Building a House in Heaven: Pious Neoliberalism and Islamic Charity in Egypt

2. Managing Poverty and Islam

The egyptian state has influenced Islamic charitable practices over the years through two major interventions: first, poverty-alleviation initiatives(includingeconomicdevelopmentpolicies)thatinstitutionalized and reformed social care, and, second, intervention in Islamic entities.1 Together these interventions produced an environment where Islamic associations played a critical role in development as well as in producing pious political subjects. Under Hosni Mubarak, the state was an amalgam of neoliberal economic policies, authoritarian technologies of rule, and antiterrorism security campaigns aimed at Islamists.2 Here I historicize the practices of the state that led to an increase in the number and importance of Islamic associations while producing a disabling working environment for NGOs. The proliferation of NGOs is part of the “state effect” by which the state became inextricably linked to a wide network of institutions involved in governing.3 Over the course of a century, social care for the poor moved from private endowments to a centralized state-led effort and then reverted to a local scale. While the state remained heavily involved in health care and education, the role of NGOs increased over time. As the state became the manager and regulator of NGOs, it became involved in the regulation of personal, political, and civic conduct in Egypt. I employ a genealogical analysis in order to shed light on how particular interventions became normalized, and I will trace the history or evolution of practices to construct a fuller picture of the state. Institutionalizing Social Care The nineteenth century marked the emergence of state-initiated forms of social care that differed from previous Islamic institutions. Although these public services began as a way for Muhammad Ali (who reigned from 1805to1848)toensurethehealthofhismilitary,theysoonextendedtothe public at large. Muhammad Ali, considered the founder of modern Egypt, • CHAPTER 2 • Managing Poverty and Islam • 29 • established a strong centralized state bureaucracy and military with a focus on modernization and integration into the international economy.4 Secular government-sponsored and foreign schools changed the education system, once dominated by al-Azhar’s religious schools.5 Much like the nineteenth century in Europe, the first part of the twentieth century markedthebeginningofsecularized,centralized,andbureaucratizedsocial care in Egypt. Yet an Islamic charitable framework remained the bedrock ofsocialcare.Anewrangeofgovernment-appointedofficialsimplemented modernizing reforms like the formation of the Dabtiyya (central police department), which resembled the emergence of the police in Europe.6 Mine Ener argues that the Dabtiyya facilitated the care of people in need, including poor children, but also acted as a disciplinary institution.7 Government initiatives focused on managing the population, including public health and poor relief, working through schools, insane asylums, prisons, hospitals, and poorhouses. The nineteenth century marked the beginning of the exercise of moral and technical authority by philanthropists in Europe,8 and the beginning of state and philanthropic management of the poor in Egypt, as supervision became an important technique of state rule.9 The state became involved in defining the deserving poor, placing the state at the center of charitable giving. The deserving poor included the elderly, invalids, single women, and mothers with small children. The government provided assistance to orphans and widows of soldiers and supported religious clerics, the poor, and others deemed deserving of assistance.10 The charitable sector was dominated by foreign societies, private voluntary organizations (PVOs), and missionary work from the late 1800s through the turn of the century.11 Christian missionaries infiltrated Egypt from 1815, establishing schools and charity associations. Despite political independence, Egypt’s economy remained controlled by the Europeans until Nasser’s reform of the 1950s. The elite expatriate community was largeandinfluentialandtheirPVOsprovidedmaterialsupportforthepoor. Many charitable organizations subsequently were established in reaction to colonization and the presence of foreign and missionary activities. A trait distinguishing contemporary charities (defined as late-nineteenthand twentieth-century) from their predecessors was that a “new local bourgeoisie ,”ratherthanreligiousclericsorelders,establishedthenewcharities.12 The first Egyptian PVO, Gameyat al Maaref, a publishing organization, was established in 1868, followed by the Geographical Society in 1875, the Islamic Benevolent Society in 1878, and the Coptic Benevolence Society 30 MANAGING POVERTY AND ISLAM in 1891.13 During this period, zoos, parks, restaurants, conservatories, libraries, museums, theaters, and sporting clubs were built; the national theater opened in 1868, followed by the opera house in 1869.14 Prior to the British occupation, there were only two Islamic associations; however, the imperial context spurred the growth of Islamic organizations. Anticolonial sentiments spurred the establishment of a new generation of Egyptian-led philanthropic organizations from 1936...