The Islamic Welfare State: Muslim Charity, Human Security, and Government Legitimacy in Pakistan

The Islamic Welfare State explains the relationship between government legitimacy, everyday security, and lived Islam in Pakistan--a major Muslim-majority country. Its humanitarian spirit makes Islam a compelling, community-strengthening faith that motivates people to provide essential services to the needy, to foster moral sentiments that build social solidarity, and to thereby challenge the legitimacy of government with its focus on 'protecting Islam' and 'national security' rather than enhancing the lives of ordinary people. The book surveys four kinds of Islamic charities--traditional, professional, partisan, and state. The focus is on ground realities, on the activities of welfare workers and beneficiaries, mostly patients and students from low-income families. The attention to the different political sentiments that different kinds of charity foster allows us to better understand politics and political change in Pakistan and across the Muslim world.

《伊斯蘭福利國家》解釋了政府合法性、日常安全和巴基斯坦（一個主要的穆斯林國家）的生活伊斯蘭之間的關係。其人道主義精神使伊斯蘭成為一種引人入勝的、增強社區凝聚力的信仰，激勵人們提供給有需要的人必要的服務，培養建立社會團結的道德情感，並因此挑戰政府的合法性，因為政府更關注「保護伊斯蘭」和「國家安全」，而不是提升普通人的生活。該書調查了四種伊斯蘭慈善組織：傳統、專業、黨派和國家。重點放在現實情況上，關注福利工作者和受益者的活動，主要是來自低收入家庭的病人和學生。對不同種類的慈善組織所培養的不同政治情感的關注，使我們能夠更好地理解巴基斯坦和整個穆斯林世界的政治和政治變革。