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Giving to God

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Giving to God examines the everyday practices of Islamic giving in post-revolutionary Egypt. From foods prepared in Sufi soup kitchens, to meals distributed by pious volunteers in slums, to almsgi...
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  • 26 February 2019
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Giving to God examines the everyday practices of Islamic giving in post-revolutionary Egypt. From foods prepared in Sufi soup kitchens, to meals distributed by pious volunteers in slums, to almsgiving, these acts are ultimately about giving to God by giving to the poor. Surprisingly, many who practice such giving say that they do not care about the poor, instead framing their actions within a unique non-compassionate ethics of giving. At first, this form of giving may appear deeply selfish, but further consideration reveals that it avoids many of the problems associated with the idea of “charity.” Using the Egyptian uprising in 2011 and its call for social justice as a backdrop, this beautifully crafted ethnography suggests that “giving a man a fish” might ultimately be more revolutionary than “teaching a man to fish.”
 
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Price: $95.00
Pages: 248
Publisher: University of California Press
Imprint: University of California Press
Publication Date: 26 February 2019
Trim Size: 9.00 X 6.00 in
ISBN: 9780520300828
Format: Hardcover
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“Provides a discourse of charity that challenges and disrupts dominant secular and liberal notions of humanitarian aid. The book is recommended not only to anthropology and sociology students and scholars but also to ones of economics, theology, and religious studies.”
Amira Mittermaier is Associate Professor of Religion and Anthropology at the University of Toronto. She is the author of Dreams That Matter: Egyptian Landscapes of the Imagination.

Illustrations
Note on Transliteration
Acknowledgments

Introduction

during the revolution
1 • Revolutions Don’t Stop Charity

giving
2 • Divine Minimum Wage
3 • Caravan to Paradise
receiving
4 • Performances of Poverty
5 • All Thanks Belong to God

after the revolution
6 • Tomorrow Is Better

Postscript
Notes
Glossary
Bibliography
Index