MUHUM

Muslim Humanitarianism – short MUHUM – is a platform that seeks to foster debate on the complex relationship between charity, philanthropy, humanitarianism, development and Islam.

In anthropological and historical discussions about the emergence of humanitarian thought much emphasis is put on the global, and often violent, spread of “originally” Christian or Western ideas. This approach is countered by studies that underline the existence of alternative humanitarian genealogies that are rooted in the religions and philosophies of non-Western societies. Yet to what extent do such broad civilizational classifications withstand the force of fine-grained ethnographic and historical investigation? Which political and ideological positions exert influence on the existing takes on humanitarianism? And how – methodologically and theoretically – might one approach the concerns at hand?

For an overview of ongoing debates on MUHUM have a look at the proceedings of a workshop on Muslim Humanitarianism, held at The Graduate Geneva in May 2019:

Introduction: Muslim Humanitarianism #MUHUM (Till Mostowlansky)

A Note on Humanitarian Terminology #MUHUM (Jonathan Benthall)

Theorizing Humanitarianism for an Islamic Counterpublic #MUHUM (Basit Iqbal)

Reflections  on a Theory of Zakat #MUHUM (Christopher Taylor)

Saudi Arabia, Humanitarian Aid and Knowledge Production: What Do We Really Know? #MUHUM (Nora Derbal)

The Egyptian Red Crescent in the Twentieth Century #MUHUM (Esther Moeller)

A Postcolonial Civic? Shi’i Philanthropy and the Making and Marking of Urban Space in Mumbai #MUHUM (Radhika Gupta)

At Odds With the Impulse: Muslim Humanitarianism and its Exclusions in Northern Pakistan #MUHUM (Emma Varley)

Islam, Humanitarianism and Everyday Religion #MUHUM (Filippo Osella)

Muslim Humanitarianism: An Afterword #MUHUM (Julie Billaud)

Taking the perspectives of anthropology and history MUHUM continues to invite fresh contributions on Muslim humanitarianism, development, philanthropy and charity, on how Muslim institutions, networks and individuals negotiate these concepts and on how they thereby foster manifold social, spatial and material transformations.