scholarly journals Faith-Based Charitable Giving and Its Impact on Notions of “Community”: The Case of American Muslim NGOs

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 138-161
Author(s):  
Sabithulla Khan
Keyword(s):  
Charitable Giving ◽  
Humanitarian Aid ◽  
Bill Clinton ◽  
Economic Downturn ◽  
Charitable Choice ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
American Muslim ◽  
Faith Traditions ◽  
The One

With the current economic downturn, increased levels of unemployment, and poverty, the role of non-profits has come into spotlight. Considering that there are over 1.5 million NGOs in the U.S.A., and a proliferation of faith-based organizations (FBOs), their role in social capital, civic engagement cannot be discounted (Salamon, Sokolowski, and Anheier 2000). The role of FBOs has also been recognized as being important, and this became a part of mainstream discourse with the Charitable Choice provisions introduced by President Bill Clinton and consolidated under George W. Bush. While there is a lot of literature on Christian FBOs, there is very little written matter on American Muslim NGOs, or comparative research. American Muslim FBOs have emerged in the last 20 years, as important players in both domestic and international humanitarian aid movement. I will examine the case of Muslim faith-based giving to organizations to analyze how charitable giving towards them is influencing discourse about the American Muslim “community,” and how it is best to understand their work “relationally” rather than in opposition to other faith traditions (GhaneaBassiri 2010). While the narrative of giving among American Muslims seems simple and there is also very little literature on this issue, my preliminary research points towards a complicated landscape of giving, which combines both local giving at the mosque level and giving at the international level to the Ummah (community) or brotherhood, through transnational humanitarian aid agencies such as Islamic Relief. I argue that giving practices are creating new forms of “relational communities” in America. This notion of “relationality” can be applied in philanthropy, and is evident in the global humanitarian aid movement, as I demonstrate. I ask whether this is forming a new “moral geography” that is more pluralistic and broader than the one that we are familiar, especially in the American context. A closer examination of this phenomenon offers us insights into how a community is imagined and created. This paper seeks to contribute to the growing body of literature on FBOs, and also that on American philanthropy.

scholarly journals Re-examining the Policies in the Humanitarian Aid Sector – A Call for Greater “Value Rationality”

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-21
Author(s):  
Sabith Khan
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Humanitarian Aid ◽  
Short Paper ◽  
Patriot Act ◽  
Conflict Zones ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
Value Rationality ◽  
Restrictive Measures

AbstractFaith-based giving in the U.S. constitutes over one-third of all charity (Giving USA, 2013). The proliferation of policy initiatives that promoted faith-based giving and giving to humanitarian aid organizations post George W Bush’s establishment of the Office of Faith-based initiatives and community Partnerships has been controversial, to say the least. But despite this, the sector has been robust. One segment of philanthropy that has been unnecessarily controversial is that of Islamic charity. With the attacks of September 11, 2001, there were a slew of legislative as well as Executive reforms that put Islamic charities under the scanner. Executive Order 13224 and the subsequent initiatives under the PATRIOT Act have reduced donations to Islamic charities, in the initial year. In this short paper, I argue that some of the restrictive measures in place – that apply to NGOs working in conflict zones – should be removed, so aid can reach the beneficiaries, so that NGOs’ offering this aid to not fear being targeted by U.S. law enforcement authorities. Given the massive refugee crisis we are witnessing, the role of Muslim NGOs in conflict zones may become crucial for long-term rehabilitation and resettlement.

Policies and Programs

2020 ◽  
pp. 162-189
Author(s):  
Jeff Levin
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Bill Clinton ◽  
Religious Institutions ◽  
Charitable Choice ◽  
White House ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
Official Position ◽  
National Debate ◽  
Policies And Programs

Chapter 8 details the long-standing history in the United States of official position statements by religious institutions and organizations regarding medical and healthcare issues, legislation, and policies that impact the health and well-being of the broader population. This history is highlighted by the recent national debate on healthcare reform, which was influenced by advocacy reports for or against features of proposed legislation issued by denominations and faith-based organizations across the religious spectrum. This chapter also provides perspectives on the contentious subject of federal faith-based initiatives since the passage of legislation authorizing charitable choice, under President Bill Clinton, which led to establishment of a White House faith-based office in the subsequent three administrations. Programmatic and policy successes of this initiative are described, especially in the areas of community and global health, an example being PEPFAR, the most successful program ever established to address AIDS in the developing world.

scholarly journals Social Services Offered by Faith-Based Organizations in the Post-Secular Society

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 55-71
Author(s):  
Polixenia Nistor ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Services ◽  
Complete Separation ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
The Social ◽  
Secular Society ◽  
Faith Based Organizations ◽  
The One ◽  
Social Importance ◽  
Role Of Religion

Christian ethics of care has its roots in evangelical teachings and consists in helping the poor, the suffering, the prisoner, the orphan, the old people, the widows and, in general, the one who is humble, experiencing incapacity. A series of papers show that, at global level, 90% of charitable staff work as an employee or volunteer in religious organizations or faith-based organizations (Crisp, 2014: 11). Recognizing the social importance of the activity underwent in faith-based organizations comes in the context of reconsidering the role of religion in society and recognizing the failure of complete separation between secular society and religion, in the context of a post-secular society (Barbato & Kratochvil, 2008; Habermas, Blair, & Debray, 2017).

Right to Pray

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivy Dhar
Keyword(s):  
Public Places ◽  
Local Responses ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
Faith Traditions ◽  
Legal Outcomes ◽  
Hindu Temples ◽  
Democratic Nation ◽  
The Right ◽  
Gender Subjectivity

Focusing on cultural restrictions on women’s access to the garbhagriha in specific Hindu temples in India, this paper attempts to contextualize the wider debates around gender in faith-based practices and the confrontation between the ‘right to pray’ movement and its opponents. It reviews the complexities of practising public religion in a democratic nation. In the ambit of the contemporary feminist movement, activism has been initiated for reclaiming space for women in the realm of religion and faith. This was most clearly demonstrated in the women-led right to pray movement. The movement has been continuously evolving in local spaces and remains diversified across public places of worship. Debates around the exclusion of women have required the judiciary to reinterpret the relation between public temples and the equality proclaimed by the Constitution. By looking at the Sabarimala and Shani Shingnapur temple protests, this paper reflects on the conflict between activism and faith traditions. It charts the legal outcomes, local responses, political tensions, and the associated gender subjectivity. It attempts to revisit the role of women as recipients rather than agents of religion in public spaces, while extending the arguments to other aspects of ritual.

scholarly journals Biases in Charitable Giving to International Humanitarian Aid

2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 383-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Mittelman ◽  
Douglas Dow
Keyword(s):  
Charitable Giving ◽  
Humanitarian Aid ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Psychic Distance ◽  
Marketing System ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Individual Donor ◽  
Financial Contributions

At a time when government support for international humanitarian aid is decreasing, organizations devoted to helping in times of disaster are looking ever more to the individual donor for financial contributions. In this paper, we explore the relationship between the donor and the distant other by introducing the concepts of psychic distance and psychic distance stimuli to the macromarketing literature and exploring the role of psychic distance in fundraising for international humanitarian aid. It is our contention that by better understanding the biases that psychic distance introduce into the system, an improved flow of donations for the betterment of the distant needy and a more effective marketing system can be achieved. We offer four propositions for future testing and exploration.

Urban Religion

Urban Studies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petra Kuppinger
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Urban Studies ◽  
Religious Movements ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Urban Religion ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
Faith Traditions ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Role Of Religion

In the early years of urban studies (urban sociology took shape in the 1920s and consolidated in the post–World War II era; urban anthropology emerged in the 1960s), few scholars paid much attention to religion in modern/modernizing cities, especially in Europe and North America, but also elsewhere across the globe. Into the 1970s, the role of religion in cities was not a central issue in urban studies, as many researchers seemed to assume that religion, religiosities, and spiritual activities would slowly disappear in cities. Indeed, some mainstream Christian congregations in North America, and even more in Europe, struggled with dwindling numbers, which seemed to suggest a more comprehensive decline of urban religion. Some churches closed, while others quietly adjusted to smaller congregations. Many mainstream Christian communities tried to accommodate the changing times by incorporating new pop cultural elements, different media, and other features into their congregations. In the 1970s, new religious communities (often founded by immigrants) and spiritual movements (e.g., “New Age” movements) emerged. Many grew rapidly and flourished. The arrival of millions of rural to urban and transnational im/migrants to cities and diverse spiritual quests often rooted in countercultural movements of the 1960s remade urban spiritual geographies. New religious venues, emerging spiritual practices, diverse faith traditions, new congregations of global faith traditions (Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism), New Age spiritualism, and revivalist and charismatic religious movements localized in North American and European cities. Cities all over the globe witnessed diverse revivalist movements and the emergence of charismatic religious leaders and new mass religious movements. While religion had obviously never left cities, in the final decades of the 20th century, urban religion had become more visible. When diverse pious individuals and groups asked for their rights in the city, insisted on faith-based participation, and challenged the secular nature of global/globalizing cities, it became clear that individual pieties, religious communities, and faith-inspired activities continued to play relevant roles in cities. Established urban religious communities absorbed newcomers, new religiosities, and faith-based socialities. New modes of meeting, worshipping, and religious learning remade existing spiritual geographies. These transformations and the renewed visibility of religion triggered considerable scholarly interest in dynamic urban religions, spiritual activities, and geographies. By the 1990s, a growing number of scholars of various disciplinary backgrounds (sociology, anthropology, geography, religious studies) studied emerging and changing urban religious communities, individual pieties, and the localization of new/immigrant faith communities. At the dawn of the 21st century, the study of urban religions, urban religious cultures, and the role of religion and religiosities in ordinary urbanites’ lives gained momentum as scholars analyzed the transformations of globalized urban spiritual expressions, the localization of new faith-based communities, and the transformation of established congregations. Researchers started to challenge notions of the secular nature of contemporary cities and to reevaluate the role of religion in globalizing cities.

scholarly journals HUMANITARIANISM IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY CONTEXT: RELIGIOUS, GENDERED, NATIONAL

2014 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 1157-1175 ◽  
Author(s):  
ABIGAIL GREEN
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
State Regulation ◽  
Science Literature ◽  
Historical Inquiry ◽  
Temperance Movement ◽  
Faith Traditions ◽  
History Of ◽  
Anglo American ◽  
The One

ABSTRACTThis article surveys the wave of new historical and political-science literature exploring humanitarianism and the ‘pre-history’ of human rights in the long nineteenth century, noting the presentist assumptions underpinning much of this literature. On the one hand, histories of humanitarianism have focused on the origins of present-day humanitarian concerns, paying particular attention to the anti-slavery movement. On the other hand, the overwhelming majority of this literature has explored Anglo-American (and usually Protestant) humanitarianism to the exclusion of the humanitarian campaigns and ideologies of other nations and faith traditions. A more properly historical approach is required, which would pay greater attention to the fusion of religious and secular traditions of activism, to the particular role of women in constituting these traditions, and to the different national contexts in which they bore fruit. Such an approach would also expand our understanding of ‘humanitarian’ activity to incorporate causes with less obvious present-day relevance, such as the temperance movement and Josephine Butler's campaign against the state regulation of prostitution. It would certainly prompt deeper reflection on the contingency of humanitarianism as a topic of historical inquiry, at least as currently constructed.

scholarly journals Re-examining the Policies in the Humanitarian Aid Sector – A Call for Greater “Value Rationality”

2015 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabithulla Khan
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Humanitarian Aid ◽  
Short Paper ◽  
Patriot Act ◽  
Conflict Zones ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
Value Rationality ◽  
Restrictive Measures

AbstractFaith-based giving in the U.S. constitutes over one-third of all charity (Giving USA, 2013). The proliferation of policy initiatives that promoted faith-based giving and giving to humanitarian aid organizations post George W Bush’s establishment of the Office of Faith-based initiatives and community Partnerships has been controversial, to say the least. But despite this, the sector has been robust. One segment of philanthropy that has been unnecessarily controversial is that of Islamic charity. With the attacks of September 11, 2001, there were a slew of legislative as well as Executive reforms that put Islamic charities under the scanner. Executive Order 13224 and the subsequent initiatives under the PATRIOT Act have reduced donations to Islamic charities, in the initial year. In this short paper, I argue that some of the restrictive measures in place – that apply to NGOs working in conflict zones – should be removed, so aid can reach the beneficiaries, so that NGOs’ offering this aid to not fear being targeted by U.S. law enforcement authorities. Given the massive refugee crisis we are witnessing, the role of Muslim NGOs in conflict zones may become crucial for long-term rehabilitation and resettlement.

You Are the One I Want to Communicate With!

2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabrina Pierucci ◽  
Olivier Klein ◽  
Andrea Carnaghi
Keyword(s):  
Memory Bias ◽  
Shared Reality ◽  
Communication Partner ◽  
Shared Reality Theory ◽  
The One ◽  
Study Participants

This article investigates the role of relational motives in the saying-is-believing effect ( Higgins & Rholes, 1978 ). Building on shared reality theory, we expected this effect to be most likely when communicators were motivated to “get along” with the audience. In the current study, participants were asked to describe an ambiguous target to an audience who either liked or disliked the target. The audience had been previously evaluated as a desirable vs. undesirable communication partner. Only participants who communicated with a desirable audience tuned their messages to suit their audience’s attitude toward the target. In line with predictions, they also displayed an audience-congruent memory bias in later recall.

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