Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – Theologically, Islam encourages its adherents to perform philanthropic deeds in the widest sense, but Indonesian Muslims often only do so in the light of personal devotion to God.
In reality, they can make charitable donations for wider purposes, such as advancing social justice in the world's largest Muslim country, where most people are poor.
The various forms of Islamic philanthropy, such as zakat (religious tithes) and wakaf (property donations), have been poorly managed as they are seen as being connected with rituals or secretive charities.
A study conducted by the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN)'s Center for the Study of Religion and Culture (CSRC) aims to tackle this problem by campaigning for a change in the perception of Islamic philanthropy so that charitable donations from Muslims can be used to help fight poverty and increase social justice.
Titled "Islamic Philanthropy and Social Justice", the study found that Indonesian Muslims contribute Rp 19.3 trillion (about US$2.1 billion) to philanthropic causes annually through various forms of religious donation.
During Ramadhan, they donated approximately Rp 6.2 trillion through zakat fitrah, but 51 percent of this was given to mosques and only 45 percent delivered directly to the needy. Only a small amount of the money is distributed through professional organizations, the study said.
"Spiritual motives still dominate philanthropic awareness among Muslims," CSRC director Chaider S. Bamualim said in a speech during the launch Wednesday of four books on Islamic philanthropy. "For that reason, the existing system of religious donations is unable to support the activities of civil society organizations working to better the welfare of the poor," he explained.
The first thing that needed to be done to change the nature of Islamic philanthropy in Indonesia was to rejuvenate the Islamic understanding of Arabic terms such as zakat and wakaf.
The traditional understanding of Islamic philanthropy was incapable of serving as a basis for developing a new kind of philanthropy focused on enhancing social justice.
"The reform has to be paradigmatic so as to be able to accommodate the true purposes of Islamic philanthropy," Chaider said.
Former UIN rector Azyumardi Azra said the proposed paradigmatic transformation was actually already underway. "The paradigm of Islamic philanthropy has shifted from legalism to humanism," he said.
He cited as an example the use of the "care for humanity" slogan by Islamic philanthropic organization Aksi Cepat Tanggap (ACT). "It reflects creativity and concerns for the universal and inclusive values of humanity," added the prominent Muslim scholar.
Azyumardi said he believed that Islamic philanthropy had a bright future. "An important indication of this is that the philanthropic tradition has changed from one of charity to resolving social problems," he said, adding that education and systematic campaigning were still needed to accelerate the transformation.
Since it started its campaign in 2002, the CSRC has published five books on Islamic philanthropy, including the four launched Wednesday, and has held a series of seminars on the subject across the country to disseminate ideas about developing philanthropy in Islam.