Islamic Charity: How Charitable Giving Became Seen as a Threat to National Security

Description

Since 9/11 and the global War on Terror, practitioners of Islam in Europe and beyond have been scrutinised and surveyed under suspicion of disloyalty and as potential disrupters of national social cohesion. Seemingly benign, altruistic practices, such as charity, are viewed as potential threats to national security and have increasingly become subject to counter-terrorism policies. This work seeks to critically assess the assumptions behind the lesser-known financial War on Terror, through exploration of the effects of current policies on Muslim charitable practices in the UK. The consequences of current policies are multi-faceted - from the stigmatization and suspicion of Muslim charities and communities, individual loss of status and financial standing, to a decrease of living standards and/or loss of lives. Engaging with the everyday socio-political activities of Muslim individuals, this book gives voice to the motivations, apprehensions and challenges faced by Muslim charitable practitioners. A must read for anyone wanting to challenge policy assumptions behind increased surveillance of charities and individual donors, whilst outlining the repercussions of current policies on Muslim individuals and charities.

Samantha May is a lecturer in the department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Aberdeen, UK.

This is the first book-length study of Muslim charities in Britain, a sector whose collective annual income exceeds GBP400 million per year and growing. As a political scientist, Samantha May provides an incisive rebuttal of unjustified attacks on the sector, and documents not only the services it provides, both domestically and abroad, but also its underestimated contribution to social cohesion in Britain. * Jonathan Benthall, Author of Islamic Charities and Islamic Humanism in Troubled Times (2016 *