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Paper short abstract

This research examines the relationship between zakat practices and community building among Muslims in Birmingham, UK, and explains how ethical principles of caring for others are used to aspire the well-being of their community amid prolonged economic and cost-of-living crises.

Paper long abstract

Zakat is an obligation ordained by God unto Muslims not merely as an act of personal piety but as a means to produce and sustain a moral community grounded in an ethic of socioeconomic justice. It is presented not simply as a religious duty but as a right of those who receive it, thus not an act of charity or philanthropy, but the restitution of an amount of wealth that givers have held in trust on behalf of the rightful recipients. This research critically examines how Muslims in Birmingham, UK, navigate their lives amid prolonged economic and cost-of-living crises while holding to ethical and moral principles of care for others in aspiring the well-being of their community. In linking zakat to the idea of community building, Muslims view it as a collective rather than an individual act, a deeply moral practice embedded in the notion of the rights of recipients, guiding behaviour and actions regarding wealth and responsibilities towards fellow community members. The moral principles underlying wealth redistribution present zakat as a form of moral economy, foregrounding community in this act of solidarity. Drawing on empirical data from the lives and perspectives of Muslims in Birmingham, this research offers a novel understanding of contemporary zakat practices as a means of community building within the UK social welfare system and explores how Muslims in Birmingham negotiate ethical and moral principles in pursuing a good life individually and collectively.