Private Islamic Charity and Approaches to Poverty Reduction

This project investigates the relationship between religion and development by studying how private Islamic charity relates to poverty reduction. The project has a specific focus on gender as well as the transnational dimensions of these practices, studied in the context of Punjab, Pakistan and the 'Pakistani diaspora' in Oslo, Norway. The project addresses the questions: How does Islamic charity, as ideals and practices, influence initiatives to reduce poverty' How do Muslims organize their engagement for poverty reduction? What role does gender play? What is the role of the diaspora in poverty reduction in country of origin? There has been little focus on these questions in traditional development research. By studying approaches to poverty reduction in Islam, we aim at contributing new knowledge to the debate. Main findings from the project in 2014 Few studies have paid attention to the social networks and less formal, looser forms of organizations through which migrants give charity and by extension contribute to 'development'. In our research on Muslim migrants' charitable practices we find that the way Islamic charity is organized takes many forms, including formal Non-Governmental Organizations and Faith Based Organizations, but that a lot is happening in ways that are much less formal. In the diaspora mosques facilitates collection of charity, particularly around Islamic festivals like Eid. Informal Women's groups use Quran classes to collect charity, sending it to individuals and organizations in Pakistan and elsewhere. Transnational relations, family and kin based, but also other social, religious and political networks, emerge as important. Islamic charity is very concrete transnational practices that link people in Pakistan and the diaspora. Islamic charity is transferred between individuals, from individuals to organizations, or sent collectively to individuals or organizations. Islamic charity can be conceived of as a subset of economic remittances. But not only money is transferred, also 'social remittances' - ideas, norms, values and behavior - are exchanged and negotiated in the transnationals social field, revealing the interrelatedness between economic and social remittances. While people traditionally have channeled their alms through family and kin in Pakistan, Islamic charity in the diaspora is changing, taking on more organized forms. Internationally we see the emergences of big Muslim NGOs like Islamic Relief and Muslim Aid in the UK, in the Norwegian context in the growth of organizations like Minhaj Welfare Foundation and Rahma Islamic Relief Trust in Norway. These are organizations that have in common that they are funded primarily by Muslims? private charitable donations. People change their practice from giving to individuals to also giving collectively to more organized efforts; and from giving to traditional charity activities such as food aid and emergency relief, to also support project with longer term development perspectives, with the aim of helping people out of poverty. These changes also affect the transnational social field, where changing ideas about charity and development translate into negotiations within families and organizations about how to achieve societal and individual improvement and what 'improvement', or 'development' means.

Understanding private Islamic approaches to poverty reduction is key to addressing the huge development challenges in Muslim societies. Yet, these approaches have received scant attention in traditional development research. Through a focus on private Isl amic charity approaches to poverty reduction in Pakistan, this project will provide a critical examination of basic assumptions about Islamic charity and contribute new insights to the international development debate. Four research questions guide the pr oject: RQ 1) How do private Islamic charity actors in Pakistan and in the diaspora view poverty reduction? RQ 2) How are the views of private Islamic charity actors reflected in actual poverty reduction practices? RQ 3) How are gender roles and issues of gender equity reflected and addressed by private Islamic development agents? RQ 4) In what way is private Islamic charity, with the aim of poverty reduction in the country of origin, practiced among the diaspora? This will allow for an exploration of the role of religion in motivating, as well as organizing, development and poverty reduction initiatives, both locally and transnationally. By analyzing concrete examples of private Islamic charity approaches to poverty reduction the project will contribute m ore general insights about how the normative underpinnings of religion influence the potential for development. The proposed project will be empirically based, using a range of qualitative methods including semi-structured interviews, focus groups, partic ipant observation and narratives. Data collection will take place in Pakistan and Norway, adopting a multi-sited approach. The main project partner will be the Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, ensuring collaboration with research environments in the So uth. The project will result in five peer-reviewed journal articles. The project will seek interaction across the divide between established development actors and Islamic charity actors in Norway and Pakistan.