The Charitable Crescent: Politics of Aid in the Muslim World

This is a unique and original survey of Middle Eastern and Muslim charity groups, their work, and their links to the political firmament within the Islamic world today. It explains the conflict between two trends: the tradition of philanthropy of Muslim societies on the one hand, and the demands of politics on the other. In the process the authors identify a number of issues: who is entitled to benefit from Muslim alms? What are the priorities? What should be the relations between charitable institutions and the state? What account must the organizers of charity give to the public? And who is entitled to interpret Islamic doctrine?