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Travelers’ tips from Ibn Battuta – A fourteenth century itinerant traveler
If someone has traveled over 70,000 miles in the 14th century, by land and sea; one can safely assume that this person knows a thing or two about travel and life, in general. Added to this, if one happens to be a religious scholar, who has access to Sultans and Princes around the world, then […]
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How to overcome cultural barriers to philanthropy?
Doing good is not easy. In today’s globalized world, where different values, norms, cultural attitudes towards life are coming together and interacting there is bound to be friction, misunderstanding when it comes to what it means to do good, and the intentionality of the acts themselves. In the field of philanthropy, this is markedly so, […]
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Is American Philanthropy exceptional?
Is American philanthropy exceptional? As the most generous country in the world (by some counts) is the U.S. unique in the way that it advocates and practices charity? While the U.S. remains one of the most creative, dynamic, and trendsetting countries when it comes to charitable giving, is it true that unique? On the surface, […]
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Innovations in Philanthropy: Community Foundations and Faith-based organizations undergoing a radical shift
“There hasn’t been any ‘innovation’ in Islamic philanthropy in the last 1400 years,” said Reza Aslan, a scholar of religion and founder of ‘Zakatability,’ a startup that is aiming at efficient zakat distribution through online technologies. His organization is all set to change this, using a combination of traditional norms and modern technologies. While one […]
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Dinner with an M.B. supporter- Democracy in the Middle East (DIME) #1
As everyone was preparing for the end of Ramadhan in the U.S, I was busy moving into a new apartment, close to the mosque on North Main Street in Blacksburg. Among other things, this new location gives me access to the mosque and also a grocery store. I am thankful for this, and to test […]
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” Jamsetji Tata established his philanthropic foundation in India before even that of Carnegie,” – John Godfrey.
John Godfrey is a PhD Candidate at the Swinburne University of Technology, Australia, exploring High Net Worth Philanthropy in India. In this short interview, he explains how he got interested in studying Philanthropy in India, its dimensions – social, cultural and religions and how, if at all, it differs from Western notions of giving. […]
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Why Study Philanthropy? – conversations in philanthropy #6
Many people are asking me this question these days. While it may seem rhetorical, the answer is as plan at the question : because it matters. Private philanthropy in the U.S is in the range of around $ 316.23 billion from individuals, corporations and foundations. This is more than the combined GDP of Nepal, Sri […]
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Studying Muslim Philanthropy in America – Conversations in Philanthropy #4
As a student of philanthropy and specifically, Muslim/ Arab American giving, I am constantly struck by how little information there is, on the various aspects of giving. Despite a formidable 1400 years of history, there are not even 14 books that deal with the social, cultural, economic aspects of giving among Muslims, in a scholarly […]
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Rambam’s reminder during Ramadhan – Conversations in Philanthropy # 2
Rabbi Maimonides, or Rambam as he is popularly known was one of the foremost Jewish scholar, who lived in Islamic Spain in the 13th century. He was born in Cordoba, present day Spain, during the Almoravid Empire in 11135 AD and died in Egypt in December 1204. He was a Rabbi, preacher, physician. Rambam is […]
