Religion and Social Policy in the Middle East: The (Re)Constitution of an Old-New Partnership

Abstract

This article reports back on the key preliminary findings and developing arguments of research which has been funded by the UK's Economic and Social Research Council in four politically and culturally significant countries of the Middle East: Lebanon, Iran, Turkey and Egypt (more limited research in this country). Focusing primarily on Islam and Christianity, the article critically examines what it denotes as an old-new partnership between religious actors or institutions and social policy, understood broadly as both state and non-state interventions in the public sphere aimed at influencing social welfare and development. At a time of increasing interest in Middle Eastern social policy, driven in great part by multilateral aid agencies such as the UN and World Bank, the article offers a descriptive overview of the key dynamics of social policy in the Muslim-populated countries of the region. It then engages in discussion of how religion provides an impetus for social action by introducing a typology of religious welfare. The article thus makes a contribution to the theoretical literature in this area by departing from the conventional model of social policy in the Middle East known as the 'rentier state'. However, in recognizing that social policy in the MiddleEast remains subsidiary to concerns with economic development, the article (1) critically examines the contemporary make-up of the relationship between religion and social welfare action in the region, and (2) presents a preliminary argument for reconstituting future social policy in the region by taking better account of how religious values and ideals influence social welfare.

The role of the welfare state in supporting economic transitions following family bereavement: Comparing Britain and Israel

“…Further, this study helps pinpoint the decisive role of Judaism in shaping these policies in the Israeli context, and consequently mitigating the disenfranchisement process. This finding is in line with the recent “religious turn” in welfare state scholarship (Jawad, ; Manow & Van Kersbergen, ), which has hitherto tended to confine itself primarily to North American, European, and antipodean countries (although see Jawad & Yakut‐Cakar, [] as a recent example of policy analysis focusing on religion and social policy in the Middle East). Moreover, most of these religion‐based analyses have been largely grounded in a macro‐scale perspective, giving relatively little place to domain‐specific examination.…”

Actors in the Distribution of Welfare: Politics, Economy, and Culture

“…When looking at the ever increasing studies since 1990s concerning the welfare distribution in the Turkey and Middle East, we see several line of discussions. We can see many scholars focus on Islam as a religion and its significant role on the social distribution of welfare through practice of zakat (Dean & Khan, 1997;Kuran, 2004;Aydoğmuş, 2007;Jawad, 2008;2009;Jawad & Yakut-Çakar, 2010;Ongan, 2008;Ismael & Ismael, 2008). Another line of academic interest include more state-centric studies of social policies, labor economics, valuable empirical analyses, and so on (Robalino, 2005;Buğra, 2007;Mares & Carnes, 2009MacLean, 2011.…”

“…I argue if a conceptualization of welfare regime of Turkey would be made, waqf -as an institution of social provision of welfare-and zakat -as a practice directed to maintain social justice and the relief of poverty-are two key concepts. That is because, if "the patterns and institutions of governance matters", waqf and zakat are rooted deep in the region both historically and culturally, thus need to be credited in regard to welfare regime conceptualization of Turkey (Jawad & Yakut-Çakar, 2010). Therefore, in this second part of the paper, first, I will discuss how Islam is relevant in the context, second, the historical examples of welfare policies and cultural institutions, particularly waqf, and how it transformed in the late Ottoman society, claiming such policies and institutions existed in the region that were similar to Western examples and cannot be disregarded.…”

Reforms and Challenges: The Turkish Pension Regime Revisited

“…Further comparative research is needed, particularly on Eastern Europe, East Asia, and the Middle East, which have diverse historical and institutional characteristics affecting welfare dis-tribution (for some of the research on these countries, see Gough 2001;Jawad and Yakut-Cakar 2010;Walker and Wong 2005).…”