Vafa Dianati
(University College London)
Ayse Gümeç Karamuk
(University College London)
Chair:
Azadeh Mashayekhi
(The Bartlett, University College London)
Format:
Workshop
Streams:
Religion
Sessions:
Thursday 7 July, -
Time zone: Europe/London
Faith-based organisations and urban development in the Middle East; learning from the past and looking to the future.
Panel W06 at conference DSA2022: Just sustainable futures in an urbanising and mobile world.
This workshop aims to unpack the role of Faith-based organisations (FBOs) in urban development processes and delivery of urban services in Middle Eastern cities. Discussants and participants will discuss the historical roots and successive development of FBOs in relation to urban development.
Long Abstract:
A rise in religious nationalism, fundamentalism and political Islam has been a focus of academic debate for well over the past two decades. However, analysis of the growing role of religious (charitable) organisations - faith-based organisations (FBOs), as they are now described in the development field - and their relationship to critical issues of urban development has, until recently, received minimal detailed examination, particularly in the context of the Middle East. Given this dearth of research and considering the increasing influence and visibility of the FBOs in various urban domains, this workshop aims to create a space to exchange existing and ongoing research on the role of FBOs in shaping the present and future pathways of urban development in the Middle Eastern cities.
Therefore, this workshop invites discussants and participants to critically discuss across these questions and beyond: What are the mechanisms in which FBOs operate? How to evaluate their role in promoting inclusive development and urban justice in the Middle East? What are the methodological challenges of studying the practices of FBOs? And how can we imagine their future practices in the rapidly changing socio-political landscape of the Middle East?
The workshop is convened and chaired by academics at UCL researching the politics of urban development and planning in the global south, who will be joined by four discussants and participants.
A shift has occurred over the past decade, as FBOs in Bahrain that contributed to the political structure have lost this role, yet they continue to maintain indirect influence through their communities. We will discuss their involvement in urban governance.
Paper long abstract:
The role of faith based organizations in Bahrain has evolved throughout the history of the country reflecting wider socio-political changes. A shift has occurred over the past decade, as FBOs that contributed to the political structure have lost this role, yet they continue to maintain indirect influence through their communities. We have identified three instances in which FBOs have contributed to urban governance:
- Their historical role in land management, and how this was interrupted twice, once by the arrival of the ruling family and the second time by the land surveys carried out by the British Administration
- The Awqaf system that is part of the planning administration today, and participate in decision making for building permits related to religious structures
- The weekly 'khutba's at the mosque, and their role in advocating for collective governance
This framework serves as a research background for the project we intend to carry out in which we involve communities at different faith based organizations to engage in collective actions for redeveloping the streetscape, specifically in the new developed areas, to be more welcoming for pedestrian movement.
A conceptualisation and contextualisation of religion, specifically, and identity, generally, in the fields of governance and development based on research previously carried out which involved primary data collection in Lebanon.
Paper long abstract:
The 2019 Lebanese Revolution and the 2020 Beirut Blast have intermittently placed Lebanon under the international spotlight. The once prosperous beacon of safety in a largely turbulent region had succumbed to the instability that has long surrounded it, and Lebanon is now on the verge of becoming a failed state. The international community has repeatedly reduced the issue to incompetence. However, this reductionist view of Lebanese politics and governance compounds any comprehensive understanding of the issue and, thus, only makes it more difficult for the international community to engage with Lebanon.
The underlying cause, as this piece of work argues, is the system of consociational governance, which dates back to Ottoman and French colonial rule in the region. Consociationalism has institutionalised sectarian identity as a condition of participation within the state and has further entrenched sectarian divisions in the country. Furthermore, the state has been mechanised by a 'politico-sectarian elite', consisting of the established political and religious leaders of Lebanon, to deliver development along sect lines to ensure electoral success through clientelist networks comprised of FBOs.
My research assessed the literature on consociational governance, studied the linkages between consociationalism and development, and surveyed 270 respondents from Lebanon. It argued and concluded that consociational governance has impeded development in Lebanon, that it has negatively impacted the state and its citizenry and that it has led to the rapid demise and disintegration of the Lebanese state.
The paper would discuss the intricate link between the faith, society and development from the constructivist standpoint during the time of natural calamity such as earthquake - using religious lens - strengths and weaknesses will be highlighted.
Paper long abstract:
1. Why and how FBOs operate and matters vis-a-vis development goals in Pakistan?
2. How External actors have influenced the creation and behavior of FBOs in Pakistan?
3. How Al-Khidmat organisation has positively fostered development goals in the country?
4. What are the gaps or challenges facing the Al-Khidmat organisation in delivering its development agenda?
5. What are the key takeaways after studying Al-Khidmat organisation for witin and outside Pakistan?
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Ayse Gümeç Karamuk (University College London)
Short Abstract:
This workshop aims to unpack the role of Faith-based organisations (FBOs) in urban development processes and delivery of urban services in Middle Eastern cities. Discussants and participants will discuss the historical roots and successive development of FBOs in relation to urban development.
Long Abstract:
A rise in religious nationalism, fundamentalism and political Islam has been a focus of academic debate for well over the past two decades. However, analysis of the growing role of religious (charitable) organisations - faith-based organisations (FBOs), as they are now described in the development field - and their relationship to critical issues of urban development has, until recently, received minimal detailed examination, particularly in the context of the Middle East. Given this dearth of research and considering the increasing influence and visibility of the FBOs in various urban domains, this workshop aims to create a space to exchange existing and ongoing research on the role of FBOs in shaping the present and future pathways of urban development in the Middle Eastern cities.
Therefore, this workshop invites discussants and participants to critically discuss across these questions and beyond: What are the mechanisms in which FBOs operate? How to evaluate their role in promoting inclusive development and urban justice in the Middle East? What are the methodological challenges of studying the practices of FBOs? And how can we imagine their future practices in the rapidly changing socio-political landscape of the Middle East?
The workshop is convened and chaired by academics at UCL researching the politics of urban development and planning in the global south, who will be joined by four discussants and participants.
1. Dr. Azam Khatam (York University)
2. Dr. Gulcin Erdi (CNRS)
3. Dr. Amina Ekman (DPU, UCL)
4. Hanadi Samhan (DPU, UCL)
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Thursday 7 July, 2022, -