Puripetal Force in the Charitable Field

This article sets out to clarify the wide range of relationships between religions and humanitarian traditions as ideological movements, taking Islam as a case study. It postulates that the concept of the “sacred,” which is culturally restricted, is a special case of boundary maintenance or “purism.” Metaphorically, “puripetal force” is defined as a tendency common to all ideological systems, a resistance to social entropy or anomie. The importance of purity in Islamic doctrine is well attested, but within that wider sphere we may identify the specially puritan version of Islam known as Wahhabi-Salafism. As for humanitarianism and philanthropy, these occupy in the West a “space” protected by special laws and conceived of as untainted by either politics or economics. Within the wider sphere of humanitarianism we may locate a more concentrated form in Dunantism, which has underpinned the world view and habitus of the International Committee of the Red Cross. This article outlines how the policies and programs of various Islamic charity and welfare organizations—originating in Britain, Indonesia, and Saudi-Arabia—interact differentially with on the one hand Islamic doctrines and on the other hand humanitarian traditions. Finally, it is suggested that this explanatory model could equally be applied to Christian and other religious traditions, with the concluding thought that the common ground between the institutions of international humanitarianism and religion is currently expanding.