Waqf

Tracing the influence of institutional Islamic Public Administration in Europe, the chapter looks at the four European Muslim-majority countries, Turkey, Albania, (the Federation of) Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo. All are successor states to the Ottoman Empire, with its own specific Islamic administrative system, which has been reassessed during the last 25 years as very sophisticated and effective. Bosnia, Kosovo, and Albania today, however, are explicitly non-Ottoman, and in Turkey, only specific interpretations of the Ottoman Empire are en vogue, depending on one’s political perspective. And while none of the three Balkan countries can be said to be an administrative success, a return to the Ottoman administrative paradigm is nowhere on the agenda.

This paper aims to present the viability of unit trust waqf as an alternative asset class for waqf creation. The paper provides the conceptual framework of unit trust waqf based on the existing fixed unit trusts structure managed under Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB). This paper starts with the conceptual exploration of the literature in the area of waqf, which are sourced from authentic sources of al-Quran and al-Hadith, as well as secondary sources such as books, journal articles and online resources. The novelty of this paper lies in its attempt to highlight the importance of waqf investment strategy in ensuring the perpetuity of waqf by preserving its capital to maintain sustainable return for waqf beneficiaries. PNB’s fixed unit trust structure has been identified as a viable conceptual model for unit trust waqf to pool more cash waqf from individual investors. The sustainability of the capital waqf assets in the form of unit trust is preserved through the parameters for its application as proposed toward the end of the paper.

Economic Feasibility Study and its Impact on the Financing Decision: An Applied Study to the Jordan Islamic Banks

Ph.D. Thesis prepared by Esmat Abdelhalim Namer Almustafa

Revised by Abderrazak Said Belabes

Abstract: The paper deals with a Ph.D. thesis on economic feasibility study and its impact on the decision of financing in the banking sector, based on a sample composed of four Islamic banks operating in Jordan. After presenting the thesis plan along with the most important findings and recommendations, the paper proposes some methodological guidance for a foundation of the concept of feasibility study, which has been widely circulated in recent times, especially in the field of Awqāf, characterized primarily by social impact.
Keywords: feasibility study, Islamic banks, finance, Awqāf.


KAUJIE Classification: G21, P49, Z12
JEL Classification:  E22, J42

ABSTRAK Amalan wakaf adalah sangat penting dalam pembangunan umat Islam keseluruhannya. Program wakaf pendidikan menjadi salah satu usaha dalam mengembangkan lagi aktiviti wakaf di Malaysia. Wakaf pendidikan di Malaysia masih berada di tahap permulaan. Pertubuhan Perbadanan Wakaf Selangor (PWS) telah menjadi permulaan yang baik untuk pengurusan wakaf yang lebih sistematik. Tujuan kajian ini adalah untuk mengkaji pengurusan dan pembangunan wakaf pendidikan yang dilaksanakan oleh PWS di Selangor. Kaedah kajian ini menggunakan kaedah temubual bersama pihak PWS yang memfokuskan pengurusan dan pembangunan tanah wakaf. Hasil kajian menunjukkan bahawa pihak PWS tidak melaksanakan wakaf pendidikan secara umum. Walaubagaimanapun, PWS telah membangunkan beberapa projek atas tanah wakaf untuk membangunkan pendidikan di Selangor. Kepentingan kajian ini adalah untuk memperlihatkan bahawa perlaksanaan wakaf pendidikan ini akan memberi impak positif dalam menuju ke arah objektif negara maju seperti terhasilnya modal insan yang berkualiti, pembangunan pendidikan dan pembangunan ekonomi negara. Implikasi dasar kajian ini merujuk kepada pengurusan institusi wakaf yang perlu efektif dalam menguruskan dana wakaf untuk pendidikan dengan menangani semua halangan yang berlaku seperti kekurangan tenaga kerja yang professional dan kekurangan dana pentadbiran. ABSTRACT Waqf is very important in the development of the whole Islamic Ummah. Waqfs for education is one of the efforts in developing more activities waqf in Malaysia. The waqfs for education in Malaysia is still in its initial stage. The establishment of the Selangor Waqf Corporation (PWS) has been a good start for a systematic management of waqf. The purpose of this study is to examine the management of waqf for education and development undertaken by the PWS in Selangor. This study uses method of interviews with the PWS that focuses on the management and development of waqf land. The results showed that the PWS is not implementing educational endowment in general. However, PWS has developed several projects on waqf land to developing education in the state. The importance of this study is to show that the implementation of waqf for education will have a positive impact in moving towards the objective of developed countries such as quality human capital, the development of education and economic development. Policy implications of this study refers to the management of waqf institution to be more effective in managing waqf funds for education to tackle all obstacles such as lack of professional manpower, lack of funds and the administration. Kata kunci: Wakaf pendidikan, institusi pendidikan, pembangunan modal insan.

كتاب يترجم لحياة وأعمال الرواد الذين ساهموا في خدمة أغراض الوقف المتعددة - رجالاً ونساءً - من الواقفين، وكبار الباحثين والمؤلفين في المجال، والقياديين العاملين في هذا الحقل ممن كان بصمة وتأثير، والشخصيات البارزة، ويهدف الكتاب لتغطية هؤلاء الأعلام حول العالم على مر العصور دون تحديد لزمان أو مكان، ويضم الجزء الأول منه 150 شخصية تم نشرها وفق أسبقية توفر المعلومات وليس وفق الأهمية أو أي عنصر آخر. ويتضمن الكتب أربعة كشافات لتسهيل الوصول للمعلومات، الأول: كشاف هجائي بالأسماء يمكن القارئ من الوصول للعلم سواء باسمه الشخصي أو اسم عائلته أو اسم الشهرة، والثاني: كشاف هجائي بحسب الدور الذي لعبه العلم؛ واقف - باحث - قيادي...الخ، والثالث: كشاف هجائي حسب البلد، والرابع: كشاف هجائي بأسماء الأعلام من النساء.

ÖZET İslâm dünyasında çok büyük önem taşıyan vakıf mü­ essesesi, en büyük inkişafını Osmanlı devrinde göstermiştir. Bu dönemde devlet, toplumun din, eğitim, sağlık, bayındırlık, şehircilik, belediyecilik, sosyal yardım, sosyal güvenlik ve benzeri tüm içtimaî hizmetlerini vakıf yoluyla karşılamıştır. Bundan dolayı çok büyük iktisadî kaynaklara sahip olan va­ kıf müessesesinin denetimi kolay olmamıştır. Vakıfların çoğal­ masıyla birlikte, bu kurumun yönetimi ve denetiminde bazı yozlaşmalar da yaşanmıştır. Bunun için mazbut vakıfları yö­ netmek, mülhak vakıfların özert yönetimlerini denetim altına almak için Evkaf Nezareti kurulmuştur. Buna rağmen vakıfla­ rın yönetimleri üzerindeki şüpheler sürmüştür. Bu makalede, Osmanlı vakıf sisteminde meydana gelen bozulmalar bazı ör­ neklerle incelenecektir.

كتاب يترجم لحياة وأعمال الرواد الذين ساهموا في خدمة أغراض الوقف المتعددة - رجالاً ونساءً - من الواقفين، وكبار الباحثين والمؤلفين في المجال، والقياديين العاملين في هذا الحقل ممن كان بصمة وتأثير، والشخصيات البارزة، ويهدف الكتاب لتغطية هؤلاء الأعلام حول العالم على مر العصور دون تحديد لزمان أو مكان، ويضم الجزء الأول منه 150 شخصية تم نشرها وفق أسبقية توفر المعلومات وليس وفق الأهمية أو أي عنصر آخر. ويتضمن الكتب أربعة كشافات لتسهيل الوصول للمعلومات، الأول: كشاف هجائي بالأسماء يمكن القارئ من الوصول للعلم سواء باسمه الشخصي أو اسم عائلته أو اسم الشهرة، والثاني: كشاف هجائي بحسب الدور الذي لعبه العلم؛ واقف - باحث - قيادي...الخ، والثالث: كشاف هجائي حسب البلد، والرابع: كشاف هجائي بأسماء الأعلام من النساء.

هناك نصوص نادرة تلقي الضوء على نواح من تأريخ النبي خارج نطاق كتب السيرة ولذا
فانها لم تحظ باهتمام الباحثين. وفيما يلي تحليل لأحد هذه النصوص وسياقه الأصلي جدل
بين أولاد المهاجرين والأنصار في المدينة المنورة حول أول حبْس (او وقْف أو صدقة
والمصطلحات مترادفة) في الإسلام

Quote as:
Salvatore, Armando, 2016. The Sociology of Islam: Knowledge, Power and Civility, Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.

The Sociology of Islam provides an accessible introduction to this emerging field of inquiry, teaching and debate. The study is located at the crucial intersection between a variety of disciplines in the social sciences and the humanities. It discusses the long-term dynamics of Islam as both a religion and as a social, political and cultural force.
The volume focuses on ideas of knowledge, power and civility to provide students and readers with analytic and critical thinking frameworks for understanding the complex social facets of Islamic traditions and institutions. The study of the sociology of Islam improves the understanding of Islam as a diverse force that drives a variety of social and political arrangements.
Delving into both conceptual questions and historical interpretations, The Sociology of Islam is a transdisciplinary, comparative resource for students, scholars, and policy makers seeking to understand Islam’s complex changes throughout history and its impact on the modern world.

The sociology of Islam has been a late and controversial addition to the sociology of religion. This field of research has been the principal target of the critique of Orientalism and after 9/11 the study of Islam became heavily politicized. In the first volume of what promises to be a major three volume masterpiece, Armando Salvatore steers a careful and judicious course through the various pitfalls that attend the field. The result is an academic triumph combining a sweeping historical vision of Islam with an analytical framework that is structured by the theme of knowledge-power. One waits with huge excitement for the delivery of the remaining volumes.
Bryan Turner, City University of New York

Sociologists of religion have long been awaiting a successor volume to Bryan Turner 's pathbreaking but now dated Weber and Islam (1974).  Armando Salvatore's new book provides just this update and much more.  Ranging across a host of critical case studies and theoretical issues, Salvatore provides a masterful account of religious ethics, rationalization, and civility across the breadth of the Muslim world, from early times to today.  The result is a book of deep intellectual insight, important, not just for the sociology of Islam, but for scholars and students interested in religion, ethics, and modernity in all civilizational traditions.
Robert Hefner, Boston University

A brilliant, pioneering effort to explain the cosmopolitan ethos within Islamicate civilization, The Sociology of Islam encompasses all the terminological  boldness of Marshal Hodgson, making the Persianate and Islamicate elements of civic cosmopolitanism, across the vast Afro-Eurasian ecumene, accessible to the widest possible readership in both the humanities and the social sciences.
Bruce B. Lawrence, author of Who is Allah? (2015)

Wakaf merupakan amalan ibadah umat Islam yang telah berakar umbi sejak zaman Rasulullah SAW lagi. Perkembangannya amat pesat terutamanya sewaktu pemerintahan Empayar Uthmaniah yang berpusat di Turki. Kini, wakaf kembali menjadi tumpuan kerana kemampuannya berperanan sebagai penjana sumber  harta dan modal membangunkan ekonomi umat Islam. Malaysia tidak ketinggalan membangunkan semula wakaf dalam semua bidang termasuk pendidikan. Kertas ini membincangkan model operasi wakaf pendidikan yang meliputi tiga fasa utama. Fasa pertama menggabungkan kaedah lama dan baru menjana harta dan dana wakaf. Fasa kedua melibatkan pengurusan projek pembangunan harta wakaf dan seterusnya fasa ketiga berkaitan pengagihan manfaat wakaf yang terhasil dari projek pembangunan harta wakaf. Masyarakat Islam berpeluang menikmati manfaat wakaf dengan lebih menyeluruh melalui pengurusan wakaf yang telus, berkualiti dan berintegriti.

This study in regard to research recording of accounting and reporting waqf asset to the Indonesian waqf institution. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the process of recording and reporting the waqf asset to the Indonesian institution. This research give qualified information to the stakeholder as well as interested parties to explore waqf accounting system. This study was conducted using the qualitative methods through a case study in the Yayasan Badan Wakaf Sultan Agung by interview, analized financial report and related documents obtained directly from the organization. The result showed the unavalaible of accounting system which specific to organize waqf. this thing has been evidenced by the informants explanation who are worked in financial sector. However, this thing would not be an obstacle to the waqf institution as this institution applied accounting system based on PSAK 45 regarding Financial Reporting of Non-Profit Entities approaching accounting system for WAQF. PENDAHULUAN Dalam perekonomian Islam, terdapat beberapa kegiatan yang bertujuan kemanusiaan antara lain Amal, Infaq, Shadaqah, Zakat dan Wakaf. Amal, Infaq, Shadaqah dan Zakat merupakan kegiatan yang paling sering dilakukan, dimana dalam pengelolaannya pun tidak terlalu sulit, sehingga banyak lembaga sosial yang mengelola kegiatan tersebut. Sedangkan wakaf, pada umumnya wakaf dikenal sebagai merelakan tanah yang dimiliki untuk tujuan umum seperti pembangunan masjid dan sekolah. Hal ini menjadi salah satu faktor yang membuat masyarakat pada umumnya terutama masyarakat yang memiliki penghasilan rata-rata belum tertarik dengan wakaf, dikarenakan mereka berpikir bahwa untuk melakukan wakaf perlu biaya yang sangat tinggi dibandingkan amal, infaq, shadaqah dan zakat. Ali (2002) melakukan penelitian mengenai wakaf di negara Muslim. Dia mempertanyakan peran wakaf dalam melayani masyarakat dan menunjukkan bahwa meskipun banyak aset wakaf telah ditetapkan tapi justru wakaf tidak dimanfaatkan dalam memberikan pelayanan sosial bagi masyarakat Muslim. Selain itu, di beberapa negara Muslim, hal ini mengartikan bahwa sifat wakaf telah diabaikan. Oleh karena itu, tidak mengherankan jika beberapa barang wakaf tidak terpelihara dan terawat bahkan telah hilang. Namun, dalam dekade terakhir kesadaran revitalisasi lembaga wakaf baru muncul di antara negara-negara Muslim. Misalnya, pemerintah Sri Lanka (Marsoof, 2004), Sudan (Mohsin 2005), dan Indonesia (Masyita dkk 2005; Prihatini dkk. 2005) yang menyadari kebutuhan akan perkembangan wakaf dapat menciptakan masyarakat yang lebih baik, dalam artian menjadikan masyarakat menjadi lebih sejahtera. Di antara negara-negara

Ce volume réunit les cinq communications présentées dans le cadre des sixièmes «Conférences d'études iraniennes Ehsan et Latifeh Yarshater», organisées en 2012 par l'Unité Mixte de Recherche 7528 «Mondes iranien et indien» au Collège de France.
Il est consacré à l'analyse des aspects culturels et sociaux - ainsi que religieux, économiques, politiques et matériels - des fondations pieuses en Iran du 14e siècle à nos jours. Les cinq chapitres essaient de couvrir les époques variées et sont classés dans un ordre chronologique à travers leurs thèmes centrales: L'institution du vaqf à l'époque pré-moderne et contemporaine; Mouvements mystiques et fondations pieuses en Azerbaïdjan aux 14e et 15e siècles; Machhad et ses fondations d'illumination; Robes d'honneur conférées par l'Imam Reza; ainsi que Mécénat, instruction publique et nationalisme dans fondations de vaqf à l'époque Pahlavi.

Waqf have played a significant role throughout Islamic civilization history. In the past, sukuk had been used for international trade in Muslim territory in the Middle Ages as a recognition check or document or letter of liabilities of a person who requested deferred his time to certain parties. Today, waqf and sukuk have evoluted toward a new instrument known as sukuk-waqf. Sukuk-waqf become an innovation
for economic sustainability, a panacea in solving the humanitarian funding gap, a brand for charity fundraising or humanity causes, and modern scheme to develope waqf assets. There are two kind of sukuk-waqf, i.e. sukuk linked waqf and waqf linked sukuk. In modern Islamic economy, both of them have three functions, i.e. as the investment function, support the velocity of money, and a tool to reach the sustainable development.

The aim of this study is to examine the current waqf reporting practices in selected waqf institution in Malaysia. For this, the study employs a case study method to analyze intervention of life events which is the waqf reporting practices itself. A focus group discussion method was adopted to collect data from the respondents. For reporting purposes, this study adopted a single-case study method. Findings are analyzed and discussed are been made on current waqf reporting practices under three aspects: (i) waqf governance reporting practices; (ii) waqf performance reporting practices; and (iii) waqf socio-economic impact reporting practices. Based on results, the study highlights a number of good waqf reporting practices by selected waqf institution in Malaysia. However, this study also identified several waqf reporting weaknesses that led for a room of improvement in the future. For that, recommendations to overcome such waqf reporting weaknesses on governance, performance and socio-economic impact aspects are being made based on the findings.

This paper examines the case of Rachel’s Tomb, a shrine revered at various times by various combinations of Muslims, Christians and Jews, looking at how the increasingly incommensurate ideas of local inhabitants and immigrant Jews about how the holy place should be approached led initially to a spatial separation within the shrine and then to violent, and exclusive, battles over sectarian (and increasingly ‘national’) properties.

Awqaf is one tool for economic development of Muslims. Since the days of the Ottoman Empire, the endowment has been appointed as a fundamental development in ensuring a fair distribution of wealth among Muslims. In line with the rapid development of the world, Muslims are seen to be able to compete in ensuring the welfare of the Muslims through the development of waqf land. Waqf endowments primarily the immovable property is a valuable asset. Thus, land ownership should be developed with sustainable development. In Pulau Pinang, the Majlis Agama Islam Negeri Pulau Pinang (MAINPP) is the trustee and administrator of the waqf properties which responsible for maintaining and administer in accordance with the functions of the trustee for all waqf properties in Pulau Pinang. Pulau Pinang consist of five (5) district namely Daerah Timur Laut(DTL) and Daerah Barat Daya (DBD) on the island and Seberang Perai Utara (SPU), Seberang Perai Tengah (SPT) and Seberang Perai Selatan (SPS) on the mainland is one of the states in Malaysia that have the highest current real estate valuation compared to other states in Malaysia. Rapid development in Pulau Pinang has boosted real estate values towards a high level. Strategic positioning of waqf land owned by MAINPP should be used as wisely as possible to improve the economic status of Muslims in Pulau Pinang. When a lot of developers are coming into Pulau Pinang to invest and develop new property, where is the role of MAINPP in ensuring that waqf property are being fully utilized to provide for the Muslim community? This paper objective is to achieve and develop an integrated framework for development of waqf land in Pulau Pinang. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) by using AMOS application will be used to develop the framework. Respondents from all three field of works namely contractors, legislators and financial personnel will be interviewed and collections of data from respondents will be collected through questionnaires. The absence of an effective framework or property management system of waqf land could lead Pulau Pinang to an uncompetitive state when compared to other states like Selangor and Johor. Therefore, the development of an integrated framework which incorporates key elements of the development of waqf properties should be provided to ensure that the correct path to economic development of productive Muslims, especially in Pulau Pinang.

Ottomans called their state with "the great state of eternity". The fact that the Ottoman State was one of long-lived political regimes and hence rightly deserving the attribution of such a 'title' was achieved by virtue of its socio-economic system. There were vitally important contributions of the waqfs in to sustainability of such a socio-economic system. On the other hand, however, the Ottoman State had succeeded in implementing radically new dimensions to the waqf institutions through equally significant contributions.

Osmanlılar, devletlerine "devlet-i alıyye-i ebed müdddet" adını vermişlerdi. Osmanlı devleri bu adı hak edercesine uzun yaşamış siyasi sistemlerden biri olmayı, oluşturduğu sosyal-iktisadi düzen sayesinde başarmıştır. Bu düzenin idamesinde vakıfların hayati denilecek çok önemli katkıları olu. Ama Osmanlı düzeni de aynı derecede önemli katkıları ile vakıf kurumuna yepyeni boyutlar kazandırmayı başarmıştır.

II. Mahmud’un eşi, Sultan Abdulmecid’in annesi, II. Abdulha-
mid, V. Murad, Sultan Reşad ve aynı zamanda Sultan Vahdet-
tin’in babaannesi olan Bezmialem Valide Sultan’ın yaptırdığı
pek çok hayır kurumundan biri olan ve 1847 yılında 200 yatak-
la hizmete başlayan Vakıf Gureba Hastanesi, bugün 600 yatak
kapasitesiyle Bezmiâlem Vakıf Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi
Hastanesi olarak sağlık ve araştırma hizmeti vermeye ve
büyümeye devam etmektedir.
Açılış tarihi itibariyle kaynaklar söz konusu hayır kurumunu,
adında “hastane” geçen “ilk sivil hastane” olarak kabul etmek-
tedir. Tanzimat sonrası başlayan ve bir modernlik görünümü
olarak da beliren sivil hastane yapımı çalışmaları Bezmialem
ile başlamış ve bizzat onun isim analığı yapmasıyla II. Abdul-
hamid’e kadar “Gureba Hastanesi”, II. Abdulhamid sonrası
“Hamidiye Hastanesi”, sonra “Memleket Hastanesi” ve
“Numune Hastanesi”, bugünlerde de içeriği değişmiş olarak
“Şehir Hastanesi” adıyla dönüşümünü sürdürmektedir.

Effective waqf business model is the way forward in order to improve quality and impact of waqf property benefits to the society. The proper utilization of waqf property has resulted in
socioeconomic development in many Muslim countries. In Malaysia, it is reported that there are 11,091.82 hectares of waqf lands in which 92.8% are still undeveloped. The development of the entire waqf lands could accelerate the development of Malaysia especially Muslims society. Regardless of the current development, it is observed that the development and utilization of waqf lands are not being optimized and in fact there are a lot undeveloped waqf
lands which have potential to be developed through various instruments. To date, numerous waqf models have been proposed by researchers, including 6 manuals by the Department of Awqaf, Zakat and Hajj (JAWHAR) to the management of State Islamic Religious Council (MAIN) for the development of waqf lands. Most of the waqf models were developed from Malaysian-based studies and focused mainly on the single factor waqf model (i.e., law model,
management model, financing model), little or no research has developed any comprehensive waqf business model based on global research findings to accelerate the waqf land
management efficiency. This paper, hence aims to justify the need of an effective business model for the development of waqf land in Malaysia. It also provides case studies of waqf
from Singapore and Turkey.

The institution of Waqf has played a significant role of providing opportunities in sharing the
government’s fiscal needs and improving the communities and nation welfare throughout Islamic history. Waqf
have a potential to became one of the important devices regarding the socioeconomics realms in Muslim societies
which will benefit the communities in term of education, health care, national security, transportation facilities, basic
infrastructure, foods and job opportunities. The main objective of the current study is to explore the conceptual
framework in improving the share waqf (waqf corporate) and identifies the uniqueness of the share waqf in
Malaysia. In addition this study is to investigate the contribution of this type of share towards communities and
nation welfare. The methodology of this study is a qualitative research based on the document analysis of relevant
references. The interesting finding of this study indicates that the proper implementation of share waqf is very useful
in developing the economic well being of the communities and nation especially if there is participation among
GLCs.

Статията има за цел да локализира максимално точно границите на град Карлово (или карловския мюлк) според първия официален документ, в който той се споменава като селище, датиращ от 1496 г. В процеса на локализация са използвани стари и по-нови топографски карти, исторически и краеведски данни, както и местната топонимия. Уточнените граници на карловските владения са нанесени прецизно върху спътникови снимки на град Карлово и региона за по-добра визуална представа.

The article reconstructs a debate between Hanafi jurists who operated throughout Ottoman Greater Syria (and beyond) from the seventeenth to the early nineteenth centuries concerning the evidentiary status of the Ottoman imperial registers (defters). At the centre of the jurists’ debate is the permissibility of using imperial registers as independent, uncorroborated evidence. It was a debate about who had the right to regulate and determine what constituted an authentic evidential document: while some jurists argued that it was almost exclusively the privilege of the jurists, others were willing to concede this authority, at least in part, to the Ottoman dynasty and its bureaucracy. Furthermore, the article contends that the debate about the evidentiary validity of the defters captures the complex relationship between Ottoman dynastic law and the Hanafi fiqh discourse. Finally, the debate sheds light on the legal “defterization” of other types of documents and texts, such as a chronicle (taʾrīkh) and court records (sijill).

TOC

Actualités, p. 1

Articles
Muhammad ʿAbd al-Rahim Jazim (Centre français d’archéologie et de sciences sociales, Koweït) Une copie des waqfs de la mosquée al-Ǧanad – II. Index, p. 32

Yasuyuki Kuriyama (Chuo University) Egyptian Fabrics and Their Distribution as Seen in the Red Sea Trade during the Thirteenth to Fifteenth Centuries, p. 89

Sabine Schmidtke (Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton) Preserving, Studying, and Democratizing Access to the World Heritage of Islamic Manuscripts: The Zaydī Tradition, p. 103

This study presents the ʿatīḳ (old) and cedīd (new) appointment registers located in Ankara in the Archive of the General Directorate of Foundations in Turkey, and discusses their importance for the social and economic history of Jerusalem after 1840. They are composed mainly of records of appointments, promotions, and dismissals of waqf employees, and were continually updated. This article focuses on the registers of the Maghariba neighborhood, a unique example of an area founded as a waqf quarter; an unprecedented event in Islamic history. Although a number of studies have explored the establishment of the quarter and its awqāf (Ar. s. waqf; Ott. vakf, pl. evkaf),1 the changing nature of these institutions over time merits more attention.

During the period of Anatolian Seljuks, a great importance was given to the urban development as the economic, political or military centers with a synthesis of Islamic, Turkish, Byzantine and Persian cultures. Special care was taken of the introduction of public services, especially the health services that have never been neglected. Seljuks have considered medicine of utmost importance and have contributed significantly to civilization. During the Seljuk period, a lot of pioneering madrasahs has been founded as a continuum of the Islamic history with significant contributions also affecting the Ottoman culture as a successor. It is evaluated that, as in the case of all public services of the period, the organization and introduction of the health services had also close relation with the urban development and waqf institutions (foundations). Hence in this study it is aimed to investigate the structuring related to the introduction of the health services during the aforesaid period within the scope of waqfs and urban development by a research process through original archive documents.

This is the preliminary literature review in what I hope to turn into a more detailed study. I welcome feedback, comments and suggestions.

In her book on the medieval kingdom of Andhra, in southern India, Cynthia Talbot discusses the well-documented phenomenon of the Indian temple as a center for economic and social re-distribution: “a number of historians have argued that the various strata of society in medieval South India were interconnected primarily through the large-scale giving of religious endowments and the subsequent re-distribution of economic resources and honors back to the community (Talbot 2001, 99).” Redistribution is defined as being indicative of complex societies: “With the emergence of strong leaders, the resources of society accumulate at certain foci … and are then passed back out in the form of extravagant feasts and the like (Talbot 2001, 100).” In India, the temple, to which patrons donated food, money, property, and even entire villages as tax-farms, became the primary locus of such economic and social activity.

The waqf , an institution widespread in many parts of the medieval Islamic world was also an endowment-driven establishment that is well documented as a legal and cultural institution. Similar to those bestowed upon Hindu temples in medieval South India, waqf endowments could range from small personal donations to very large projects, which could include the donation of property, industry, and tax-farms as a means to support them. Part tax shelter, part benevolence organization, some waqfs provided services to the public, while others provided goods and services for a specified clientele. Given the similarities between this system of temple patronage in India and the waqfs further west, it seems plausible, then, to inquire to what extent waqf institutions played a similar economic and social role to the Indian temple in the crossing of social strata and re-distribution of economic and other resources. In the discipline of medieval South Asian history, this phenomenon has been well documented, and has given birth to a number of interesting related studies detailing the rise of certain merchant classes, the development of regional identities in the pre-colonial period, the strengthening of business and social ties across caste and socio-economic barriers, and has given rise to a more holistic understanding of the way in which medieval South Indian society functioned, particularly with regards to the undocumented lower classes. Given the surface-level similarities between the South Indian temple and the waqf, this paper will serve as a preliminary examination focused on the following questions: Has this topic been addressed in literature on the waqf and, if so, how? And if not, is this a result of the available documentation, the trends in scholarship on the waqf, or due to a functional difference between the two systems that renders such a comparison moot?