Charity in Islamic Societies (review)
- Charity in Islamic Societies
This recent volume in the “Themes in Islamic History” series is an introduction to the history of charity in Islam, aimed at both scholars of Islamic societies and those interested in charity from crosscultural perspectives. Like previous volumes in the series, it works nicely on several levels. Undergraduates should find the book a very useful introduction to an aspect of Islamic societies that is rarely discussed historically. Those who are familiar with the general themes of the book, like zakat (alms) and waqf (religious endowment), will still find its broad and comparative framework very stimulating.
The first two chapters of the book cover, respectively, the legal obligation of zakat and the voluntary gifts that fall under the categories of sadaqa (voluntary charity) and waqf. Singer follows the legal distinctions, yet also de-emphasizes them. While many medieval states did not collect zakat at all, or did so in a haphazard way, voluntary alms-giving during holy days and festivals was at least as predictable and dependable as the obligatory zakat.
Among the many insights of this book is the way it links charity and patronage. Patronage, unlike charity, has been a common theme in the historiography of Islamic societies. But, as Singer argues, the difference between the concepts can be rather blurred: “in reality, all these words describe dynamic relationships that create, signal or reaffirm gradients of power” (p. 22). Since giving is also an investment in status and power, charity both indicates and forms social status.
The links between charity, patronage, and status are nicely demonstrated in Chapter 3, devoted to the biographies of individuals famous for charitable works. For example, Ibn Muzaffar, a 13th century ruler of Irbil, invested resources in Sufi lodges rather than in madrasas (schools), indicating a shift in forms of patronage compared to his Seljuk predecessors. Also highlighted here is the special significance of charity for elite women, for whom the foundation of a charitable institution offered a role in public life.
The following chapter, on the recipients of charity, similarly demonstrates that charity needs to be understood within the context of patronage networks and solidarity groups. The “outsider poor” were often excluded, or, as in the case of some of the Ottoman public kitchens, got less food. Because charity, patronage, and status were so closely related, an individual could often be both a recipient and a donor.
For the most part, the volume takes a thematic approach rather than a chronological one. The reason, undoubtedly, is the paucity of detailed studies for the medieval era (in fact, Adam Sabra’s study of poverty and charity in Mamluk Cairo is the only monograph), and the consequent inevitable reliance on the Ottoman records with which [End Page 342] the author is intimately familiar. The risk is that some important differences across time and space are glossed over, such as the collection of zakat under Saladin and the emergence of professional beggars’ associations.
On the other hand, the final chapter picks up the chronological narrative very rewardingly in its discussion of the reform efforts during the last two centuries. In the 19th century, the pre-modern tradition of “decentralized agglomeration of independent relief nodes” (p. 183) was replaced with centralized and bureaucratic distribution by the state. Singer never idealizes the past, but still draws on 19th century observers to demonstrate the corrupting and alienating aspects of this shift. Viewed in this historical perspective, the re-emergence of decentralized charity in the form of Muslim international associations is indeed a valuable revival of tradition by means of new technologies.
What the book does best is to drive home the central role of charity in the social and religious life of Muslim societies, both past and present. The author directly and unreservedly rebuts perceptions of contemporary Muslim charity as a cover for radicalism and violence. But the book does much more than that. We all know that zakat is one of the pillars of...
