Charities in the Non-Western World

Rajeswary Ampalavanar Brown is an Emeritus Professor at the Royal Holloway College in London, UK.Justin Pierce teaches at the University of East London, UK.

'The sixteen papers that have been selected to make up this book are packed with detailed researched facts on individual cases, and, put together, they ask probing questions about why people do good, what happens when they do, and what circumstances govern their decisions. The introduction by the editors highlights the question of accountability, especially to whom doers of good should be accountable to. The papers show that under colonial rule, in war, in changing social and economic climates, those questions have to be understood in their own nuances. Philanthropy, of course, is more than alleviating poverty, and it is through comparative research as presented in this book that the many facets of its character can come to be appreciated.' – David Faure, Wei Lun Professor of History, Chinese University of Hong Kong'Charities are a critical element of civil society, the area of human organisation which lies between the state and the populace. But charities have had a complex and sometimes conflict-ridden relationship with states. This fascinating volume, with essays ranging from Japan to Saudi Arabia and Africa, illuminates this important aspect of modernity.' – C. A. Bayly, University of Cambridge

• Introduction Part 1 1. ‘Everything is Politics’: Understanding the Political Dimensions of NGO Legitimacy in Conflict-affected Regions 2. The Role and Governance of Islamic Faith Organisations in South Africa 3. Co-operatives and the State in Burma/Myanmar 1900 – 2012: A Case Study of Failed Top-Down Co-Operative Development Models? 4. Charity Reconstructed: The Transformation of Social Welfare in Rural Japan in the Nineteenth Century Part 2 5. Private Charities and the Public Good Institutional Memory of Plague Prevention in Manchuria 6. Re-form Hui identity and the Communal Network in the Imperial Extension from Ming to Qing in Southwest Chinese Frontier 7. Universalistic Humanitarianism in Mainland China: A Case Study of a French NGO 8. In the World But Not Of the World: Governing Christian Charities in Contemporary China Part 3 9. Boundaries of Non-state Welfare Provision: Comparative Evidence from Turkey, Sudan and Germany 10. The Diversity of Islamic Charitable Activities: Analytical Distinctions Among Shi’a Muslim Organizations in Lebanon 11. Saudi Charitable Impulse Abroad: The Coercive Power of Belief and Money in Thailand 12. Sa’udi Charity To Hadhramaut As A Bone of Contention: The Hijaz Fund Episode, 1949-50 13. Comparative Perspective on the Growth and Legal Transformations of Arab (Islamic) Charities 14. Colonial State and Muslim Institutions: History of Regulatory Framework for Awqaf (Religious Endowments) in British India