 1,733) suggest that both of these roles were statistically not significant, we did find a very strong and robust effect of religiosity on giving. Our main finding is that perceptions about uncertainty did not affect giving in 2020 when the US was going through the COVID-19 crisis. Thus, in the US, giving is robust and remained stable during the pandemic-related uncertainty. These findings held across religious denominations but varied across several demographic characteristics and have some important implications despite limitations such as data being observational and US-specific with Muslim Americans oversampled.

The Typologies of Global Islamophobia and its Manifestations Across the Global North and South

Naved Bakali — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The “War on Terror” ushered in a new era of anti-Muslim bias and racism globally. Anti-Muslim racism is influenced by local economies, power structures, and histories. However, the War on Terror, with a homogenized Muslim “Other” framed as a perpetual enemy, has contributed to a global Islamophobic narrative. This paper examines the connections between interpersonal and institutional forms of anti-Muslim racism that have contributed to the growth and emboldening of nativist and populist protest movements globally. By examining different national contexts across the Global North and South, this article demonstrates how Islamophobia has become a global phenomenon. The purpose of this article is to map out categories or typologies of Islamophobia. These are the localized histories, politics, conflicts, and present-day geopolitical realities in the context of the War on Terror, which have influenced and textured the ways that Islamophobia has manifested across the Global North and South.

Donation Motivations of Muslims Living in Non-Islamic Countries: Empirical Evidence from France and Germany

Rıdvan Kocaman — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Philanthropic giving is one of the major obligations that Muslims are expected to fulfill in Islamic religiosity. However, whether the country of residence is an Islamic country might be effective in shaping donation behaviors. Accordingly, this study aims to explore the key donation motivations of Muslims living in non-Islamic countries (France and Germany). To do this, in-depth interviews were conducted with 23 faithful Muslims regularly making donations. The dynamics of religiosity and its role in donating were considered while analyzing the data with the qualitative content analysis. The findings indicate the five motivations in which religiosity manifests itself in the context of donation: relief of suffering, fear of being needy, seeking forgiveness in the afterdeath, desire for self-satisfaction, and fear of being missed out. The study discusses implications for both theory and practice.

Ivarsflaten, Elisabeth, and Paul M. Sniderman (2022). The Struggle for Inclusion: Muslim Minorities and the Democratic Ethos. University of Chicago Press

Ahmed Muzakkir Syed — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Delahanty, J. (2023). Making Moral Citizens: How Faith-Based Organizers Use Vocation for Public Action

Leili Abdi — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Graziano, M. (2021). Errand into the Wilderness of Mirrors: Religion and the History of the CIA. Chicago University Press

Naila Farouky — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Khoja-Moolji, S. (2023). Rebuilding Community: Displaced Women and the Making of a Shia Ismaili Muslim Sociality. Oxford University Press

Rukkayya Musa Kinta — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000