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6. Islamic “Life Makers” and Faith-Based Development
- University of Minnesota Press
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A sad young man sits alone in a dark room filled with cobwebs. There may be a prayer mat, as he may be praying, or there may be playing cards, games, or some other worthless things. Anyway, he is a sad young man sitting alone in his room. We came to him and asked him why he was sitting alone in a dark room, we gestured him toward the light and convinced him to get out with us, to venture into life, to be successful and help us in “Making Life.” This was actually what the first three introductory episodes were about. When the young man tried to get up, he could not. He found that his hands were chained by negativity and lack of responsibility. His feet were chained by carelessness, and there was a very heavy chain around his neck, it was the lack of a goal in life! We told him that he would not be able to get up unless he frees himself from all these chains and shackles! We started the first phase, the current one, which is freeing ourselves from the chains. The chains started to break. He got up and freed his hands and found himself moving, and he wanted to get out of his room, but we stopped him, and that is the second phase. How will he succeed in life, gain self-confidence and discover his talents? He sprang ahead filled with hope, determination and a sense of success. He even tore down the door instead of merely opening it. He found a world full of light, a country that needs to be built. He was pleased with himself, but he was alone. Suddenly he found many young men and women, just like him, coming out from their dark rooms, and they all joined him in “Making Life.” We told them to coexist like one team, and succeed together. This will be the third phase, and this is how we will make life. This is a story presented in a lecture by Amr Khaled, the most prominent character in a transnational Islamic revival that calls on youth to establish • CHAPTER 6 • Islamic “Life Makers” and Faith-Based Development • 135 • faith-based development organizations (FBDOs) across the Middle East.1 He preaches in colloquial Arabic and Egyptian slang, coupling motivational speeches filled with emotional stories of Prophet Mohammed with a participatory call-and-response model. Khaled uses stories like this one to foster an Islamic revival (nahda). His sermons inspired many youth to become involved in khayr through volunteerism. His website is the third most popular Arabic site in the Middle East and in 2005 it got more hits worldwide than Oprah Winfrey’s site.2 He is known as “the cool preacher, the Islamist in jeans who knows how to talk to young people in a language they understand.”3 In his lecture on youth and the summertime, he asked, “Does Islam allow having fun? Yes! We want you to be merry, we want you to have fun and to laugh. We want you to play, swim, and be happy, but without sinning!” He uses sayings of the Prophet to mobilize youth to give charity. “The Prophet (SAWS)4 says ‘charity eliminates Allah’s anger the same way water extinguishes fire.’ This means that by opening your closet and giving away the clothes, Allah (SWT)5 will forgive all your bad deeds, because you gave away and spent for charity.”6 Khaled’s appeal lies in how seamlesslyheblendsreligion,self-reliance,andbusinessprinciples—aclear articulation of pious neoliberal subjectivity. He particularly appeals to the well-to-do Egyptians who desire a spiritual and fulfilling life that does not shun materialism and consumerism. For Khaled and his followers, the best model of success is capitalism melded with Islamic social values. Using management science and self-help rhetoric, Khaled calls upon Muslims to “do something good” and, in the process, promotes volunteerism and entrepreneurship as religious acts. His approach embodies pious neoliberalism, the discursive combination of religion and economic rationales that encourages individuals to be proactive and entrepreneurial in the interest of furthering their relationship to God. The production of pious neoliberal subjectivities is partially undertaken by FBDOs; the organizations featured here couple self-help and management-science rhetoric with religion in their quest to participate in the development process in Egypt. Combined, the language espoused by Khaled and the work of the FBDOs discussed here embodies pious neoliberal subjectivity. This chapter illustrates how Khaled...