Abstract
Founded in Birmingham, England in 1984, Islamic Relief is today the world’s largest and most-recognized Western-based Islamically-inspired non-governmental organization. Framed by an analysis of processes of racialization, I argue that Islamic Relief operationalizes not a singular, but multiple Muslim humanitarianisms. I examine what I suggest are competing racial projects of distinct humanitarianisms with regards to HIV and AIDS, health, and wellness. I consider the racial implications of British state-based soft-power interventions that seek to de-radicalize Muslims towards appropriately ‘moderate’ perspectives on gender and sexuality. In South Africa, I argue that Black Muslim staff embrace grassroots efforts aimed towards addressing the material and social conditions of their community, with a focus on economic self-determination and self-sufficiency. I claim that the orientation of these Black Muslim grassroots initiatives denotes a humanitarianism of another kind that challenges the material and ethical implications of a humanitarianism framed within a logic of global white supremacy, and that is conditioned by racial capitalism.
Highlights
Founded in Birmingham, England in 1984 by Egyptian-born Dr Hany El-Banna, Islamic Relief is today the world’s largest and most-recognized Western-based Islamic NGO.Beginning with a humble 20 pence donation from El-Banna’s young nephew, today the organization works in over forty countries and has an operational budget of over £131 million (Islamic Relief Worldwide 2019, p. 68)
Humanitarian Muslimness may present a way out from being racialized as the bad Muslim terrorist? For a more specific look at the racial politics that play into the development of an HIV and AIDS policy, I consider Islamic Relief’s own raced, classed, and gendered good humanitarian, ethical positions
I return to my initial visit to South Africa when, despite her efforts, Anna was unable to gain permission from Islamic Relief-South Africa to bring Abdul to Amsterdam to present at the HIV and Islam conference
Summary
Founded in Birmingham, England in 1984 by Egyptian-born Dr Hany El-Banna, Islamic Relief is today the world’s largest and most-recognized Western-based Islamic NGO. I distinguish this white adjacency from the grassroots practices that I argue counter the implicit anti-Muslim and anti-Black racism of Western hegemonic ‘development’ and humanitarianism (Goudge 2003; Kothari 2006; Loftsdóttir 2009; Wilson 2012; Pierre 2020). Central to this analysis of Islamic Relief is an understanding of race as articulated through processes of racialization, and racial projects as the building blocks of racialization processes. Muslims in South Africa resist through a Muslim humanitarianism imagined otherwise
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