EBOOK
Divine Money
Islam, Zakat, and Giving in Palestine
Emanuel SchaeublinSeries: Muslim Philanthropy and Civil Society(0)
About
Zakat giving or mutual aid is a sacred practice in Islam. Where government and public safety nets fail, zakat serves as a form of social security in Muslim communities. In Divine Money, Emanuel Schaeublin shows how zakat institutions and direct zakat donations function in contemporary Palestine.
Based on his ethnographic fieldwork in the city of Nablus, Schaeublin traces zakat flows as they provide critical support to households living under military rule and security surveillance. In the neighborhoods of Nablus, the Islamic tradition shapes public life. Many enact simple gifts of money of food as an expression of God's generosity and justice. How do such invocations of the divine enable people to negotiate responsibilities and tensions arising from differences in wealth in Palestinian society? What is the role of zakat in confronting political repression and economic instability?
Based on his ethnographic fieldwork in the city of Nablus, Schaeublin traces zakat flows as they provide critical support to households living under military rule and security surveillance. In the neighborhoods of Nablus, the Islamic tradition shapes public life. Many enact simple gifts of money of food as an expression of God's generosity and justice. How do such invocations of the divine enable people to negotiate responsibilities and tensions arising from differences in wealth in Palestinian society? What is the role of zakat in confronting political repression and economic instability?
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Reviews
"Divine Money is a carefully crafted ethnography of zakat (almsgiving) amid Israeli military occupation and state surveillance in Nablus, Palestine. Clearly written with close attention to the everyday, the book focuses on the intersections of divine and political economies under duress, and contributes to broader anthropological literature on charity and ethics among Muslims in and beyond the Mid
Clifford Geertz Prize Committee