| Title |
From Consultancy to Critique: The 'Success Story' of Globalized Zakat Management in Malaysia and its Normative Ambiguities |
| ID_Doc |
77633 |
| Authors |
Müller, DM |
| Title |
From Consultancy to Critique: The 'Success Story' of Globalized Zakat Management in Malaysia and its Normative Ambiguities |
| Year |
2017 |
| Published |
Globalizations, 14, 1 |
| DOI |
10.1080/14747731.2016.1200309 |
| Abstract |
The administration of Islamic alms (zakat) funds in Malaysia underwent spectacular transformations since the 1990s, shaped by the appropriation of marketized forms of management and a skyrocketing growth of collection and distribution rates. Simultaneously, local zakat funds are increasingly used to pursue targets of sustainable poverty reduction, such as the empowerment of micro-entrepreneurship. This globally inspired 'success story' is referred to by various international observers, including development organizations, as a 'role model' for other countries to learn from. After illustrating what makes the Malaysian case so particularly attractive, this article develops a critique of international perceptions of this 'success story' by making explicit some of its underlying ambiguities. Instead of narrowly celebrating instrumental aspects of business-style organizational innovation and calling for their globalization, a deeper understanding of the discursive embeddedness of Malaysian zakat management would reveal significant normative tensions with secular humanitarian ethics and human rights law, with implications beyond the Malaysian case. |
| Author Keywords |
Islamic alms (zakat); development cooperation; religious marketization; human rights; humanitarianism; Malaysia |
| Index Keywords |
Index Keywords |
| Document Type |
Other |
| Open Access |
Open Access |
| Source |
Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) |
| EID |
WOS:000389249800006 |
| WoS Category |
International Relations; Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary |
| Research Area |
International Relations; Social Sciences - Other Topics |
| PDF |
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