Religious Endowments Research Articles

Strategy for Increasing the Accountability of Waqf Management in Islamic Religious Organizations

Objective –This study aims to determine the appropriate accountability conditions and strategies for increasing the accountability of Muslim religious endowment (waqf) institutions managed by religious organizations in North Sumatra, Indonesia.Design/Methodology –A qualitative descriptive research method is employed to identify strategies for improving the accountability of waqf management based on the results of in-depth interviews with source persons regarding the issue in North Sumatra.Results –Strategies are formulated to increase the accountability of waqf management. These consist of three approaches: synergy between regulators, the Indonesian Waqf Board, and waqf officers (nazirs); the implementation of waqf governance training for nazirs; and the establishment of an Indonesian waqf development master plan.Research limitations/implications – The scope of the research sample is confined to waqf management undertaken by religious organizations in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Further study needs to be conducted which considers other waqf organizations such as mosques, as well as the addition of research samples from other regions for comparison. The implication of this research is the need for additional resources that would be useful for the waqf development strategy in order to improve its accountability.Novelty/Originality – The novelty of this research is the comparison between waqf accountability and the management strategies of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah in North Sumatra. Previous research only considered accountability from the perspective of nazirs, whereas this study focuses on strategies to increase the accountability of waqf management of the Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah Waqf Institutions in North Sumatra from the perspective of nazirs, students and regulators.

Revisiting the 1826 Bektaşi Purge: Political-Economy of Confiscating Endowment Lands

This paper analyzes Mahmud II's famous purge of Bektashi lodges after the Vâkâ-yı Hayriyye (Auspicious Event) in the first half of the nineteenth century with a novel approach. In the current scholarship, the government's attempt to confiscate Bektashi properties has been discussed mainly in the economic and fiscal contexts. Furthermore, the ulema was depicted as indifferent to the confiscation of the Bektashi lodges in this narrative. Instead, this article sheds light on three essential aspects of the confiscation process. Firstly, it argues that many members of the ulema showed active and passive resistance to the abolishment of Bektashi lodges, managing to limit certain policies of the central government over the Bektashi lodges. The second argument of the paper is that the government took the ulema seriously throughout the process and created a careful religio-legal language to justify the procedure. Finally, it asserts that the Bektashi purge of Mahmud II did not reach its immediate aim to abolish Bektashism and create an additional financial resource for the newly established central army. However, this event became the starting point of a new government policy over religious endowments by redefining the central government's limits over the religious sphere.

Religion and politics in Morocco: Islamic, Islamist, and post-Islamist dynamics

This paper aims to map the terrain of religion and politics in modern and contemporary Morocco. Seeing the chronological and intellectual diversity within Moroccan religious thought and politics, this paper proposes three major historical periods to facilitate approaching the topic: the pre-/ colonial, the colonial, and postcolonial times. The first pre/-colonial period is hybrid; it coincides with the rise of the first generation of the Moroccan Nahda renewal, before the colonial period, although it lived into the colonial period and played important roles in it for liberation. I mark this with the ?Islamic? label, since Islam was the only common identity marker for any project of renewal in an intellectually ?homogeneous? society. As to the colonial period, this Islamic identity became stronger since the colonial administration tried to weaken this identity and the social fabric and its related institutions, be they religious brotherhoods, religious endowments, or Sufi orders; at a certain moment in 1930, the colonial administration played on linguistic differences to divide and rule, and in another occasion, in 1953-1955, it tried to dethrone the nationalist Sultan and replace him with a docile one. Here, again, the ?Islamic? identity marker of society and politics was further emphasized as a force of unity, thus the label of Nationalist Islam in this stage, despite the variety of currents within the nationalist movement. As to the postcolonial period, it is a phase in which the modern debates over the format of the nation state, the place of religion in politics, democracy, liberalism, socialism, and secularization become part of Moroccan thought and politics. Thus, three major labels are used to describe the variety of political Islams in society: the Ultra-Orthodox Islam, the Orthodox Islam, and Critical Islam. And since they all share Islam as an identity but interpret it differently, I borrow the term from Asef Bayat to call this period the ?post-Islamist? period, since the actors with the Islamic label are multiple, and no one single trend or project manages to win to enforce its Islamist interpretation on society and political stakeholders. More importantly, this diversity of interpretations is what saves the ?Islamic? from rigidity and turns it into its fluidity of pre-modern times, i.e. to the ?Islamic? as a lived spirituality and moral compass, as a theocentric way of life, in a forthcoming post- Islamist society, a secular world and neoliberal economies.

Long-term Lease on Waqf Lands in Khorezm: A New Form of Privileges of Sacred Lineages

Abstract The aim of this paper is to examine the mechanism of long-term lease on religious endowment (waq f) lands in Khorezm. In particular, the primary focus of the present study is twofold. Firstly, it investigates the practice of long-term lease on waq f lands on the basis of rental contracts, as well as other concomitant records from 19th-century Khorezm. Secondly, this study examines the social background of and reciprocal relations between participants, who were involved in long-term lease operations. As becomes evident from the documents under study, the family members of Muḥammad Šarīf Īšān, a prominent figure of the Naqshbandiyyah-Mujaddidiyyah in Khorezm, acted in the capacity of trustee (mutawallī) of waq f properties of the Sayyid Muḥammad Raḥīm Ḫān’s madrasa in Khiva, regularly commissioned and financially supported by the ruler himself, as well as other representatives of the Qonghrat dynasty (1770-1920). Moreover, members of Muḥammad Šarīf Īšān’s family also participated as tenants of occasionally large waq f assets in long-term lease contracts. To this end, this study posits that the employment of long-term lease practice on waq f land was a principal means of providing financial support by the Khivan ruling circles to various Sufi lineages in Khorezm. Thus, the long-term lease operation clearly illustrates yet another pattern of patronage between the ruling dynasty and descendants of a particular Sufi lineage, as well as an additional source of income and financial privilege of the latter.

Pervasive State Control On Temples: An Administrative Furore?

It all started with the eviction proceedings of a practicing advocate who was a tenant on the premises of the temple owned by the royal family of Travancore. The action of the executive officer who tried to oust the practicing advocate from the land on which he was a tenant was challenged. The predisposition of the tenant was that the executive officer himself lacked the authority to exercise powers by holding his office. In addition to that, the person vide whom he was appointed under hand and seal lacked the authority to do so since his authority in office was questioned. This spiked the fire of the famous Padmanabhaswamy Temple dispute which not only underscores pervasive state control but also speaks volumes of the pseudo-secularism in the exercise of administrative privileges present in the country. The action of a religious community to agree to the state control over its religious institutions on the condition prevailing that, the state shall hold the authority to take care of funds and management of transactions but not the religious activities of the Institution is a drowning Armada sure to sink. This is because the community is oblivious to the fact that investment in secularism starts with transactions undertaken and monetary power conferred. That the religious institution be governed by a secular body in addition to which the latter be vested with the power to make appointments of significant position holders to the religious institution goes against the very spirit of the provisions of the constitution. The right of a religious community to administer its religious institution which is not secular, perhaps essentially religious is an Essential Religious Practice or at least significant for carrying out its Essential Religious Practices. The Padmanabhaswamy Temple Verdict of the Apex Court, by taking into consideration the intricacies of the Covenant and interpretation of its clauses has accurately differentiated between the right of the state to supervise and the unwritten privilege enjoyed by it to control and administer. This paper focuses on:•Evolution of essential religious practice and its applicability to the Padmanabhaswamy Temple issue;•In-depth analysis of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple vis-a-vis the Kerala High Court judgment;•Shedding light on inspiring factors of the verdict: The Shirur Math Judgment and Chidambaram Temple Verdict that propelled as clarion calls for self-governance of religious institutions;•Highlighting how rampant and essential the judgment is for the community in the light of the Hindu Religious Endowment Board Act, 1951 and the reignited hope in the Judiciary along with constitutional provisions reinstated by it.

Benign bureaucracies? Religious affairs ministries as institutions of political control

ABSTRACT Despite calls for examining how authoritarian regimes employ state structures to prolong their rule and evidence that they regulate religion to shape the behaviour of religious elites, there has been little attention devoted to religious affairs ministries, which are key sites of interaction between religious actors and the state, and are often the primary institution through which regimes manage religion. This study identifies and describes eight core areas these ministries regulate that can be used as instruments for repression and co-optation of regime opponents, and state legitimation: prayer, appointments, education, religious advice and decisions, religious endowments, media, registration, and charity. In this analysis, we seek to bridge the gap between the literatures on religion, the Middle East, and authoritarianism by synthesizing recent research and analysing religious affairs ministries in the Middle East-North Africa (MENA) region. We argue that by fulfilling these functions, religion ministries are not benign bureaucracies but impactful institutions of political control. In highlighting key questions that remain unanswered, we outline a research agenda for continued advances towards theorizing how authoritarian regimes might make use of state resources to protect their rule.

Muslim Organizations and Colonialism in Africa

Muslim organizations have long played an important role in shaping African societies and cultures. Prior to the colonial era in the late 19th century, traditional Muslim institutions governed religious doctrine and practice, administered religious endowments and supported cultural and educational activities across the continent. However, the imposition of European colonial rule disrupted these indigenous structures and systems of authority. Colonial powers sought to undermine the influence of Muslim leaders and control how Islam was practiced. They imposed restrictions on many Muslim organizations and activities.In response, new reformist and revivalist movements emerged to defend Islamic identities and practices against colonial interference. Cultural and educational associations also grew to promote Muslim knowledge and identity. Some organizations began espousing early strains of anti-colonial nationalism. As African states gained independence in the mid-20th century, Muslim organizations regained legitimacy and restored many traditional institutions. New mass membership bodies emerged focused on social and political empowerment. Today, Muslim organizations play an active role in communities through education, social services and representing Muslim interests to governments, though debates continue around modernization, identities and the relationship between religion and politics.

Marāgha Ceased to Function: The Ṭūsī Family’s Intellectual Network and Īl-Khānid Political Itinerance

Abstract While there is no consensus as to when the Marāgha observatory, centre of a Eurasian-scale intellectual network, ceased to function, given that no historical sources mention such a date, by focusing more on the Īl-Khānid political context than on the scientific activities at the observatory that have so far attracted scholarly attention, I argue that the termination of the observatory’s activity overlapped with the downfall of Aṣīl al-Dīn b. Naṣīr al-Dīn (d. ca. 1317) in 1309/10. Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī (1201–1274) acquired the office of trustee of the waqf endowments for the observatory. This office was inherited after his death by his sons. However, the family property related to the religious endowments was targeted, which resulted in the family’s fall. Thereafter, the eighth īl-khān, Öljeitü (r.1304–1316), did not station his mobile court in Marāgha, which marked a shift of the intellectual centre of the Īl-Khānid dynasty away from the observatory.

Strategy for Religious Endowment: A Comparative Study of the Waqf

Abstract This paper shows the spread of waqf endowments in the medieval Islamic world, especially in Egypt, Syria and Ottoman Turkey, based on narrative and archival sources, and discusses what purposes and motives for endowments and their social effects were. Finally, it goes on to state the features of the waqf endowment (combination of personal and religious motives, and of egoistic and altruistic wishes), in comparison with endowments in other regions such as Europe, India, China and Japan.

WAQF IN MEDIEVAL ISLAM: AN OVERVIEW

Waqf terminology was not found indirectly in the Al-Quran. However, sadaqah is often associated with waqf, which refers to religious endowments, since Prophet Muhammad emphasised that Muslim deeds can be contributed continuously to receive reward from Allah. The key reason for the idea of waqf was to restore the roots to nature for the sake of Allah, which in this sense meant to support the poor and vulnerable people in society. The aim of this paper is to look at the practise of waqf in mediaeval Islam and the position of cash waqf. In this article adopted the qualitative and content analysis method. This paper was successful in describing waqf, which is a structure distinct from Islamic states and other states in medieval Islam, and cash waqf was permitted during the Ottoman era. This paper is noteworthy because it demonstrated the popularity of the waqf paradigm in medieval Islam. Waqf clearly benefited the whole community.

Between Traditions of Aid and Political Ambitions: Endowments and Humanitarian Associations in Egypt, Late 19th-mid 20th Century

Abstract The article investigates the emergence and transformation of humanitarian associations in Egypt from the late 19th to the mid-20th century. It argues that on the one hand these associations were new institutions echoing the foundation of new charitable organisations worldwide and in Egypt. The colonial domination of Egypt and its refusal by the Egyptians thereby played a prominent role. On the other hand, the humanitarian associations have to be seen in the continuity of long-established practices and discourses of charity, performed in particular by religious endowments (awqāf). Based on the example of the Egyptian Red Crescent, which is explored through a wide range of un explorer Egyptian, British and Swiss archives as well as a broad historiography in European and Arabic languages, this article emphasises the interconnections between international, regional, national and local institutions in Egypt in the field of philanthropy.

MALTEPE BAŞIBÜYÜK VILLAGE DAVER BABA/KERİME NİNE LODGE

The Khorasan erens, the gazi dervishes and the Alp erens played important colonial roles in the Turkification and Islamization of Anatolia. Among the struggles of the Ottoman Principality in Byzantium, these gazi dervishes settled in the Kartal-Goztepe region and took on the role of spectators. Daver Baba Lodge was established and operated in Basıbuyuk village in Kartal-Maltepe region. There is no information about lodge’s activities at that time. It is said that Daver Baba built this unit in the 18th century. In 1826, during the closure and demolition of the Istanbul lodge on the banning of Bektashi, the destruction of the Daver Baba Lodge was also discussed. Daver Baba Lodge, which had been destroyed and closed for a long time, was revived by Kerime Nine in the second half of the 19th century. The 1871 tombstone, which is missing today, states that he was a saint. There is no information about lodge’s activities after its reopening. It is known that he is one of the supporters of the National Struggle. In 1925, due to the closure of all tekke, zāwiyah and tombs, Daver Baba Lodge’s activities came to an end, and the tekke property passed to the waqf (religious endowment) administration. Meanwhile, the lodge land, which was in the possession of Fatma Melahat Güllüzade, was put up for sale in 1933 with an advertisement published in the newspaper Aksam. Sükrü Gulluoglu, who bought the lodge properties, tried to protect the remaining relics from the lodge. In the meantime, the headship of the dervish lodge was conferred on Ekrem Halifebaba from Adana. However, the lodge building, which resisted the destruction of time until recent years, disappeared completely in the early 1990s. Today, the remains of the Ayazma, the fountain and the foundation walls of the Daver Baba Lodge are left behind. In addition, there are no traces left from the present, and the old tombstones have been lost. There is only a newly inscribed marble tombstone indicating that Daver Baba, Kerime Hatun and the martyrs were found there. We do not have archive records related to Daver Baba Lodge. The information available is more based on the observations made by Reshat Ekrem Kocu in the 1960s. In this study, the history of Daver Baba Lodge is considered within the framework of the researches carried out so far with the information given by Kocu and the archive records related to Basıbuyuk village where the tekke was established. Keywords: Istanbul, Maltepe, Basıbuyuk, Bektashism, Daver Baba, Kerime Nine, Adanali Ekrem Halifebaba.

The Role of the Office of Religious Affairs in Raising Awareness of Converts in Providing Waqf: Case Study in North Morowali Regency

This article discusses the role of the Office of Religious Affairs in increasing awareness of converts to giving religious endowment (waqf). In the Islamic tradition, giving waqf is a form of worship oriented toward society’s welfare. However, waqf collection is still constrained by minimal socialization among people who are considered capable. As an institution that has direct contact with the Muslim community, the Office of Religious Affairs has the task of socializing the payment of waqf, including to converts. This research takes a case study in Bahontula Village, North Morowali Regency, where most of the converts in this area come from the upper-middle class. This research is a qualitative study with primary and secondary data collected through observation, interviews, and documentation. The available data were analyzed by data reduction, presentation, and interpretation methods. The results of this study indicate that the local Religious Affairs Office has directly disseminated waqf to converts. Nevertheless, these efforts have not been optimal due to inconsistent allocation of time for the socialization of waqf.

THE DOCTRINE OF ESSENTIAL PRACTICES OF RELIGION

India is a secular state which has no official religion of the State. However, all religions are given equal respect and dignity. The people are free to profess, practice and propagate1 their religion and this is protected under the fundamental right of Article 25. It is to be noted that the Supreme Court is the custodian of the Constitution and has the right to interfere in the legislations that violate the Fundamental rights of the Citizens i.e through the process of Judicial review. On other hand, the practices that are inherent and essential part of the religion cannot be interfered with by the Judiciary or any other organ as it is protected by the Constitution. Eversince the case of ‘The Commissioner, Hindu Religious Endowments, Madras vs Sri Lakshmindra Thirtha Swamiyar of Sri Thirur Mutt’, the Apex Court has developed the doctrine of the Essentiality test to determine whether the religious practice is essential part of the religion or not. The primary goal of the research paper is to analyse how the Judiciary employs this test to different cases pertinent to religious practice and describe the criticisms followed on this test. Also, the research also analyses how the role of the Supreme Court varied from the interpreter of the Constitution to the role of theological interpreter. The research is based primarily on the ratio and judgements of the cases. In the end, the overall utility of the essentiality test would be elucidated.

The Establishing of Geospatial Database for Agricultural Lands of Islamic WAQF In Iraq: Case Study Babil Province

In numerous countries, one of the most significant pieces of background records is a religious endowment that usually called (WAQF), which have a cultural, and economic value. For instance, in Iraq, religious endowments comprise a large number of dispersed real estates and lands usually required effective administration methods. Agricultural lands that belonged to religious endowments lack of sufficient systems, which are combined statistical and spatial information in terms of spatial monitoring and informatics updating such as ownership and existing condition. Recently, geospatial techniques such as GIS showed a feasibility in the management of information belonged to lands management. Therefore, in this study we proposed a method based on GIS technology for the management of lands of Islamic endowments in Babil province, Iraq. The proposed methodology included the integration between field works using GPS equipment and Geospatial database. The developed database is considered as the first geodatabase related to the agricultural lands of the religious endowment in Iraq included almost all coordinates and specific details for each piece of agricultural lands that owned by the endowment. Furthermore, the output geodatabase is a flexible database included various features like query, search, and statistical computation.

Muslims and the Making of Modern Europe by Emily Greble

Reviewed by: Muslims and the Making of Modern Europe by Emily Greble Robert M. Hayden Emily Greble Muslims and the Making of Modern Europe New York, USA: Oxford University Press, 2021. xv + 354 Pp. Illustrations, notes, bibliography, index, and glossary. ISBN 978-0-1975388-0-7 This innovative study is the result of what an anthropologist might call a revelatory moment in fieldwork. Emily Greble set out to do a study of Muslims in Yugoslavia, but a colleague asked her what her narrative would look like if she were to focus on the perspective of Muslims rather than that of states. This "intellectual epiphany" (p. 13) led her to focus not on the Muslims of any one state, but rather to consider Muslims' views of their changing situations in southeastern Europe generally, starting with their displacement and disempowerment in 1878 with the subjugation of territories still nominally Ottoman to the paramountcy of the Austro-Hungarian, British or Russian Empires, or the independence of new states, defined by the Christian heritage of their majority populations/nations. The second innovation in Greble's approach is to focus on the ways that the category of "Muslim" was legally defined at and after the Congress of Berlin in 1878. Muslims were promised citizenship, yet also granted "confessional self-governance … [and] authority over Islamic courts, schools and their pious endowments, and that Shari'a law continued to define collective legal norms and institutional structures," thus also shaping social and cultural norms (p. 14). Although recognition of religious autonomy over such issues as marriage, divorce, inheritance and religious endowments was granted to Muslim (and Hindu) subjects in European territories outside of Europe, Greble argues that the countries focused on in this study—Serbia, Montenegro, Austria-Hungary and the first Yugoslavia—grafted these religious rights onto citizenship status. [End Page 159] The cost, though, was to reify these citizens as being defined by Islam and thus as distinct from the Christianity of the majority populations that was ingrained into the identity and politics of those states (p. 15). Part I thus looks at the "long post-Ottoman transition" from 1878 through 1921, in what had been the European territories of the Empire. The transition was not just one of governance and ultimately state sovereignty, but a revolution in socio-economic relations, "a deliberate restructuring of Ottoman land tenure, economic networks and social classes that shifted power away from Muslims" (p. 10). This shift from a system of Muslim dominance to the positioning of Muslims as disfavored minorities in Christian-dominated states was accompanied by instances of localized massacres and forced population transfers that "produced a collective trauma" for those Muslims remaining in these states. Yet they struggled to maintain their "confessional sovereignty" throughout this period. This was facilitated by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which recognized the authority of shari'a courts, the first modern European state to do so on its home territories, as opposed to territories in their overseas empires. The development of nation-states from 1878 through the Balkans wars and the post-World War I settlements, all but Albania with Christian majorities, defined most Muslims as second-or third-class citizens. Part II is more focused territorially, on the ways Muslims experienced nation building in the first Yugoslav state, from 1918–41. This newly composed country combined territories from which Muslims had largely been driven (Serbia, Croatia) with those where Muslims remained numerous, even forming local majorities in some places. Yugoslavia, like its Austro-Hungarian predecessor in Bosnia-Herzegovina, recognized shari'a courts, even creating a hierarchy of them headed by an appeals court in Belgrade. Yet the Muslim populations in the new Yugoslavia were hardly uniform or united, following different traditions of Islam (mainly Sunni but also significant sufi/dervish orders), speaking different languages and with their own local patterns of interaction with their Christian and Jewish neighbors. Like the other peoples of Yugoslavia, they also had social class differences and differing progressive or conservative views on religion, society and politics. Muslims had organized political parties in Austro-Hungarian Bosnia, and they continued to take part in political life in the new state. Yet they were also resentful of their subordination to the...

Waqf and Its Legal Framework in Sri Lanka: A Preliminary Study

Waqf or religious endowment refers to an institution with the religious intention to do good acts for the benefit of the beneficiaries. However, the implementation and management of Waqf all around the world (Muslim and non-Muslim countries) have witnessed a deterioration since the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Many researchers and experts speak about the Waqf revival. In this relation, the Waqf institutions in Sri Lanka in particular, have gone through several reforms including the introduction of the ministry of Waqf. This paper examines the historical evolution as well as the status quo of Waqf governance in Sri Lanka. The study employs doctrinal analysis based on past literature as well as the laws governing Waqf. This study also explores the origin of the Waqf under Islamic law. It also discusses the application of the Waqf Act in Sri Lanka and identi es the current challenges and issues of the Waqf legal framework for the Muslim Mosques Charitable Trusts or Waqf Act (MMCTWA) in Sri Lanka. The findings reveal positive development in Waqf management, but overall awareness is necessary. The legal framework requires sustainable support and cooperation from the community, private sector, and the government.

Islamic Oreint's Ordinary Schools and their Impact on Intellectual Life (5th - 6th AH)

The establishment of Al –Nidhmai schools which its name associated with Al Nidham Al-Mulk the vizier of the Seljuk Empire in the second half of the fifth century. It was not a passing scientific event, but rather a number of prominent scientific incidents that occurred in the Islamic Orient through the wide scientific fame, in addition, they contributed to emerge an elite of scientific and religious leaders who had a prominent role in enriching the scientific movement with many works. Ordinary schools received direct attention by vizier of Nidham Al-Mulk, who provided them with the reasons for their longevity of many Religious endowments, contributed to important transformations and effects in the fields of intellectual and social life. He made it to be famous for scholars, jurists, and scholars, they were referred to it from the different Islamic regions.

The Evaluation of Rental Amount of Religious Endowments by Using Geomatic Techniques and Machine Learning Algorithms Hilla/ Iraq

The religious endowments are one of the important sources, which acquire historical, cultural, and economic importance in all countries of the world. In particular, a religious endowment in Iraq includes several distributed real estates and lands that usually require efficient management systems. One of the most important factors affecting the management of real estates that belong to religious endowments is the rental amount of each real estate. In general, the estimation of the rental of real estates can support the future development of religious endowments. Governmental agencies are faced with some challenges in the management of religious endowments in terms of rental pricing due to numerous economic and geographic factors. The rapid development of artificial intelligence systems and Geomatic techniques can present a framework for rental amount estimation based on spatial and non-spatial factors. In this study, a machine learning algorithm (Support Vector Regression) will be combined with Geographic Information System (GIS) to predict and evaluate the rental amount of real estates that belong to a religious institution in Iraq (Shiite endowment in Hillah city). The final results indicated that the proposed method achieved an overall accuracy of 71%, a root mean square error of 0.2257 million Iraq, Dinar (IQD), and a correlation coefficient of 0.9272. This study can be used as an effective tool for the decision-makers to plan and manage the religious endowments in developing countries.

Reading Ibāḍī Women’s Legacies through Stone Town’s Built Environment

Abstract This article explores how women of means in nineteenth-century Zanzibar used their built legacies to convey their piety and authority even though they were not active in public religious life. The focus of the study is an old Ibāḍī mosque named after its founder, ‘Aisha bint Jumʻa al-Mughayri, and the tombstone of her younger female relative Muhayra bint Jumʻa al-Mughayri. While the details of the two women’s lives, works and property do not appear prominently in the written record of Zanzibar, this article asks what we can glean about their religious and economic commitments from the built legacies and religious endowments they left behind, as well as from the writings of their male contemporaries, British colonial officials and their descendants. The article also demonstrates how the conservation and upkeep of historic religious institutions in Zanzibar today depends greatly on collaborations between local family members, state institutions and transnational faith-based organizations (fbo s).