Introduction to Philanthropy in the Muslim World

This chapter frames the important themes in this book. It critiques the concept of the Muslim world. First, we include chapters from countries in which nearly all citizens are Muslim (Turkey, Yemen, Jordan, Egypt, Pakistan), countries where they are a sizable proportion of the country’s population (Indonesia, India, Ghana, Nigeria), places where they are a visible minority (France, Germany, the United States, South Africa), and countries where the Muslim population is quite small (The Bahamas and the Caribbean, Australia). The geographic diversity is clear, with coverage from nearly every part of the globe (sadly we have no chapter from South America though we do have a chapter that addresses the Caribbean). Other differences among chapters relate to the policy environment, the nature of the government, the status of civil society, the level of economic development, and the place of Islam in the culture.