New Styles of Community Building and Philanthropy by Arab-American Muslims

• Published in: Voluntas (Manchester, England) England), 2016-04, Vol.27 (2), p.941-957
• Main Author: Khan, Sabith
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arab Americans; Charitable giving; Charitable organizations; Citizen participation; Communitarianism; Cultural identity; Donations; Ethnic identity; Ethnicity; Grounded theory; Humanitarianism; Identity; Islam; Islamic culture; Love; Minority & ethnic groups; Muslim Americans; Muslims; Noncitizens; Nongovernmental organizations; Original Paper; Philanthropy; Political activism; Political Science; Religion; Religious identity; Retail banking; Social capital; Social interest; Social Policy; Social Sciences; Studies; United States
• ISSN: 0957-8765; 1573-7888
• DOI: 10.1007/s11266-015-9553-7

Among Arab-American Muslims, secular ethnic and humanitarian giving, focused on 'results' and 'measurable impact,' is displacing religiously inspired giving, that is driven by 'charity' and 'love of mankind.' This trend is supported by evidence of the way donors position themselves and philanthropic organizations appeal to their donor base. The case is supported by qualitative data drawn from interviews with key informants and from trend data on giving. I propose a new model of giving based on identity and giving, using Grounded Theory methods. This model challenges our understanding about the connection between community and philanthropy and proposes that philanthropy can create 'community.' Je propose un nouveau modèle de charité basé sur l'identité et le don à l'aide des méthodes de la théorie ancrée. Ce modèle questionne nos connaissances de la relation entre la communauté et la philanthropie et propose que la philanthropie peut créer une «communauté». Unter Anwendung der Grounded-Theory-Methodologie schlage ich ein neues Spendenmodell vor, das auf Identität und Spenden basiert. Dieses Modell hinterfragt unser Verständnis über die Verbindung zwischen Gemeinschaft und Philanthropie und legt nahe, das die Philanthropie eine „Gemeinschaff“ schaffen kann. Propongo un nuevo modelo de dar basado en la identidad y la donación, utilizando métodos de la Teoría Fundamentada (Grounded Theory). Este modelo cuestiona nuestra comprensión sobre la conexión entre comunidad y filantropía y propone que la filantropía puede crear "comunidad".