MITTERMAIER-2014 - Beyond compassion-AE

Page 1: Introduction to Islamic Voluntarism

Overview of Resala

• Resala: Egypt's largest volunteer-driven charity organization.

• Activities: Includes food distribution in slums, visiting orphanages.

• Islamic Voluntarism: Volunteers articulate a distinctly Islamic approach to giving, contrasting with Christian perspectives on suffering and secular altruism.

Context of Research

• The author reflects on their intention to study Islamic ethics of giving, stemming from inspiration observed in Canada.

• Dr. Sherif: Founder of Resala; inspired by Canadian volunteerism during his studies in Kingston.

• Believes volunteering fosters self-worth, builds civil society, and cultivates compassion among youth in Egypt.

• Addresses the challenges faced by Egyptian youth, such as unemployment and apathy.

Volunteers' Perspectives

• Volunteers express that their actions are driven by more than just compassion; they invoke religious duty in their altruism.

• Islam and Giving: The study indicates a multilayered ethics that challenges the conventional relationship between compassion and voluntarism.

Page 2: The Essence of Islamic Voluntarism

Emergence of Multilayered Ethics

• Volunteers embed their actions in a complex spiritual economy that challenges conventional notions of altruism.

• Reference to Lara Deeb's work on Shi‘i Beirut, emphasizing intertwined motivations of belief and humanitarianism.

• Fieldwork Insights: Conducted between 2010-2012 at Resala, reflecting a time of political upheaval and existential reorientation for many young Egyptians.

The Political and Religious Landscape

• Resala's Name: Meaning 'message'; reflects its foundational goal of promoting a message of volunteering, not necessarily religious proselytization.

• Ethical Giving: Volunteers’ contributions are often framed as expressions of their relationship with God, complicating typical humanitarian narratives centered on compassion.

• Examines how Christian models of compassion are contrasted with Islamic frameworks, arguing for a rejection of compassion as merely a liberal humanist construct.

Concept of Compassion in Arabic

• No exact translation of 'compassion' in Arabic; alternatives include kindness (t ¯ıba) and good deeds (‘amal al-khayr).

• Discusses how compassion is framed within volunteer narratives around the 2011 uprising in Egypt, leveraging social conscience in response to suffering.

Page 3: Critique of Charity and Compassion

Anthropology's Perspective on Suffering

• Critique on how anthropologists are often caught in reflecting compassion while critiquing the very concept.

• Resala volunteers present a counter-narrative to typical humanitarian actions, suggesting a disruptive view of compassion through religious obligation instead of merely human connection.

• Duty vs. Altruism: The shift from viewing good deeds as moral virtues to understanding them as religious duties inherent to Islam; emphasizes obedience to God's commands.

Historical Context of Charity in Egypt

• Evolution of NGOs in Egypt since the mid-19th century; state withdrew from many social service roles, increasing reliance on charitable organizations.

• Neoliberal implications on charity suggest a growing dependence on volunteer efforts to supplement state responsibilities, exploring cases both within and outside Egypt.

Page 4: The Role of Religion in Volunteering

Volunteer Demographics

• Resala’s volunteers are mainly young, often from working-class backgrounds, actively involved in charitable acts despite various political views and affiliations.

• Religious rhetoric is prevalent among volunteers; various sources of Islamic knowledge inform their motivations.

Dr. Sherif's Philosophy on Volunteering

• Emphasizes the need for cultivating a social responsibility among young Egyptians to combat a prevailing culture of apathy (wa-ana-malli mentality).

• Promotes active citizenship and social justice; equips students with practical skills for fulfilling social duties.

• Citizenship vs. Individualism: Encourages understanding the connection between personal and communal responsibility, deriving inspiration from experiences in Canada.

Page 5: Volunteering as a Form of Worship

Rasha's Perspective on Volunteering

• Rasha, a volunteer, sees her activities as an expression of immediate needs fulfillment and a therapeutic engagement with her own emotions.

• Discusses the sense of satisfaction derived from helping others, emphasizing emotional connections made in volunteer work.

• Highlights the importance of both personal joy and the moral fulfillment gained through volunteering at Resala.

Page 6: Hind's Insights on Intentions

Spiritual and Altruistic Dimensions

• Hind articulates a wide variety of intentions behind volunteering, intertwining altruism with religious considerations about paradise.

• Suggests that volunteers’ need for the poor serves to fulfill their spiritual path towards paradise, reflecting a layered understanding of giving.

Community Engagement and Morality

• Hind's thoughts capture the collective moral obligations among volunteers; they participate not just to provide aid but to fulfill divine mandates.

• Volunteering as Ritual: Tasks completed during charity work are perceived as acts of worship aiming at divine favor rather than simply social service.

Page 7: The Philosophical Foundation of Volunteer Actions

Focus on Intentions over Action

• Ahmed's Teaching: Actions ought to be motivated by obedience to God rather than moral implications of being good citizens.

• Volunteers’ intentions emphasize a transactional relationship with God through their charitable actions, with an emphasis on gaining blessings in this life and the hereafter.

Engaged Action with a Broader Meaning

• The approach taken by Resala volunteers serves to show a different narrative that prioritizes spiritual duty over mere social compassion, highlighting power dynamics and relationships within acts of charity.

Page 8: Broader Implications of Volunteering

Conclusion of Volunteer Intent and Society

• Volunteers' narratives allow for a critique of compassion, suggesting that viewing suffering only from a humanistic lens limits broader understandings of social justice.

• Resala volunteers reframe the discourse around altruism by focusing on religious duties leading to a compatible system of socio-spiritual understanding.

Final Observations

• Emphasizes how actions in volunteering, although aligned with goodness and charity, are ultimately framed within a divine context.

• Suggests a shift in anthropology to grapple with the implications of religious principles in interpreting modern altruistic actions.