Jonathan Benthall
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781784993085
- eISBN:
- 9781526124005
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9781784993085.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Middle Eastern Cultural Anthropology
This book is the fruit of twenty years’ reflection on Islamic charities, both in practical terms and as a key to understand the crisis in contemporary Islam. On the one hand Islam is undervalued as a ...
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This book is the fruit of twenty years’ reflection on Islamic charities, both in practical terms and as a key to understand the crisis in contemporary Islam. On the one hand Islam is undervalued as a global moral and political force whose admirable qualities are exemplified in its strong tradition of charitable giving. On the other hand, it suffers from a crisis of authority that cannot be blamed entirely on the history of colonialism and stigmatization to which Muslims have undoubtedly been subjected – most recently, as a result of the “war on terror”.
The book consists of seventeen previously published chapters, with a general Introduction and new prefatory material for each chapter. The first nine chapters review the current situation of Islamic charities from many different viewpoints – theological, historical, diplomatic, legal, sociological and ethnographic – with first-hand data from the United States, Britain, Israel–Palestine, Mali and Indonesia. Chapters 10 to 17 expand the coverage to explore the potential for a twenty-first century “Islamic humanism” that would be devised by Muslims in the light of the human sciences and institutionalized throughout the Muslim world. This means addressing contentious topics such as religious toleration and the meaning of jihad.
The intended readership includes academics and students at all levels, professionals concerned with aid and development, and all who have an interest in the future of Islam.Less
This book is the fruit of twenty years’ reflection on Islamic charities, both in practical terms and as a key to understand the crisis in contemporary Islam. On the one hand Islam is undervalued as a global moral and political force whose admirable qualities are exemplified in its strong tradition of charitable giving. On the other hand, it suffers from a crisis of authority that cannot be blamed entirely on the history of colonialism and stigmatization to which Muslims have undoubtedly been subjected – most recently, as a result of the “war on terror”.
The book consists of seventeen previously published chapters, with a general Introduction and new prefatory material for each chapter. The first nine chapters review the current situation of Islamic charities from many different viewpoints – theological, historical, diplomatic, legal, sociological and ethnographic – with first-hand data from the United States, Britain, Israel–Palestine, Mali and Indonesia. Chapters 10 to 17 expand the coverage to explore the potential for a twenty-first century “Islamic humanism” that would be devised by Muslims in the light of the human sciences and institutionalized throughout the Muslim world. This means addressing contentious topics such as religious toleration and the meaning of jihad.
The intended readership includes academics and students at all levels, professionals concerned with aid and development, and all who have an interest in the future of Islam.
Lawrence Rosen
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780226317342
- eISBN:
- 9780226317519
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226317519.003.0003
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Middle Eastern Cultural Anthropology
Hussein ou Muhammad Qadir is a Berber. Living in the Middle Atlas Mountains just south of the city of Sefrou he has succeeded as an agriculturalist and animal dealer to a very high degree. In the ...
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Hussein ou Muhammad Qadir is a Berber. Living in the Middle Atlas Mountains just south of the city of Sefrou he has succeeded as an agriculturalist and animal dealer to a very high degree. In the process, he demonstrates the working of the Moroccan marketplace as a venue of relationship and cultural enactment no less than economic maneuvering. Through the description of his career one comes to understand how tribal organization remains highly flexible, how relationships are forged in an intensely personalistic environment, and how family life and contacts with Jewish merchants plays a crucial role in his personal success and his psychological comfort. Ever sardonic about the political he is the exemplar of that merchant the poets call the beloved of God, and in his humor and his warmth the joys of his Berber identity come sharply and articulately to the fore.Less
Hussein ou Muhammad Qadir is a Berber. Living in the Middle Atlas Mountains just south of the city of Sefrou he has succeeded as an agriculturalist and animal dealer to a very high degree. In the process, he demonstrates the working of the Moroccan marketplace as a venue of relationship and cultural enactment no less than economic maneuvering. Through the description of his career one comes to understand how tribal organization remains highly flexible, how relationships are forged in an intensely personalistic environment, and how family life and contacts with Jewish merchants plays a crucial role in his personal success and his psychological comfort. Ever sardonic about the political he is the exemplar of that merchant the poets call the beloved of God, and in his humor and his warmth the joys of his Berber identity come sharply and articulately to the fore.
Patrick Gaffney
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520084711
- eISBN:
- 9780520914582
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520084711.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Middle Eastern Cultural Anthropology
Muslim preaching has been central in forming public opinion, building grassroots organizations, and developing leadership cadres for the wider Islamist agenda. Based on in-depth field research in ...
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Muslim preaching has been central in forming public opinion, building grassroots organizations, and developing leadership cadres for the wider Islamist agenda. Based on in-depth field research in Egypt, this book focuses on the preacher and the sermon as the single most important medium for propounding the message of Islam. The book draws on social history, political commentary, and theological sources to reveal the subtle connections between religious rhetoric and political dissent. Many of the sermons discussed were given during the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, and the book attempts to describe this militant movement and to compare it with official Islam. Finally, the book presents examples of the sermons, so readers can better understand the full range of contemporary Islamic expression.Less
Muslim preaching has been central in forming public opinion, building grassroots organizations, and developing leadership cadres for the wider Islamist agenda. Based on in-depth field research in Egypt, this book focuses on the preacher and the sermon as the single most important medium for propounding the message of Islam. The book draws on social history, political commentary, and theological sources to reveal the subtle connections between religious rhetoric and political dissent. Many of the sermons discussed were given during the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, and the book attempts to describe this militant movement and to compare it with official Islam. Finally, the book presents examples of the sermons, so readers can better understand the full range of contemporary Islamic expression.
Brinkley Messick
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520076051
- eISBN:
- 9780520917828
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520076051.003.0011
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Middle Eastern Cultural Anthropology
This chapter examines the history of court reform and concludes with another recent skit, this one critical of former judicial practices. The twentieth century opened in Yemen with a judgeship ...
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This chapter examines the history of court reform and concludes with another recent skit, this one critical of former judicial practices. The twentieth century opened in Yemen with a judgeship recently modified in accord with Ottoman reforms. The 1916 court personnel list reveals a distinguishing characteristic of Ottoman judicial organization. Problematic changes occurred in the area of judicial writing. Despite several administrative reshufflings, court reform did not get firmly under way in the Republic until the important legislation of 1979. Mentions of ministry authority, legislated law, and the republican government intertwine with a litany of older concerns about abuse and injustice.Less
This chapter examines the history of court reform and concludes with another recent skit, this one critical of former judicial practices. The twentieth century opened in Yemen with a judgeship recently modified in accord with Ottoman reforms. The 1916 court personnel list reveals a distinguishing characteristic of Ottoman judicial organization. Problematic changes occurred in the area of judicial writing. Despite several administrative reshufflings, court reform did not get firmly under way in the Republic until the important legislation of 1979. Mentions of ministry authority, legislated law, and the republican government intertwine with a litany of older concerns about abuse and injustice.
Michael E. Meeker
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520225268
- eISBN:
- 9780520929128
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520225268.003.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Middle Eastern Cultural Anthropology
This chapter discusses the author's arrival in the Turkish district of Of, where he conducted the first part of his fieldwork during the 1960s, revealing that two major families in the district have ...
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This chapter discusses the author's arrival in the Turkish district of Of, where he conducted the first part of his fieldwork during the 1960s, revealing that two major families in the district have been monopolizing the higher official positions for over a century and examining the public organizations present in the district. The author also considers the notion of a clan-society that is divided from the state system. Next, the chapter presents an ethnographic analysis of the two major families—the Selimoğlu and Muradoğlu families—in order to understand them as local social formations. This analysis is able to identify the missing features of these two families that would have marked them as a political system based on unilineal descent groups. The chapter also addresses the issue of the exact foundation of these social formations in terms of daily interpersonal interactions and association.Less
This chapter discusses the author's arrival in the Turkish district of Of, where he conducted the first part of his fieldwork during the 1960s, revealing that two major families in the district have been monopolizing the higher official positions for over a century and examining the public organizations present in the district. The author also considers the notion of a clan-society that is divided from the state system. Next, the chapter presents an ethnographic analysis of the two major families—the Selimoğlu and Muradoğlu families—in order to understand them as local social formations. This analysis is able to identify the missing features of these two families that would have marked them as a political system based on unilineal descent groups. The chapter also addresses the issue of the exact foundation of these social formations in terms of daily interpersonal interactions and association.
Jonathan Benthall
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781784993085
- eISBN:
- 9781526124005
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9781784993085.003.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Middle Eastern Cultural Anthropology
The Introduction summarizes the book’s content under the following headings. Since all the Chapters have been previously published elsewhere, it also adds some complementary material to bring the ...
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The Introduction summarizes the book’s content under the following headings. Since all the Chapters have been previously published elsewhere, it also adds some complementary material to bring the book up to date on some important topics:
Part One: Chapters 1 to 9: Islamic charities
Summary of the Chapters
Some recurrent themes
Faith Based Organizations and “cultural sensitivity”
Islamic Relief Worldwide
The West Bank zakat committees
Banking problems
Towards a more complete description
Pakistan
Turkey
Domestic Islamic charity in the United Kingdom
A zakat movement?
Towards a more comparative approach
Part Two: Chapters 10 to 17: Islamic humanismLess
The Introduction summarizes the book’s content under the following headings. Since all the Chapters have been previously published elsewhere, it also adds some complementary material to bring the book up to date on some important topics:
Part One: Chapters 1 to 9: Islamic charities
Summary of the Chapters
Some recurrent themes
Faith Based Organizations and “cultural sensitivity”
Islamic Relief Worldwide
The West Bank zakat committees
Banking problems
Towards a more complete description
Pakistan
Turkey
Domestic Islamic charity in the United Kingdom
A zakat movement?
Towards a more comparative approach
Part Two: Chapters 10 to 17: Islamic humanism
Jonathan Benthall
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781784993085
- eISBN:
- 9781526124005
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9781784993085.003.0002
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Middle Eastern Cultural Anthropology
This chapter outlines the historical background of the growth of Islamic charities over the last few decades, and of Faith Based Organizations in general. It also discusses the humanitarian ...
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This chapter outlines the historical background of the growth of Islamic charities over the last few decades, and of Faith Based Organizations in general. It also discusses the humanitarian consequences of the clampdown on Islamic charities post 9/11, and questions the academic standard of some counter-terrorist studies that have authorized this clampdown. It calls for sympathetic steps to ease the way for those Islamic charities that accept the principles of regulation and monitoring. It argues that high values and ideals are better expressed by actions than by mere dialogue. Islamic Relief Worldwide showed what can be done when it was appointed to represent all the major British relief agencies on television to launch a joint appeal for the Kashmir earthquake in 2005. Failure to recognize the potential of Islamic charities means losing a significant opportunity to defuse the purported “clash of civilizations”.Less
This chapter outlines the historical background of the growth of Islamic charities over the last few decades, and of Faith Based Organizations in general. It also discusses the humanitarian consequences of the clampdown on Islamic charities post 9/11, and questions the academic standard of some counter-terrorist studies that have authorized this clampdown. It calls for sympathetic steps to ease the way for those Islamic charities that accept the principles of regulation and monitoring. It argues that high values and ideals are better expressed by actions than by mere dialogue. Islamic Relief Worldwide showed what can be done when it was appointed to represent all the major British relief agencies on television to launch a joint appeal for the Kashmir earthquake in 2005. Failure to recognize the potential of Islamic charities means losing a significant opportunity to defuse the purported “clash of civilizations”.
Jonathan Benthall
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781784993085
- eISBN:
- 9781526124005
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9781784993085.003.0010
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Middle Eastern Cultural Anthropology
This Chapter, published by Depends on timing. the journal Asian Ethnology, is a theoretical exercise, inspired by Mary Douglas’s classic anthropological text Purity and Danger, that sets out to ...
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This Chapter, published by Depends on timing. the journal Asian Ethnology, is a theoretical exercise, inspired by Mary Douglas’s classic anthropological text Purity and Danger, that sets out to clarify the wide range of relationships between religions and humanitarian traditions as ideological movements, taking Islam as an instance. It postulates that the concept of the “sacred” is a special case of boundary maintenance or “purism”. Metaphorically, “puripetal force” (a neologism) is defined as a tendency common to all ideological systems, a resistance to social entropy or anomie. An explanatory model is proposed that accommodates forms of concentrated purism such as (within Islam) Wahhabi-Salafism and (within humanitarianism) the legacy of Henry Dunant, founder of the International Committee of the Red Cross. Specific Islamic charities and welfare organizations interact differentially with both religious and humanitarian traditions. Meanwhile, US government policy towards charities sometimes seems dominated by an urge to peer into purity of motives. Finally, it is suggested that the model could equally be applied to Christian and other religious traditions, with the concluding thought that the common ground between the institutions of international humanitarianism and religious traditions is currently expanding.Less
This Chapter, published by Depends on timing. the journal Asian Ethnology, is a theoretical exercise, inspired by Mary Douglas’s classic anthropological text Purity and Danger, that sets out to clarify the wide range of relationships between religions and humanitarian traditions as ideological movements, taking Islam as an instance. It postulates that the concept of the “sacred” is a special case of boundary maintenance or “purism”. Metaphorically, “puripetal force” (a neologism) is defined as a tendency common to all ideological systems, a resistance to social entropy or anomie. An explanatory model is proposed that accommodates forms of concentrated purism such as (within Islam) Wahhabi-Salafism and (within humanitarianism) the legacy of Henry Dunant, founder of the International Committee of the Red Cross. Specific Islamic charities and welfare organizations interact differentially with both religious and humanitarian traditions. Meanwhile, US government policy towards charities sometimes seems dominated by an urge to peer into purity of motives. Finally, it is suggested that the model could equally be applied to Christian and other religious traditions, with the concluding thought that the common ground between the institutions of international humanitarianism and religious traditions is currently expanding.
Joanne Randa Nucho
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780691168968
- eISBN:
- 9781400883004
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691168968.003.0003
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Middle Eastern Cultural Anthropology
This chapter examines the role of notions of gender propriety in differentiating access to Armenians women's organizations in Bourj Hammoud. It focuses on the work of two distinct types of ...
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This chapter examines the role of notions of gender propriety in differentiating access to Armenians women's organizations in Bourj Hammoud. It focuses on the work of two distinct types of institutions—a transnational Armenian NGO and the various women's organizations affiliated with the Armenian Dashnag Party. A closer look at these organizations show how gender, particularly the performance of normative notions of gender roles and gendered propriety, enables or disables access to the networks that produce the Armenian community in various forms. Access to these channels of services and their attendant resources differs based on women's abilities to mobilize gender, kinship, and family relations, particular kinds of class positions and professional training, linguistic skills, and even spatial, neighborhood connections. Gender propriety and class positioning allow women to connect social infrastructures, to network into other networks glossed as Armenian middle class or Dashnag Party base.Less
This chapter examines the role of notions of gender propriety in differentiating access to Armenians women's organizations in Bourj Hammoud. It focuses on the work of two distinct types of institutions—a transnational Armenian NGO and the various women's organizations affiliated with the Armenian Dashnag Party. A closer look at these organizations show how gender, particularly the performance of normative notions of gender roles and gendered propriety, enables or disables access to the networks that produce the Armenian community in various forms. Access to these channels of services and their attendant resources differs based on women's abilities to mobilize gender, kinship, and family relations, particular kinds of class positions and professional training, linguistic skills, and even spatial, neighborhood connections. Gender propriety and class positioning allow women to connect social infrastructures, to network into other networks glossed as Armenian middle class or Dashnag Party base.
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226434766
- eISBN:
- 9780226434759
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226434759.003.0016
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Middle Eastern Cultural Anthropology
In Lebanon, charity is a private matter, an extension of and means to social power. There is hardly a charitable organization of any consequence that is not backed by a za'im, a top political leader ...
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In Lebanon, charity is a private matter, an extension of and means to social power. There is hardly a charitable organization of any consequence that is not backed by a za'im, a top political leader whose power base extends beyond his immediate village. Through such apparent altruism, the rich acquire power, becoming “imams” or “emirs” surrounded by subordinates of all sorts, swearing allegiance to their person. Once they reach a visible level of power and influence, however, the rich ignore the charities they have established; their altruism becomes redundant. Wealth, charity, and power together qualify high status in society; they constitute a single syndrome, a trinity, each element of which is at once a means and a product of achieving the other. Perhaps one of the most unfortunate features of public life in Lebanon is that the exercise of politics is considered an aspect of celebrity, rather than a profession. In this chapter, the author shares his personal experience managing a philanthropic organization in Lebanon.Less
In Lebanon, charity is a private matter, an extension of and means to social power. There is hardly a charitable organization of any consequence that is not backed by a za'im, a top political leader whose power base extends beyond his immediate village. Through such apparent altruism, the rich acquire power, becoming “imams” or “emirs” surrounded by subordinates of all sorts, swearing allegiance to their person. Once they reach a visible level of power and influence, however, the rich ignore the charities they have established; their altruism becomes redundant. Wealth, charity, and power together qualify high status in society; they constitute a single syndrome, a trinity, each element of which is at once a means and a product of achieving the other. Perhaps one of the most unfortunate features of public life in Lebanon is that the exercise of politics is considered an aspect of celebrity, rather than a profession. In this chapter, the author shares his personal experience managing a philanthropic organization in Lebanon.
