Social Welfare And Religion In The Middle East A Lebanese Perspective

Rana Jawad

For a region which usually occupies media headlines and academic enquiry with concerns over global security and the supply of petroleum oil, the Middle East would appear averse to any talk of progressive social policy. But below the hard-hitting headlines, what do local Middle Eastern populations think of social welfare, equality and solidarity? The original analysis in this book presents a new and comprehensive narrative of social welfare in the Middle East through an examination of the role of religious welfare. Religion is, arguably, the longest and most dynamic surviving force of social and political action in the region. Based on an in-depth study of the major Muslim and Christian religious welfare organisations in Lebanon (including Hezbollah), and drawing upon supplementary research conducted in Iran, Egypt and Turkey, the book argues that religion - whether through the state...