U.S. Muslim Giving

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    US Muslims' Perceptions of Waqfs
    (Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, 2025) Cheema, Jehanzeb; Wasif, Rafeel; Siddiqui, Shariq; Mofawaz, Mohannad; Farhat, Zainab; Shehata, Ahmed
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    Muslim Giving and the Environment
    (Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, 2025) Thapa, Sitashma; Cheema, Jehanzeb; Siddiqui, Md. Jonayed; Enrici, Ash; Siddiqui, Shariq
    Drawing on national survey data, this report explores the intersection of Muslim-American philanthropy and environmental giving. It gives a first-of-its-kind quantitative analysis of how Muslim-American donors support environmental causes and also presents a comparison to the general population. Findings reveal that Muslim Americans engage more strongly with environmental giving and causes compared to the general population. This report's findings suggest the important role Muslim Philanthropy can play in promoting environmental action and sustainability.
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    Ramadan, U.S. Muslims, and Zakat: Insights from a National Survey
    (Muslim Philanthropy Initiative at Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, 2024-03-28) Siddiqui, Shariq; Thapa, Sitashma; Cheema, Jehanzeb; Ahmed, Tulip
    Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, observed by Muslims through fasting from dawn to dusk. In 2024, it began in early March and ends in early April. This report explores the link between Ramadan and zakat, a mandatory form of almsgiving and one of Islam's five pillars. A survey of 1,136 U.S.-based Muslim adults revealed that the majority prefer giving zakat during Ramadan, often through fundraising iftars or community prayers. Demographic trends show that Muslim women, married individuals, those in the $50,000-$75,000 income bracket, and the 30–39 age group, particularly registered voters, have a higher propensity to give zakat during this period. Additionally, higher religiosity levels correlate with increased zakat giving during Ramadan, offering insights for nonprofit and Muslim faith-based institutions.
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    U.S. Muslim Women’s Philanthropy Report 2023
    (Muslim Philanthropy Initiative, Lilly Family School of Philanathropy, 2023-12-27) Hussain, Nausheena; Cheema, Jehanzeb; Thapa, Sitashma; Toosi, Massumeh H.; Hughes, Micah; Siddiqui, Shariq
    Philanthropy plays an important role in the daily life of U.S. Muslims. The Muslim American Zakat Report 2022 found that Muslims gave an estimated 4.3 billion dollars in zakat. Despite these impressive numbers, a large gap in understanding U.S. Muslim demographics and dynamics exists. U.S. Muslims, especially Muslim women, are not adequately researched nor their giving patterns understood. This report departs from existing literature on U.S. Muslim women that centers topics such as stigma, negative stereotypes, and discrimination, and, instead, sheds light on Muslim women’s philanthropic behaviors and generosity by analyzing survey data on demographic characteristics, religious beliefs and practices, donation and zakat giving, and volunteerism
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    Muslim American Zakat Report 2023
    (Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy Muslim Philanthropy Initiative, 2023-08-29) Hughes, Micah; Thapa, Sitashma; Cheema, Jehanzeb; Ajmal, Mariam; Wasif, Rafeel; Siddiqui, Shariq; Paarlberg, Afshan; Noor, Zeeshan; Mofawaz, Mohannad
    Zakat, the third of the five pillars of Islam, refers to obligatory alms for all eligible Muslims and is required by God. Often described as an alms tax and a form of “financial worship,” an individual’s intentions determine whether a zakat act is charitable. The 2023 Zakat Report expands knowledge about everyday zakat practices among U.S. Muslims. This report branches out from existing zakat research as it aims to understand lived perspectives and contemporary techniques. Using an SSRS cross-sectional survey, we research U.S. Muslim nonprofit organizations offering tools (i.e., zakat calculators, social media, etc.) and opinions regarding how to perform charitable acts. This report also researches the link between socio-economic demographics and zakat giving. Our findings emphasize the importance of thinking beyond numbers when considering Muslim philanthropy and understanding practices beyond Western-centric definitions.
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    Muslim American Giving Report: Motivations of Giving
    (Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, 2023-05-29) Siddiqui, Shariq; Cheema, Jehanzeb; Noor, Zeeshan; Hughes, Micah; Wasif, Rafeel; Samad, Abdul; Mofawaz, Mohannad
    This report evaluates an adaptive self-report scale regarding what motivates people in the United States to give to charitable causes or organizations by using a theoretical framework of perceived benefits. An exploratory factor analysis on charity motivation scales revealed that religion, in addition to basic socioeconomic demographics such as gender, age, education, race, income, marital status, and geographic location, significantly influence Americans’ motivation to give. The other notable factors were found to be political leaning, civic participation, political conservatism, and involvement in nonprofit service, as they all have an important effect on giving motivation. For this purpose, a representative sample of 1,733 U.S. adults (866 Muslims and 867 non-Muslims) from various ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds were polled to discover more about their giving patterns and what motivates them to contribute. The findings, which mostly aligned with the Muslim American Giving Report 2021 (Siddiqui & Wasif, 2021), indicated Muslims and non-Muslims evidently have different motivations for contributing.
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    Pluralism in Muslim American Philanthropy Report 2022
    (Muslim Philanthropy Initiative, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, 2022-09-08) Siddiqui, Shariq; Hughes, Micah; Wasif, Rafeel; Paarlberg, Afshan; Cheema, Jehanzeb; Samad, Abdul; Noor, Zeeshan
    The Pluralism in Muslim American Philanthropy 2022 Report shows that, on average, U.S. Muslims surveyed perceived themselves to have higher levels of characteristics such as tolerance, valuing diversity and racial inclusivity, religiosity, and motivation to donate to causes benefitting people with marginalized identities (described in the study as “donation motivation”) than U.S. non-Muslims perceived themselves to have. This report details the findings on pluralism and tolerance perception from a self-administered web survey conducted by SSRS for the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. The larger study, of which these findings are a part, surveys the opinions of Muslims and the general population regarding faith customs, donation practices and attitudes, volunteer work, remittances, and zakat. SSRS conducted its survey from January 25 through February 15, 2022 with 2,010 adult respondents (age 18 and over), including 1,024 Muslim and 960 general population respondents. SSRS reached eligible respondents via a nonprobability web panel sample.
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    Muslim American Zakat Report 2022
    (Muslim Philanthropy Initiative, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, 2022-04-14) Siddiqui, Shariq; Wasif, Rafeel; Hughes, Micah; Parlberg, Afshan; Noor, Zeeshan
    Zakat and sadaqa are key Islamic philanthropic traditions. Zakat, the third of five pillars of Islam, is an obligatory act of giving. Sadaqa is voluntary giving beyond the minimum threshold of zakat. Sadaqa can take the form of money, action or abstention; the intention is what defines the act as charitable. This report details the findings on zakat from a self-administered web survey conducted by SSRS for the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. The larger study, of which these findings are a part, surveys the opinions of Muslims and the general population regarding faith customs, donation practices and attitudes, volunteer work, remittances, tolerance, and diversity. SSRS conducted its survey from January 25 through February 15, 2022 with 2,010 adult respondents (age 18 and over), including 1,006 Muslim and 1,004 general population respondents. SSRS reached eligible respondents via a nonprobability web panel sample. We restricted questions about zakat to the Muslim sample.
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    Muslim American Giving 2021
    (2021-10-06) Siddiqui, Shariq; Wasif, Rafeel
    Muslim-Americans have been at the center stage of U.S. political and socioeconomic debates in recent years. Probably the reason being the fastest-growing demographics in the US, with around 1.1% of the U.S. population belongs to the Muslim faith as suggested by a 2018 Pew survey. Muslim-Americans are also one of the most racially diverse groups in the U.S., comprising African-Americans, Asians, Arabs, and Caucasians. Nevertheless, there is a lack of data-driven research about Muslim giving despite their standing. The data and findings from the Muslim American Giving 2021 Study are presented in this study. Muslim Philanthropy Initiative (MPI) at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, IUPUI, in collaboration with the Islamic Relief USA administered this through SSRS. The study surveyed the sentiments of 2005 participants regarding donor behavior, volunteer work, faith customs, attitudes and practices on donation, uncertainty intolerance amidst COVID-19, financial welfare, and sensitivities involved in the donor’s decision-making process. SSRS surveyed from March 17 through April 7, 2021.
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    Drive-thru iftars and coronavirus task forces: How Muslims are observing obligations to the poor this Ramadan
    (The Conversation US, 2020-05-06) Siddiqui, Shariq; Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
    Many of the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims are experiencing the holy month of Ramadan differently this year – disrupted by social distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic. As a scholar of Muslim philanthropy, I have watched as people and institutions have adapted practices to accommodate social distancing rules. I have also observed how the crisis has exposed the vulnerability of Muslim nonprofits.