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Some of the largest transnational Muslim NGOs and their country of origin
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Transnational Muslim NGOs are important actors in the field of development and humanitarian aid. Through micro-sociological
case studies, this article provides new empirical insights on the organizational identity of some of these NGOs. Using the
post 9.11. aid field as a window through which to explore transnational Muslim NGOs, the article analyz...
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During recent years coastal flooding in Mexico has increased, due to this situation, it is necessary to have alternative ways to serve the affected population. Government (G), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society organizations (CSOs) and private enterprises (PEs) are the main players involved in humanitarian aid. This aid in Mexico...
International intervention be it with the aim of humanitarian aid or peacebuilding involves a multitude of IGOs, NGOs and local agencies from ‘partner’ countries. This article analyses the problem of coordination between these organizations and starts from the question why coordination is widely supported but seldom implemented. Building on sociolo...
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... It is unlikely that elites in Gulf states were moved by the negative portrayal of Arabisation; however, these dynamics were another case which demonstrated the complex and blurred lines between support for religious causes and the potential inadvertent support for religio-political movements that might use violent tactics. Since 2005, all Gulf states have engaged in projects to regulate the functioning of charities and flow of private charitable funds to sectarian causes (Petersen, 2011). In the Malay-Indonesian world national security policy increasingly emphasized the links between non-violent and violent forms of religio-political extremism and the multitude of drivers to radicalize. ...
... At the same time, structural changes in the Philippines and Indonesia together with closer scrutiny of the charitable sector have made informal money transfers more difficult. While there is evidence that Gulf-sourced funds have ended up in the hands of Southeast Asian Jihadists (i.e, groups in the Southern Philippines), in nearly all instances, unlike the 1990s, these funds have come from private individual sources (or groups of people) and not charitable organizations or state-funded entities (Petersen, 2011). ...
This paper examines the interregional links between the Arabian Gulf region and the Malay-Indonesian world. It argues that a common sectarian identity has underscored the basis for interregional engagement in the era of modern states. Furthermore, within this context, powerful, ideologically conservative, and well-resourced Gulf states, notably Saudi Arabia, have exercised influence and been lead actors in providing humanitarian assistance and funding for religious education. While this continues to be the case, changes in the strategic environment in both regions have resulted in diversification of engagement. These changes include expanding trade relations and increased cooperation on issues associated with responses to violent extremism. There has also been a diversity of engagement between the states. Where Saudi Arabia used to dominate/lead interregional engagement, over the past decade, other Gulf states, notably Qatar and UAE, have become leaders in investment and non-sectarian development assistance. ARTICLE HISTORY
... Variations in the targeting of CSOs by state actors further limit the generalisability of the SECC framework, as scholars argue that while most CSOs have faced constraints due to CT, local and international human rights and Muslim CSOs have been disproportionately affected by CT measures (Brechenmacher 2017;Petersen 2012bPetersen , 2012aSidel 2010;Skokova, Pape, and Krasnopolskaya 2018;Howell 2014;Sidel 2010;Fowler and Sen 2010). Several factors are cited as explanations for these differences in state targeting of CSOs, including political advocacy of terrorist suspects or criticism of government CT practices; discriminatory practises that associate Islam with terrorism; CSOs that conduct humanitarian work in countries with sizeable Muslim populations or conflict zones or terrorismaffected countries (Mathews and McNeil-Willson 2021;O'Toole et al. 2016;Petersen 2012bPetersen , 2012aSidel 2010); and, in the case of Russia, organisations that are closely aligned with or receive funding from the West and engage in criticisms of government policies and practices (Skokova, Pape, and Krasnopolskaya 2018;Watson and Burles 2018). ...
... Variations in the targeting of CSOs by state actors further limit the generalisability of the SECC framework, as scholars argue that while most CSOs have faced constraints due to CT, local and international human rights and Muslim CSOs have been disproportionately affected by CT measures (Brechenmacher 2017;Petersen 2012bPetersen , 2012aSidel 2010;Skokova, Pape, and Krasnopolskaya 2018;Howell 2014;Sidel 2010;Fowler and Sen 2010). Several factors are cited as explanations for these differences in state targeting of CSOs, including political advocacy of terrorist suspects or criticism of government CT practices; discriminatory practises that associate Islam with terrorism; CSOs that conduct humanitarian work in countries with sizeable Muslim populations or conflict zones or terrorismaffected countries (Mathews and McNeil-Willson 2021;O'Toole et al. 2016;Petersen 2012bPetersen , 2012aSidel 2010); and, in the case of Russia, organisations that are closely aligned with or receive funding from the West and engage in criticisms of government policies and practices (Skokova, Pape, and Krasnopolskaya 2018;Watson and Burles 2018). ...
Although there have been attempts to theorise state-Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) relations in the Counter-Terrorism (CT) context , including the "co-option and containment" and "duality of coercion" perspectives, these two-way articulations have failed to account for the range of strategic options open to the state in regulating CSOs. This study presents the framework of Strategic Exclusion, Co-option and Containment (SECC) to underscore the general patterns of state engagement of CSOs in the context of CT. It mapped secondary evidence in 19 countries and used three illustrative case studies (Australia, Uganda and Russia) to examine the elements of SECC, namely, states' exclusion of CSOs in law and policymaking on CT, the use of strategic ambiguity in enacting and interpreting CT laws, delegitimizing or criminalising advocacy and influencing the transformation of CSOs into state adjutants. This pattern of engagement with CSOs is transforming voluntary and associational life in precarious ways. The article advances the Copenhagen School and rational-actor model of global strategic decision-making, and contributes to discourses on the closing of civic spaces, democratic recession and the resurgence of authoritarianism. It lays a foundation for generalisable theory and future empirical research on state behaviour towards CSOs in the context of violence, conflict, and security.
... For additional details, seeMansour and Ezzat 2009: pp.119-122. 5 For more information about the difficulties facing state-affiliated FBOs, seeSvoboda et al. 2015; similar case could be noticed in Human Rights Commission, seePetersen 2012Petersen -2013 For more details about the differences among various FBOs, see Clarke and Ware 2015: p.40.Khafagy Journal of International Humanitarian Action (2020) 5:13 ...
This paper analyzes Islamic FBOs’ humanitarian approaches, programs, and challenges. Politicalized religious interpretations are also on board to investigate their missionary aspects. I design my argument based on Michael Barnett and Janice Grass Stein’s assumption on the impact of social constructions on establishing sacred and secular concepts and spaces. Thus, I study the UK-based Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) and the Kuwaiti Direct Aid Society (DAS) to examine the influence of their social settings on their humanitarian experiences. My question is “do different social settings shape various humanitarian approach, although of sharing the same religious mission?” I argue that Islamic rules encourage Muslims to be religiously committed to paying charity and showing human and religious solidarity. In this regard, flexible Islamic Fiqh (jurisprudence) allows Muslima to set various socially constructed implementations of these religious commitments. Humanitarian relief is not an exception in this regard. Therefore, Islamic FBOs lay down on a continuum based on their socially constructed models which reflect different interpretations of religious texts and their applications to understanding societal issues as well as various employed strategies of these civil society actors.
... For Benthall and Bellion-Jourdan (2009), the events of 9/11 were a turning point for Muslim charities in that it caused a sharp increase in focus on all Muslim-specific organizations. Subsequently, the rise in Islamist-related terrorist activity, as well as an increase in right-wing populist politics, has created a situation where concerns over governance and accountability of religious 2 and Muslim charities 3 are becoming increasingly important (Cordier, 2009;Juul Petersen, 2012). ...
In this paper, we suggest an alternative approach to how governance could be perceived and conceptualized by considering the ethical notions of governance embedded in religious enquiry, with a specific focus on the Islamic perspective of governance. We firstly develop an ethical framework for charity governance, utilizing insight from the Islamic perspective. Secondly, we undertake an empirical study to assess the experience of governance within Islamic charity organizations. Our theoretical framework provides a comprehensive approach to viewing organizational governance with an emphasis on governance as a mechanism for working towards social justice and the public good. However, our empirical findings reveal an 'ethical gap' between the ideals of the Islamic Ethical Framework and the reality of governance practice within Muslim charity organizations. We consider the implications of these findings and outline avenues for future research.
... Indeed, by 2009 the US had a list of 500 charities under suspicion of aiding and abetting terrorism, and amongst those that have had to defend their reputation was Islamic Relief (McGreal 2006;BBC News 2010). Following on from this ordeal it has been argued by Petersen (2012) that Islamic Relief has embraced an almost 'invisible Islam', wherein its Islamic identity and ethos is secondary to mainstream development and humanitarian assistance discourse, which foregrounds poverty reduction, empowerment, rights-based approaches and the Millennium Development Goals. The aim of this approach is, according to Petersen, to allow for integration into the aid field. ...
In recent years there has been a religious turn in the development sector with the World Bank and national funding agencies in Europe and the US opening the space to Faith Based Organisations (FBOs). However, for some Islamic FBOs, this has not led to a comfortable assertion of their religious identity and mission on the world stage. Rather, in the post 9/11 environment, some Islamic FBOs have opted to develop an ‘invisible Islam’ wherein they background their religion through secularizing their language with a view to better integrating into the normative aid sector. Drawing on the work of Marie Juul Petersen and reflecting on the author’s own fieldwork on the Gülen Movement (GM), this paper will unpack this development. In doing so, it will highlight that the practice by GM is only a semantic exercise to cover its ongoing religious mission on account of continued hostility towards Islamic actors.
... Tema-tema tersebut berintegrasi dengan ‗Qurban' sebagai konsep tulen dari tradisi agama Islam yang berkaitan dengan tema-tema seperti Transnational Islamic Non-Governmental Organizations, (Kaag, 2008;Munster, 2013;Ozkan, 2009), Transnational Islamic Advocacy Networks, Transnational Islamic Movements (Munster, 2013), Transnational Islamic Activism, Transnational Faith-based Aid (Petersen, 2011;Worldwide & Hands, 2009), dan Transnational Muslim Charity (May, 2016). ...
Penelitian ini mengeksplorasi bagaimana peran Aksi Cepat Tanggap (ACT) Indonesia dan Global Qurban sebagai salah satu program unggulannya di tingkat global. ACT adalah organisasi nirlaba profesional yang memfokuskan kerja-kerja kemanusiaan akibat bencana alam dan konflik kemanusiaan. Wilayah kerja ACT di skala global diawali dengan kiprah dalam setiap tragedi kemanusiaan di berbagai belahan dunia seperti bencana alam, kelaparan dan kekeringan, konflik dan peperangan, termasuk penindasan terhadap kelompok minoritas berbagai negara. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif. Jenis penelitian ini tergolong dalam penelitian Fenomenologis yang mencari makna dari sebuah realitas sosial dari sudut pandang manusia di dalamnya—Aksi Cepat Tanggap. Penelitian ini menggunakan enam pendekatan konseptual untuk mengeksplorasi temuan-temuan penelitian diantaranya Global Qurban Aksi Cepat Tanggap dari sudut pandang (i) gerakan sosial, (ii) masyarakat internasional, (iii) pembangunan dan pengembangan, (iv) rezim dan kebijakan, (v) pemanfaatan media sosial, dan dari sudut pandang (vi) kajian jaringan advokasi transnasional. Hasil dari penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa bantuan kemanusiaan—dan juga isu-isu kemanusiaan—masih menjadi tren utama dalam dinamika organisasi transnasional. Selain itu, pemanfaatan media sosial dinilai cukup menentukan perkembangan dan kemajuan dari sebuah jaringan advokasi transnasional.
... 5. For a more nuanced analysis of the two fields, their history, actors, aid ideologies and concrete practices, refer Juul Petersen (2012aPetersen ( , 2012bPetersen ( , 2016a. For further analysis of international Muslim aid provision, refer, for example, Benthall and Bellion-Jourdan (2003), Lacey and Benthall (2014) and Clarke and Tittensor (2014). ...
Based on a case study of Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW), this article analyses organizational processes of norm translation, asking how IRW understands and employs global norms of gender equality. Approaching IRW as an organization positioned in between two different normative environments, the analysis explores the ways in which it seeks to align different sets of norms, balance between different kinds of expectations and create resonance with different audiences. In these processes, actors make use of a range of different strategies, including bridging, thinning and parallel co-existence, testifying to the complexities involved in translating organizational norms.
... Transnational Islamic charity has been studied in the context of development, mainly as part of emergent work on the connections between religion and development (De Cordier 2009;Deneulin and Rakodi 2011;Orji 2011), including studies of 5 transnational Muslim NGOs (Ozkan 2012;Petersen 2012aPetersen , 2012bRosenow-Williams and Sezgin 2014). Some authors have explicitly connected it with humanitarian engagement in times of crisis (Benthall 2008;De Cordier 2009). ...
In this article, through a case study of transnational Islamic charity, we explore the intersection between migrant development engagements and religious practices. While migrant engagement in development is well known, the intersections of these with everyday religious practices are less so. We use the prism of ‘everyday rituals’, understood as human actions that connect ideals with practices. Everyday rituals not only express but also reinforce ideals, in this case those of Islamic charity in a context of sustained migrant transnationalism. The article draws on 35 interviews about Islamic charity, transnationalism and development with practising Muslims of Pakistani origin in Oslo, Norway. We argue that everyday rituals are a useful tool for exploring the role of religion in motivating migrant development engagements. This is because they include transcendental perspectives, bridge ideals and practices that connect the contemporary to the hereafter, encompass transnational perspectives, and are attentive to the ‘here’ and ‘there’ spatially in migrants’ lives.
... Additionally, NGO activities across the world can vary in response to multiple cultural contexts, as cross-cultural social psychological studies have shown (Cinnirella & Green, 2007). Western societies might be more concerned with environmental, women's, and human rights issues (Diani, 2000), while in middle and south eastern societies, activities might be related to religious beliefs, for example, Islamic faith related to solving social problems including poverty, debt, a lack of liberty, faith, or morality (Ali & Hatta, 2014;Petersen, 2012;Yasmin, Haniffa, & Hudaib, 2013). ...
... Recently, leading scholars in the field have brought to the fore discussions on the link between organisational identity and religion, focusing especially on the role of religion in the implementation of practices of non-profit organisations (e.g., Berger, 2003;Clarke & Jennings, 2008;De Cordier, 2009;Kirmani & Khan, 2008;Petersen, 2012;Tracey, 2012). However, there are stil unexplored certain aspects of the identity-religion relationship in these organisations, and the perspective which assumes that identity is a constructed phenomenon has also generated considerable attention. ...
... That is, something is "religion" when religious meanings are ascribed to it through discourses, practices, communities, and structures (Woodhead & Heelas, 2000). For example, something is Muslim when it is constituted as such through discourses, practices, communities, and structures that are related to the traditions, rules, symbols, figures, and stories of Islam and that assert the recognition of a transcendent authority by reference to (1) Allah-an Arabic name of God, (2) the Qur'an-the holy book of Islam, composed of 114 chapters containing some 6000 verses, and (3) the Sunnah-one of the three divisions within Islam; the other two are Shia and Ibadi (Petersen, 2012). Thus, a dress, a TV serial, a food, or a specific type of marriage can be Muslim if legitimized by reference to authorities in Islam. ...
Organisations and their actions are always on an ongoing judging collective process from the society. Governmental legitimacy in democratic societies is warranted to governments through elections, making sure that they are chosen to represent the public interest. However, in case of NGOs and churches – organisations that act in the public interest - how are those organisations legitimated? We argue that the communication in the public sphere is creating a number of speech acts and talking situations that contribute to the legitimation. Moreover, the existence of this type of communication subscribes legitimacy to those organisations in a performative sense. Furthermore, the ontology of churches and NGOs is based on communication and the constitution of those social forms is only possible through communication. In that sense, we propose in this article a model that illustrates and systemizes the communication flows that contribute to legitimation, the constitution, and creation of those organisations.