Arab charity is blooming

NON PROFIT

by THE OLBIOS TEAM

There are several signs that amid headlines that scream of suicide bombings and surging energy costs,a quiet social movement is under way in the Middle East, and one that could help alleviate some deep-rooted problems of the Arab world. Recently, while much of the globe watched the oft-hyped World Economic Forum, a first-of-its-kind summit of Arab philanthropists was held in this Persian Gulf city. Middle East royalty and Egyptian businessmen mixed with Lebanese activists and other humanitarian do-gooders to find ways to aid their troubled region. And they carried a pointed message to several administrations: Stop making the war on terror a war on Arab goodwill. The charitable impulses of Arab billionaires and others are indeed growing, according to a report released at the event by the John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy and Civic Engagement at the American University in Cairo. Building on a long tradition of zakat, the Islamic version of tithing, philanthropy in the Mideast looks strikingly similar to that of Bill Gates and Andrew Carnegie and seeks to make profound social changes. Alfanar_homepage Website: http://www.alfanar.org.uk/

 

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