Muslim NGOs are continuously expanding their field of activities to various areas, including education, medical services, environment, aging societies, gender issues, and inter-religious dialogue. They are visible in an urban slum in Pakistan, rural development in Indonesia, and even in Fukushima in Japan to distribute hot meals among the affected people. Muslim NGOs have become a global phenomenon. Though there have been many studies on "political Islam", only a few approaches to broaden our understanding of Muslim NGOs have appeared. NGOs in the Muslim World brings together contributors familiar with the local language who have each been engaged with fieldwork for many years. Based on empirical anthropological and sociological studies in Japan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, and Jordan, they explore key issues concerning the role and work of Muslim NGOs, from the inspirations Muslims take from holy texts to the religious expectations of volunteers devoting their time to charitable causes. The book discusses the relationship of Muslim organizations with Islamic institutions, as well as their interpretations of the contemporary issues faced by NGOs within a specifically Islamic framework. As a result, NGOs in the Muslim World provides fresh insight into Muslims’ faith-based initiatives concerning contemporary issues. This book will be of interest to students and scholars from diverse disciplines including anthropology, sociology, political science and history, as well as Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies.

A discussion of how Muslim NGOs function and their global impact in disaster relief and development.

There are 1.6 billion Muslims in the world, represented on the world stage by 57 states, as well as a host of international organizations and associations. This book critically examines the engagement of these states in systems of global governance and with a variety of policy regimes, including climate change, energy, migration, humanitarian aid, international financial institutions, research and education. Chapters explore the dynamics of this engagement, the contributions to global order, the interests pursued and some of the contradictions and tensions within the Islamic world, and between that world and the ‘West’. An in-depth perspective is provided about the traditional and new forms of multilateralism and the policy spaces formed which provide new opportunities for the Muslim and non-Muslim world alike.

This book addresses the discourses, agendas and actions of Muslim faith-based organizations and activists to empower Muslim communities in contemporary sub-Saharan Africa. The individual chapters discuss how traditional Muslim welfare and charity institutions, zakat (obligatory or mandatory almsgiving), sadaqa (voluntary almsgiving and donations) and waqf (pious endowments), are used to improve social welfare, focusing on instrumentalization and institutionalization in the collection and distribution of zakat. The book includes case studies from West Africa (Ghana, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Senegal), the Horn of Africa (Somalia) and East Africa (Kenya and Tanzania), highlighting the role and interplay of local, national and international Sunni, Shia and Ahmadiyya Muslim faith-based organizations and NGOs. Chapters "Muslim NGOs, Zakat and the Provision of Social Welfare in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Introduction" and "Discourses on Zakat and Its Implementation in Contemporary Ghana" are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

This volume focuses on Islamic thinking, activism, and politics in both the West and the Middle East.

As America struggles to understand Islam and Muslims on the world stage, one concept in particular dominates public discourse: Islamism. References to Islamism and Islamists abound in the media, in think tanks, and in the general study of Islam, but opinions vary on the differences of degree and kind among those labeled Islamists. This book debates what exactly is said when we use this contentious term in discussing Muslim religion, tradition, and social conflict. Two lead essays offer differing viewpoints: Donald K. Emmerson argues that Islamism is a useful term for a range of Muslim reform movements—very few of which advocate violence—while Daniel M. Varisco counters that the public specter of violence and terrorism by Islamists too often infects the public perceptions of Islam more generally. Twelve commentaries, written by Muslim and non-Muslim intellectuals, enrich the debate with differing insights and perspectives.

The Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) is the Muslim world's only intergovernmental body-the largest such system operating outside of the United Nations. This is the first history of the OIC.