Kaja Borchgrevink, Marta Bivand Erdal and
Kristian Berg Harpviken, PRIO
Private Islamic
Charity and
Approaches to
Poverty Reduction
NORGLOBAL Dissemination Seminar
25 October 2011
Peace Research Institute Oslo
Why this study?
Religion and development - scant
attention in traditional development
research
Islamic charity actors - typically
excluded from conventional analysis
Focus on gender and diaspora
within the Islamic charity sector –
understudied
Understanding of the norms and
networks in Islamic contexts –
relevant in other contexts
Minhaj Wellfare Foundation
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Case study from Pakistan
Considerable poverty challenges
Religiously prescribed practices
recognized as central to poverty reduction
among both state and non-state actors
A sizable faith-based private charity sector
has developed
The Islamic charity sector reflects the
diverse Islamic landscape in Pakistan
Photos: Al Khidmat Khawateen, Minhaj Welfare Foundation,
Reuters/Akram Shahid
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Focus, approach and choice of method
1) A focus on private Islamic charity approaches to poverty reduction
in Pakistan and in the Pakistani diaspora
2) A focus on female Islamic activists – as ‘development agents’ –
involved in private Islamic charities in Pakistan and the diaspora.
• Explore the role of religion in development and poverty reduction,
both locally and transnationally
• Analyze concrete examples
• Focus on ‘descriptive ethics’ – the normative orientation expressed
through practice, not codified ethics in text
• Develop a typology (relations to gov’t, ideology, politics, mode of
organization, funding, type of activities )
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Research questions
RQ 1) How do private Islamic charity actors in Pakistan and in the
diaspora view poverty reduction?
RQ 2) How are the views of private Islamic charity actors reflected in
actual poverty reduction practices?
RQ 3) How are gender roles and issues of gender equity reflected and
addressed by private Islamic ‘development agents’?
RQ 4) In what way is private Islamic charity, with the aim of poverty
reduction in the country of origin, practiced among the diaspora?
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Data collection and analysis
The proposed project will be an empirically based, qualitative study
Data collection will take place mainly in Pakistan, but also in Norway,
adopting a multi-sited approach
• In total, the data for this project will consist of 50 semi-structured
interviews and 10 focus groups
• A selection of the informants in Pakistan will be re-visited and
engaged to comment on tentative findings
Method
Interviews
Focus group
RQ1
RQ2
RQ3
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RQ4
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Observation
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Narratives
Location
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Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan and Norway
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Thank you
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
Peace Research Institute Oslo