Contribution short abstract

I reveal some of the darker dynamics of the "turn to religion" era during the post-9/11 context. I argue that Orientalism remains unfinished in development. Using the concept of "reorientalism" and research on UK-Muslim faith actor-oriented approaches, I argue that Orientalism adapts and persists.

Contribution long abstract

In this presentation, I draw on insights and reflections from my PhD thesis, which answered Emma Tomalin's (2020) call for faith actor-oriented approaches to the "turn to religion". Based on a case study of Islamic Relief (a UK-Muslim faith-based non-governmental humanitarian organisation), using semi-structured interviews with a cross-gender sample of seven policy actors and an analysis of the Gender Justice Policy. The case reveals some of the darker dynamics of the "turn to religion" era, amidst the complex landscape of the post-9/11 period, particularly on UK-Muslim faith actor-oriented approaches to gender justice policy development. The case reveals how the legacy of colonialism is replayed and reproduced in contemporary settings. First, I argue that Orientalism (Said 1978) not only persists and remains unfinished in international development but has also been adapted, whereby Muslim faith actors become the “New Orientalists” in development, who simultaneously resisted and reproduced Orientalist narratives of "othering" during this period. I capture this phenomenon through the concept of “re-orientalism” (Lau 2009). Next, I argue that Gender Mainstreaming, in this case, acted as a disciplinary tool to: a) ensure compliance and collaboration with broader governance power dynamics, and b) acts as a mechanism to control, through Western dominant norms on gender equality, thereby incorporating UK-Muslim FBOs into the "civilising mission". Finally, I offer personal reflections on undertaking Muslim-on-Muslim research within the context of the "turn to religion" era, an under-researched topic.

Contribution long abstract

The mainstream historiography of “development” situates the discipline's origins in the post-World War II era and often frames it as a Western epistemological export directed toward the Global South. This paper excavates the Hamidian period of the Ottoman Empire and its masterpiece, the Hejaz Railway, revealing an earlier, non-Western genealogy of development and challenging chronotype . Unlike other colonial infrastructure projects designed for resource extraction , the Hejaz Railway was financed entirely through a global pan-Islamist donation campaign, positioning it as a unique experiment in the name of “Indigenous Development" and anti-colonial self-sufficiency. This study uses Ottoman poetry, commemorative medals, and travelogues from 1900-1908 to analyze the “infrastructural imaginary” of the late Ottoman intelligentsia. It argues that Ottoman poets did not view the steam engine as a secularizing force of Western intervention, but rather “sacralized” technology. In the literary imagination, the locomotive was anthropomorphized as an “Iron Hajji” that reduced distance to the Holy Cities, thus effectively synthesizing industrial modernity with Islamic piety. The train's smoke is depicted not as pollution but as incense rising toward divine, creating a “Techno-Theology” that legitimizes the Sultan's Caliphate authority. Drawing on Timothy Mitchell's concept of “The Management of Experts” and Brian Larkin's “Poetics of Infrastructure,” paper demonstrates how the railway was used to reflect the visible, material proof of the Islamic state's capacity for ‘development’ rather than “Westernization.” The study concludes that the Ottoman model offered a “proto-developmentalist” paradigm in which modernity was negotiated under local conditions, challenging Eurocentric narratives of technology transfer.

Contribution short abstract

Everyday religion plays a crucial role in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by shaping how individuals and communities interpret, prioritise, and act on sustainability challenges within their lived contexts.

Contribution long abstract

This article examines the role of everyday religion in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals in shaping how individuals and communities interpret, prioritise, and act on sustainability challenges within their lived contexts drawing. It draws on Fadi Daou’s dialogic approach which recognises that religion is not confined to institutional belief systems but is deeply embedded in daily practices, values, and communal relationships that influence behaviours and social norms. Rather than treating religion as a fixed institutional actor or a normative obstacle to development, the analysis foregrounds religion as embedded in daily routines, moral reasoning, and social relations that shape how communities engage with issues such as inequality, environmental sustainability, gender justice, and peaceful coexistence. Building on concepts of lived and everyday religion the article argues that faith-informed practices often intersect with SDG priorities in informal yet consequential ways — through care networks, ethical commitments, and community-based action. Dialogue is presented as a critical mechanism for translating these everyday religious resources into inclusive and context-sensitive contributions to sustainable development. The article draws on insights from Dialogue Futures platform that I launched 12 months ago, a dialogical space that bring together religious actors, secular civil society, and policy stakeholders to enable mutual learning, reduce epistemic hierarchies, and foster shared ownership of sustainability agendas. The article further situates everyday religion within broader debates on localisation of the SDGs, arguing that attention to lived religious dynamics helps overcome technocratic and top-down approaches to development.

Contribution short abstract

The presentation talks about the work of Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) and the Ismaili Imamate in Portugal to demonstrate how Islam does not only inspire development work but rather becomes a development practice, which aims to achieve pluralism and cosmopolitanism in Portugal.

Contribution long abstract

My research studies the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) and the Ismaili Imamate in Portugal, to explore how the meaning of religion, development and their relationship evolves and is redefined in practice. By presenting my ethnographic findings of AKDN’s socioeconomic and cultural projects, I demonstrate how Islam, and specifically Ismaili values, are put into action and translated into programs that aim to foster pluralism and cosmopolitanism in Portugal.

In doing so, I argue how Islam does not only inspire conventional development practices of aid – it rather becomes a development practice itself. AKDN in Portugal approaches development as a pursuit for pluralist and cosmopolitan society, which fulfils two key ethical imperatives of Islam: common humanity and human dignity, rooted in the fundamental Islamic principle of Tawhid. In this way, religion and development emerge as two sides of the same coin.

The analysis is thus aligned with what scholars like Deneulin and Rakodi (2011) and Petersen (2014) stated – the study of Islam and development cannot simply be about why Islam encourages aid or charity. Instead, how and when things become ‘Islam’ and what kind of Islam is being constructed through development practices. This is a key transition in the study of religion and development where preconceived dichotomies are being challenged, and religion and development become inextricably intertwined. It further shows how Islam and development are being practiced interchangeably in postsecular and postmodern context, inviting scholars to explore the implications of such a practice, particularly amidst increasing cultural polarizations worldwide.

Contribution short abstract

The year 2020 saw a renewed academic interest in debates about decolonisation, development and faith, following global Black Lives Matter protests and the Covid pandemic. What remains of this revived engagement with the question of decolonisation in religions and development research/practice?

Contribution long abstract

The year 2020, following the outbreak of the Covid pandemic and a surge of the Black Lives Matter movement after the murder of George Floyd in the US, saw a renewed academic interest in debates about decolonisation, development and faith. Five years later, what remains of this revived engagement with questions of decolonisation within the context of religions and development research and practice? Is it accurate to speak of a decolonial turn in the field of religions and development? Has there been any tangible change? This article argues that while debates about decolonisation have had an impact on the field, there is little evidence of deeper-going change. Sustained efforts to keep the topic on the religions and development agenda is required, to ensure that engagement with the topic continues, both in academic circles as well as in the practice of development professionals, community members and policymakers.

Contribution short abstract

Sustainable development marked a decolonial shift to SDGs, inadvertently aligning with Maqāsid al-Sharī‘ah and Ibn Khaldun's (d.1406) development framework. This research contextualises sustainability in faith canons, relinks religion with development discourses and faith-informed practice.

Contribution long abstract

The 2030 sustainable development agenda represented a decolonial shift from one-dimensional upward growth to recognition of goals (SDGs) encompassing ecological awareness, equity, partnerships, persistent unresolved concerns (e.g. poverty). This marked a transition from a top-down, wealth- and power-driven progress exacerbated by imperial and colonial legacies to a morally and ethically-informed dimension of cultural and economic globalisation, which brought the SDGs closer to an Islamic development framework, particularly articulated by Ibn Khaldun’s (d. 1406) theory of development and the general philosophical principles of Islamic law (Maqāsid al-Sharī‘ah). In tandem with cultural globalisations and mass migration of faith communities in the West, faith-based organisations (FBOs), Islamic finance and Muslim charitable practices allowed religion to re-emerge in the public domain, and address some social developmental gap-induced crises caused by neoliberal transformations - understood as faith-based contributions to global development. Whilst FBOs strive to demonstrate their compatibility with sustainable paradigms, their development frameworks sometimes lack originality. This research re-examines Islamic canonical texts and contexts to explore how Islam addresses development and historical-contemporary crises around sustainability. Primary findings suggest that sustainability strongly adheres to a faith framework, and development as well, albeit with some complexities and incongruencies. This provides a blueprint for development practitioners whose work overlaps with community work, social welfare, Islamic finance or charitable work for meaningful engagement with modern global development paradigms. By reflecting on the SDGs as a pivotal moment in the discipline, the paper contributes to ongoing debates about decolonising development and strengthening faith-engaged approaches in policy and practice.

Contribution short abstract

This presentation explores how foreign aid cuts reshape the role of faith actors in development. It examines opportunities and risks to rights-based approaches, and implications for a decolonised, locally driven aid architecture, marking a critical juncture for research, policy, and practice.

Contribution long abstract

The recent wave of foreign aid reductions represents a defining moment for the field of religions and development. Faith-Based Organisations (FBOs) have historically played a central role in service delivery, advocacy, and community resilience, yet these actors now face unprecedented funding volatility. This juncture raises fundamental questions about how religion is positioned within development policy and practice, and how scholarship responds to shifting global priorities.

This presentation will address four research questions:

1. How are current aid reductions reshaping the role of faith actors within development policy and practice?

2. What opportunities and risks emerge when faith actors assume greater responsibility in contexts of reduced donor oversight?

3. How do these dynamics challenge or reinforce rights-based approaches, particularly regarding gender equality, sexual minorities, and interfaith relations?

4. What are the implications of these shifts for the future of an aid architecture that is increasingly decolonised and locally driven?

This moment constitutes a critical juncture because it may redefine the normative frameworks and practical engagement strategies of the international aid system. On one hand, faith actors are well placed to sustain development outcomes through trust and local networks. On the other, diminished donor scrutiny risks amplifying forms of religious influence that conflict with rights-based development, such as proselytisation or exclusionary attitudes. By synthesising existing evidence and situating these trends within the historical trajectory of religions and development research, this study will illuminate how current disruptions could shape future scholarship, policy, and practice.