Twelver Shia Beliefs and Religious Financing for Social Welfare

This volume argues for the pressing need to understand the role of religious beliefs, religious scholars, and religious centres in promoting welfare and social protection services for the strengthening of global social welfare systems. The book contributes to research around the integration of faith-based financing into global and local welfare strategies by looking at the Twelver Shia Muslims as a distinct group, presenting ethnographical analysis and interviews gathered from Twelver Shia community members and religious scholars. Chapters explore social welfare lessons learnt by the global Shia community, the level of awareness and commitment to mandatory and voluntary religious finances, (including Zakat, Khums, Waqf, and Sadaqat), and the fears and barriers to advancing faith-led social welfare efforts. The book ultimately presents contemporary realities from the Twelver Shia community, identifies gaps between teachings and practices for religious financing, and highlights internal community challenges around collective efforts for welfare development. The book will be of interest to scholars, researchers, and postgraduate students in the fields of sociology of religion, religion and economics, public policy, religious studies, and Islamic studies more broadly.