For much of the twentieth century, representations of aid were tied to the image of asymmetrical relations between ‘the West’ and ‘the Third World’. More recently, this picture has been diversified through attention to Cold War histories as well as flows of aid from China and the Gulf. However, in the wake of the ‘Global War on Terror’ and the continuing marginalization of Muslim actors, there has been comparatively little interest in how large-scale Islamic organizations reconfigure and appropriate the modern project of aid for themselves.
The SNSF-funded Eccellenza project Quiet Aid: Service and Salvation in the Balkans-to-Bengal Complex explores the nexus between modern aid and longstanding Islamic concerns. Led by AHCD Faculty Associate Till Mostowlansky, the project does so by focusing on global Islamic organizations that place ideas of service and salvation at the centre of their ethical engagement.
In the context of the project, a workshop entitled Service – Duty – Care: Theorizing Civic Engagement from Asia to Europe and Beyond will be convened from 28-29 June at the Palazzo Vendramin dei Carmini in Venice, Italy. Workshop participants will investigate how a focus on service and duty might illuminate new aspects of care and how the rich literature on care can help to theorize service and duty from anthropological and historical perspectives.