E-Library

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 [...]

Corruption can be triggered by forms of institutional inefficiency; bureaucracy, political instability, and weak legislative and judicial systems (Mauro, 1998:12). It affects governance and the effectiveness of public services; it affects infrastructure and development priorities, and it undermines the principles of justice, equality and accountability, deepening institutional inefficiency. This leads to a distortion of social harmony, trust, ethics and the value system of society. The paper begins by presenting the implications and definition of corruption, it then explores the relationships between the concepts of justice, corruption and accountability in Islamic teachings and how these oblige Muslims to fight corruption and advocate [...]

This paper relies on the primary sources of knowledge in Islam, Quran and Sunnah (practice and sayings of Prophet Muhammad . PBUH) to identify the key principles and core values of that underpin Islamic views on development, poverty reduction, human rights and advocacy. It will attempt to define these concepts from an Islamic point of view and present an outline of some of the tools and approaches that are provided by Islam to address them. Office http://policy.islamic-relief.com/ Citation Aminu-Kano, M (2014). An Islamic Perspective on Human Development, Islamic Relief Worldwide, Birmingham, [Online] Available: http://policy.islamic-relief.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Human-Development-in-Islam.pdf

HIV & AIDS In November 2007, Islamic Relief hosted a five-day conference on Islam and HIV & AIDS in Johannesburg, South Africa. Learn more about the pandemic that is currently affecting nearly 40 million people in every continent of the world, with about four million new people infected every day. Office www.irusa.org Citation Islamic Relief USA. (2008). Partnership (Spring 2008) Available: http://www.irusa.org/content/uploads/2011/08/Partnership_spring_08.pdf

As part of Islamic Relief’s work in providing psychosocial programmes aimed at alleviating the trauma and scars of displaced Syrian children due the ongoing violence in Syria, our team in Lebanon organised a belated Eid-ul-Adha entertainment day for Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Office http://policy.islamic-relief.com/ Citation Islamic Relief Worldwide (2012). Belated Eid Celebrations for Syrian Refugee Children. Islamic Relief Worldwide, Birmingham, [Online] Available: http://policy.islamic-relief.com/downloads/549-Belated%20Eid%20Celebrat.pdf