Volume IV, Issue II (April 2006) - Columbus School of Law

ecently in a study of Islamic politics in Pakistan, Islam is important to political success in thatcountry. 182 Most Pakistani leaders use it to ‘appease and undermine their political adversaries,win over a predominantly illiterate, religious, and gullible population, and get money from oilrichMuslim countries (especially from the early 1970s).’ 183 Certainly, they do not want to pushthe envelope too far in confronting Islamic institutions such as the waqf.VI. CONCLUDING THOUGHTSJust as there is a vibrant and dynamic civil society today throughout the world, including Asia,Islamic civil society also continues to flourish. As Muslims look to traditions of zakāt andsadaqah in creating innovative institutions such as the privately-managed zakāt funds and localzakāt-funded development organizations, the waqf is a time-honored and proven institution thatalso is beginning to enjoy a rebirth. 184 Unlike other philanthropic and charitable institutions thatare subject to being modified or terminated -- or having their assets wasted or even expropriated-- as a result of disgruntled beneficiaries or greedy governments, the waqf is relatively protectedfrom these events by more than a millennium of Islamic law, jurisprudence and tradition.Even in countries such as Pakistan where civil society is constantly locked in a struggle not onlywith the state but also within its own ranks, the waqf -- while not immune from that struggle -- atleast has the best chance of survival. Unlike most other civil society organizations operating inthese countries, the waqf benefits from age-old traditions of individual Islamic philanthropy andcharity. And unlike most other civil society organizations, the waqf also benefits from being atradition within the second-largest (and fastest growing) religion in the world. When statesdominate and intervene in the administration and control of waqf properties, they are confrontinga powerful sociopolitical and economic force. Little research has been undertaken in comparingthe experiences of awqaf with other civil society organizations vis-à-vis dominant andinterventionist states such as Pakistan. In the post-9/11 world where many states (especiallyIslamic and predominantly-Islamic states) walk a fine line between authoritarian control andappeasement of Islamic groups, particularly those viewed as less radical, the role of the waqf as adynamic actor in civil society should make interesting study. And as Islamic movementscontinue to struggle to redefine Islam in a modern context, studying the role of awqaf as theymove from traditional charitable purposes to more activist roles within civil society, may becomeeven more imperative.182 Mir Zohair Husain, ‘The Politics of Islam in Pakistan’ in Saha and Carr, above n 181.183 Ibid 35.184 Bremer, above n 37, 5: ironically, the ‘process is proceeding more rapidly in non-Islamic democracies,such as the United States, than in Islamic countries.’32