Sharia, charity, andminjianautonomy in Muslim China: Gift giving in a plural world

Abstract

In Marcel Mauss's analysis, the gift exists in the context of a homogenous system of values. But in fact, different types of normative systems can inhabit the same social field. This is the case among Hui, the largest Muslim minority group in China, for whom the “freedom” of the gift resides in the giver's capacity to follow the rules underlying gifting, in this case, the rules of sharia. I call this capacity “minjian (unofficial, popular) autonomy.” Hui follow sharia in pursuit of a good life, but their practices are also informed by mainstream Han Chinese gift practices and by the anxieties of the security state. In their gifting practices, Hui thus endeavor to reconcile the demands of Islamic, postsocialist, and gift economies. [gift economy, autonomy, sharia, charity, China, Islamic finance, ethics] 按照马塞尔·莫斯的分析, 馈赠存在于均质化价值观体系的背景中。但实际上, 在同一社会领域中可以存在着不同类型的社会规范体系。中国最大的穆斯林民族‐回族就是这样的案例, 对他们来说 馈赠的"自由"取决于馈赠者按照馈赠的深层次规则行事的能力, 在这里, 规则即指“设若尔提” (伊斯兰教法) 。我将这一能力称之为“民间自主权” (非官方的, 大众化的) 。在追求美好的生活时, 回族会遵循“设若尔提”, 但他们的做法同时也会受到汉族主流的馈赠礼物的做法和“安全国家”焦虑的影响。因此, 在馈赠礼物时, 回族人会努力协调伊斯兰教、后社会主义经济和礼物经济的不同要求。[礼物经济, 自主权, “设若尔提”, 慈善, 中国, 伊斯兰金融, 伦理]

Donors’ attitude towards fundraising efforts in UAE during COVID-19 pandemic: the moderating role of ethics

“…The results show that trust has a significant relationship with charity projects and donors' attitudes toward fundraising. Similar results identified by the Erie (2016), Lev (2007), Parsell et al (2021), Pettinato (2021 stated that donors responded the charity projects spontaneously based on their ethical beliefs and commitments. The outcome of our research is an indication that the effects of ethical factors depend on the positive association between charity projects and the attitude of donors toward fundraising (Figure 2).…”

Giving and belonging: Religious networks of Sub-Saharan African Muslims in Guangzhou, China

“…All foreign Muslims I knew attended prayers during the two main Islamic festivals, Eid al-Fitr (the Festival of Fast-Breaking) and Eid al-Adha (the Festival of Sacrifice). While these activities may to some extent stem from wanting to project an image of piety in front of peers, as a person’s piety can strengthen social relations with other community members (Erie 2016:313), I discerned a sincerely held belief among the vast majority of my interlocuters that they believed conformity with religious strictures would lead to both a good earthly life and a good afterlife. By fulfilling their religious duties, these African Muslims’ actions highlight their devotion.…”

“…On the day of Eid al-Fitr, Baldé was one of five African volunteers who played an important role in maintaining order among the 26,000 visitors to the official Eid al-Fitr morning prayer in the largest mosque in Guangzhou. As Erie (2016) points out, voluntary alms in the form of volunteering may represent not only an effort to secure the grace of God, but can also be used as a strategy to gain social standing. This is what happened in Baldé's case: on the last day of his service during Ramadan, he was recognized as an "Outstanding Volunteer" by his mosque's Imam.…”

“…Applying the concept of ‘gift’ to the topic of religious charity, Koesel (2014:177) argues that religious groups deploy charity as a “tradable resource” to “gain legitimacy and diminish suspicions toward their religious community”. Contributing to this body of scholarship on the social functions of giving, Erie (2016) has pointed out that the charitable practices of Hui Muslims in Northwest China have traditionally been shaped by both social and religious requirements, such as those contained in Sharia (religious law), mainstream Han Chinese gift-giving practices and state law. Further, Erie (2016:313) highlights that gift-giving among Hui has “social effects” that are associated with both the obligation of reciprocity and one’s positionality within society.…”

“…Among those that focus on Islam, almost all focus on Chinese Muslims located in Northwest China, an area of high Muslim concentration (e.g. Erie, 2016Erie, , 2017Luo and Andreas, 2016;McCarthy, 2017;Wang, 2017). By contrast, little has been written about Islam in Muslim minority contexts, nor about foreign Muslims in China.…”