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European and North American Fairtrade labelling bodies, non-governmental organisations and various faith-based organisations have all been instrumental in promoting fair trade. Indeed, for ethical and moral reasons, many Christian faith-based organisations have adopted a clear and unequivocal position in support of fair trade.6 Is an Islamic perspective on fair trade also supportive? Do Islamic principles and teachings encourage Muslim organisations to be equally active? And does an Islamic perspective provide additional insights? In order to address these questions, this paper presents an Islamic perspective on fair trade. It does this by outlining the key principles upon which fair trade is based, [...]

Development in a nation is keyed to “development” among the country’s female population, as correlations between improvements for women, such as higher school enrollment and completion rates, and improvements for the society overall, such as lower birth and infant mortality rates continue to emerge. When development among women education, health, role in society, legal status, etc.) is progressing, it drives a wide variety of other positive developments for the society as a whole. Office http://www.islamic-relief.me/ Citation Islamic Relief - Iraq. (2011). Educated Women Educated Nation. Available:http://www.islamic-relief.me/

Understanding poverty as a poverty of assets is to recognise that poor people have a diverse set of physical, human, social, and environmental assets. Assets can be tangible or potential and material or social, and individuals, households and communities can draw from them in times of need or crisis. A shortfall in these assets results in individuals living in poverty. Poverty as a breach of human rights is often understood, not as a form of poverty, but as a strategy through which poverty alleviation can be based on international law. Many agencies apply this notion through a Rights-Based Approach (RBA). RBAs [...]

Understanding poverty as a poverty of assets is to recognise that poor people have a diverse set of physical, human, social, and environmental assets. Assets can be tangible or potential and material or social, and individuals, households and communities can draw from them in times of need or crisis. A shortfall in these assets results in individuals living in poverty. Poverty as a breach of human rights is often understood, not as a form of poverty, but as a strategy through which poverty alleviation can be based on international law. Many agencies apply this notion through a Rights-Based Approach (RBA). RBAs [...]

The principle of giving charity is one that spans all cultures and religious faiths and is an important means of establishing a social safety net for the poor. A general definition of ‘charity’ is: “a voluntary giving of money or other help to those in need” (Bentley, Webber and Hall-Russell 1999). Oftentimes, charitable giving is motivated by people’s religious beliefs. This report highlights the strong connection between religious belief and the notion of charity. This is an important aspect of all of the major world religions, including Islam. The purpose of this paper is to shed light on some of the [...]

The modern humanitarian principles of saving lives and alleviating poverty are divinely entrenched in the teachings of Islam; according to the Qur’an, saving a life is like saving the whole of humanity.1 Inspired by these teachings, acts of charity, concern for others and the provision of social welfare have played an integral role in Muslim societies for the last 1400 years. This document provides a brief historical overview of humanitarianism in the Muslim world and in doing so demonstrates the centrality of humanitarian principles in Islam. Office http://policy.islamic-relief.com Citation Arqub,M & Philips (2010). A Brief History of Humanitarism in The Muslim [...]

Islamic Relief is a faith-based member of today’s relief and development community. To reflect both our roots and our contemporary nature, this policy looks at trade in the context of both poverty alleviation and Islamic economic values. It then stipulates what Islamic Relief will do, in terms of its programmes and projects, to utilise the opportunities that trade offers in order to circumvent the constraints of the current global trade system on poor and vulnerable groups, and to advocate for a fairer world. Office http://policy.islamic-relief.com Citation Islamic Relief Worldwide (2009). Islamic Relief Trade Policy. Islamic Relief Worldwide, Birmingham, UK.

Islamic Relief seeks to alleviate the poverty and suffering of the poorest people and, as such, must do what it can to remove the root causes of poverty. One of these root causes is international debt. Islam condemns both exploitation and the concentration of wealth. As loans have the risk of causing both, they should be issued with caution, and lenders and borrowers should share the risk of the loan. Usury is not allowed as it tends to aggravate indebtedness. Unfortunately, the international banking system does not work in line with these principles. Instead, the bulk of the loans that have [...]

From disaster response to DRR With news of floods, tsunamis, earthquakes, cyclones and many other catastrophic events often dominating our television nowadays, it appears that the incidence and impact of natural disasters has risen dramatically over the last few decades. A combination of population growth and climate change has put additional pressure on resources and created new hazards that traditional mechanisms cannot cope with. New ideas and initiatives are needed in just about every sector of development to reduce the hazards that disasters pose for the poor. Can inclusive finance tools, particularly those inspired by the Shari'a, be a powerful addition [...]

Pakistan, in recent years, has witnessed mounting levels of both external debt and domestic debt. The position with respect to external debt servicing depends upon the growth of exports and home remittances and containment of the current account deficits in the balance of payments. Despite growth of 6 percent in exports and 23 percent in home remittances during the first eight months of 2011-12, the current account deficit has widened to $3.0 billion as compared to $0.2 billion in the corresponding period of last year. On top of this the financial account of the balance of payments has turned negative due [...]