Philanthropy, Governance, and Muslim Charitable Practices in India
In many countries, various religious associations are often involved in the provision of social care and services, alongside the State and secular non-governmental organizations. However, these religious groups do not necessarily share the same distributive logics, such as regarding beneficiary selection criteria. For example, among Muslims, there is disagreement about whether non-Muslims can benefit from the zakat, the obligatory religious alms that Muslims must give to the poorest. How are such donations practices framed in modern secular states, and what implications this has on their legitimation? This article addresses these questions by discussing the legislative measures that apply to charities in North India and the various ways in which Indian Muslim philanthropic organizations adapt their distributive practices. By examining how Muslim organizations navigate between the demands of the state and their own principles regarding the use and distribution of donations, this article investigates the power relations between the state and religious groups and demonstrates how the regulation of religion is shaping new forms of mutual aid.