Philanthropy, Laws, and the Third Sector Growth: Analyses from MMCs

Abstract

This chapter comparatively surveys the laws, legal environments and government policies in relation to philanthropy and the third sector organisations in 47 Muslim majority countries (MMCs) in Africa and Asia. The chapter is divided into three major sections according to MMC colonial relationships. The first section includes countries with British colonial past, the second includes countries that had non-British European colonization such as Dutch, French, and Portuguese. The third section examines countries that were never subjected to direct European colonization. Each section addresses primarily three aspects: legal features and systems of TSOs; regulatory mechanisms that guide functional, financial, and governmental relationships of TSOs; and financial tools influencing growth and activities of the TSOs. The concluding section endeavors to analyse relationships between the third sector legal environments with possible influencing factors such as economic status, colonial heritage, legal systems, political power structures, and social systems of each county.