Charity in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Traditions

Julia R. Lieberman is professor of Spanish and intercultural studies at Saint Louis University.Michal Jan Rozbicki is professor of history and director of the Center for Intercultural Studies at Saint Louis University.

• Introduction, Julia R. Lieberman and Michal Jan RozbickiPart I: Charity: Some Theoretical IssuesChapter 1: Is Charity a Two-Faceted Janus? “Othering” Gifts vs. Translating Giving and the Intercultural Uses of Human Rights, Mario RiccaChapter 2: Whose Caritas? Which Receptivity? Roman Catholics in Dialogue across Traditions, Gregory R. BeaboutChapter 3: Interreligious and Intercultural Transfers of the Tradition of Philanthropy, Thomas AdamChapter 4: Sadaqa as a Sign of Sincerity: Secular and Spiritual Aspects of Charity in Islam, Fatih HarpciChapter 5: From Welfare to Rights in the Jewish Tradition, Melinda JonesPart II: The Practice of Charity in Judaism, Christianity. and IslamChapter 6: New Practices of Sedaca: Charity in London’s Spanish and Portuguese Jewish Community during the Eighteenth Century, Julia R. LiebermanChapter 7: From Charity to Philanthropy among the Jewish Elite: Emancipation, Modernization, Ethnicity, and Nationalism, Haim Sperber and Riki GaliaChapter 8: Catholic Reform, the Council of Trent, and the Transformation of Italian Charity, 1500–1800, Philip R. GavittChapter 9: The Perfect Storm: Social Services and Abuse in North American Catholic Maternity Homes, Elizabeth Patricia RigottiChapter 10: The Heart of a Heartless World: Relations of Power in Faith-based Responses to the Iraqi and Syrian Refugee Crises, Tahir ZamanChapter 11: The Practice of Zakat in Northern Nigeria and the Building of Social Relationships, Dauda AbubakarChapter 12: Jewish and Muslim Charity in the Ottoman Empire: The Fluidity of Religious Boundaries, Yaron Ayalon

Charity in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Traditions presents wide-ranging and nuanced perspectives on the centrality of charity in the three Abrahamic religions, with a strong emphasis on the ways in which these traditions have influenced and shaped one another throughout history. These well-written and provocative essays offer equal parts theoretical framing and particularistic illustration. Each of the pieces included in the volume engages important questions that challenge simplistic formulations of faith and practice in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. How is religiously applied charity both supported and contravened by the intervention of the state? Why must the proper conditions for the receipt of charity be so carefully delineated in sacred scripture? How do the discrete practices around tzedakah, caritas, and zakat (among other concepts of charity) reflect historic change, intercultural influence, and shifting definitions of generosity and need? I highly recommend this book as a source of insight not only into the history of faith-specific charity but into the evolution and development of religious thought and action in the modern world.