How Faith Based Organizations Contribute Or Hinder Development In Pakistan ? The Case Of Al-Khidmat Foundation

Paper aims to explore the interactions between two different yet, linked aspects of the society; religion and development. The central idea of this paper is to look at how Faith Based Organizations (FBOs) draw on ideas and practices of development and religion, to carry out their social welfare activities and projects. Paper will be an attempt to explore the meaning, mission and trends of Faith Based Organizations (FBOs) and their characteristics, in terms of their nature, scale and affiliations with political or religious institutions in the contextual setting of Karachi. The paper examines the emerging role of faith/religion in community development, as a counterpoint to modernization programs and projects based on Western models. It argues that FBOs occupy vantage positions over ?non religious? or mainstream organizations, in terms of recruiting staff/volunteers and funding, due to their affiliations with religion. However, although FBOs receive international recognition, stakeholders often tend to overlook the ?conservative approaches? adopted by these organizations. The conservative approaches adopted by FBOs often contradict the mainstream discourse of development. Thus, paper sheds light upon the role of religion in transforming and appropriating the mainstream development discourses and practices. Thesis attempts to attain answers to research questions by employing qualitative methods of research. It focuses upon a case study of AKF, a welfare wing of Jamat-e-Islami, which is inspired by Islamic religious ideologies. It explores the organizational characteristics and its functioning, while contextualizing it in the broader theoretical framework of the subject.