2011
A01=Amira Mittermaier
acts of charity
Age Group_Uncategorized
Age Group_Uncategorized
almsgiving
Author_Amira Mittermaier
automatic-update
call for social justice
Category1=Non-Fiction
Category=HRHC
Category=HRHP
Category=JHMC
Category=QRPP
charity
COP=United States
deeply selfish
Delivery_Pre-order
egyptian history
egyptian uprising
eq_bestseller
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
ethnography
food
give a man a fish
giving to god
giving to the poor
islam
Language_English
meal distribution
middle eastern history
non compassionate ethics
PA=Temporarily unavailable
pious volunteers
post revolutionary egypt
Price_€50 to €100
PS=Active
softlaunch
sufi soup kitchen
Product details
- ISBN 9780520300828
- Weight: 499g
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 26 Feb 2019
- Publisher: University of California Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
- Language: English
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Giving to God examines the everyday practices of Islamic giving in post-revolutionary Egypt. From foods prepared in Sufi soup kitchens, to meals distributed by pious volunteers in slums, to almsgiving, these acts are ultimately about giving to God by giving to the poor. Surprisingly, many who practice such giving say that they do not care about the poor, instead framing their actions within a unique non-compassionate ethics of giving. At first, this form of giving may appear deeply selfish, but further consideration reveals that it avoids many of the problems associated with the idea of “charity.” Using the Egyptian uprising in 2011 and its call for social justice as a backdrop, this beautifully crafted ethnography suggests that “giving a man a fish” might ultimately be more revolutionary than “teaching a man to fish.”
Amira Mittermaier is Associate Professor of Religion and Anthropology at the University of Toronto. She is the author of Dreams That Matter: Egyptian Landscapes of the Imagination.
