While the modern welfare state plays a dominant role in poor relief and other forms of charitable work, from a historical perspective philanthropic foundations (often endowed or otherwise connected with rulers) were of greater importance in the welfare sphere. Building upon work in both the history of charity as well as the scholarship on foundations, the organizers and participants of this conference sought to explore the dynamic between foundations and welfare, and in particular in the context of the three monotheistic religions of Christianity, Judaism and Islam in the Eastern Mediterranean. The chronological remit of the papers was quite broad, ranging from the Middle Ages to contemporary Egypt.
In their opening remarks, ZACHARY CHITWOOD (Mainz) and ESTHER MÖLLER (Mainz) both underlined that, despite many shared characteristics, the development of the concept of philanthropy and the relationship of philanthropy with foundations proceeded along different paths in the three monotheistic religions. Particularly noteworthy in this regard is the motive of the cultivation of knowledge: while in Judaism and Islam the founding and funding of educational establishments was a fundamental component of the notion of charity, in Christianity the fostering of learning was for many centuries not viewed as a pia causa, and only became a valid objective for a foundation in the Latin West during the Late Middle Ages, and in the Orthodox world somewhat later. Finally, the conveners underlined the necessity to discover and discuss the important link between foundations and Philanthropy in the Eastern Mediterranean as a topic that innovatively links both well-established and new research areas in this field.
The first session of the workshop was dedicated to “Discourses of Giving and Endowing”. The workshop’s inaugural paper by SASHA GOLDSTEIN-SABBAH (Leiden) was dedicated to transnational Jewish philanthropy. She sketched the development of Jewish charity from a premodern form dominated by local concerns to modern transnational charity networks. Particular attention was given to the organization of philanthropy in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, which greatly increased in importance until the mid-twentieth century. Although West European Jewry until the end of the nineteenth century predominantly played the role of donors in these charitable organizations, in the decades after 1900 the profile of MENA Jews shifted from recipients of charity to that of donors.
MINA IBRAHIM (Gießen) focused on the practice of local Coptic charity in contemporary Egypt. His fieldwork in this sphere highlighted the often complex relationship between recipients and distributors of charity, whereby recipients, in order to meet their own financial or spiritual needs, often bypass the centrally-organized khidma system of poor relief offered by the Coptic Church in cooperation with the state. He painted a picture of a complex interplay between local forms of charity, ecclesiastical oversight and state authority, which the various actors in this system have to negotiate and which they are sometimes also able to appropriate for their own needs.
In the first paper of the following panel dealing with “Practices and Structures of Charity and Endowing”, JOHANNES PAHLITZSCH (Mainz) stressed the importance and the influence of social groups for Byzantine philanthropy. He elaborated on the vertical and horizontal relations these groups had on the basis of family ties and (in rare cases) guilds. In order to augment his analysis he compared the Byzantine welfare system to the Islamic and Roman system. Thus, he was able to show that social groups participated in charity not only for memoria and good deeds, but also for a stable and secure income for their members and descendants.
IGNACIO SÁNCHEZ (Warwick) presented an overview of the medical system in Eastern Islamic lands during the Middle Ages. He determined that public health was an Islamic duty, so it was naturally influenced by religion. In addition, he illustrated the different social groups, professions and institutions that constituted the system. Sánchez concluded his paper by addressing the profound changes which occurred in medical care from the 7rd to the 14th century.
The third panel was entitled “The Legal, Political and Economic Dimension”. First, ASTRID MEIER (Halle an der Saale) dealt with Christian endowments and paid particular attention to a property dispute in Damascus in the early 18th century between a Catholic priory and the Orthodox monastery of St. Catherine’s (on Mount Sinai). By showing the integration of Christian charity into Muslim law, her contribution shed new light on the Ottoman practice of administrating religious institutions of various religious backgrounds as well as on the economic and political implications of a legal practice that often did not follow the norms as explained in legal treatises. Another economic aspect of Ottoman charity was discussed by VERUSCHKA WAGNER (Bonn). Since antiquity slaves and freedmen have played an important role in the dynamic between philanthropy and foundations, and Wagner explored this phenomenon in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire. The innate desire for masters to be remembered beyond death itself led to donations of all kinds, and some of them, mostly gifts such as valuables, blankets, cushions or jewelry, were also frequently given to slaves, even while the master was still alive. Other philanthropic acts only took place after the master died. One of the greatest gifts a master could give to a slave was manumission: this was widely considered to be a pious act. Conversion was an important aspect of the philanthropic relationship between master and slave. Amongst the slaves or freedmen that did benefit from charity, they had usually converted to the Muslim faith, often long before they benefitted from charity in a meaningful way.
The fourth panel of the conference explored the “Gender Dimension”. RANDI DEGUILHEM (Aix-en-Provence) analyzed the relationship between endower and beneficiary with a special perspective on the involvement of women. She mainly focused on Jewish and Muslim cases in the Mediterranean, using the Geniza documents as her main source. Referring to specific cases, she showed how endowments changed when women were the benefactors. As an example, she mentioned a case in which women received clothes in a charitable act, which is interpreted as the fulfillment of the societal norm of modesty that was specifically important for women. She also mentioned the importance of foundations for Muslim women in the Ottoman Empire: normally, women had restricted rights with regard to commerce and property. However, they were able to establish and maintain foundations (waqfs), which became an important tool for privileged women to influence society.
ZACHARY CHITWOOD (Mainz) then discussed one of the few surviving testaments of Byzantine women: the testament of the widow and nun Kale Pakouriane, which was drafted in 1098. Although she was young at the time the will was written, the wealthy Kale made provisions for the afterlife, making several bequests that were to ensure her and her husband’s eternal commemoration by different groups of benefactors. The topic of commemoration is not unusual for Byzantine testaments and the result did not particularly differ from the testaments of men. But it was only due to her special status of a (wealthy) widow that she was capable of making these considerable benefactions, meaning that women who wanted to achieve the same results as their male counterparts were only able to do so under special conditions and with extra effort.
The final panel was dedicated to the “Regional Dimension”. “Michigan in Arabia” – a U.S. Student-led charitable endeavor to shape the future of Iraq – was the focus of SARAH EPPING’s (Berlin) contribution. She showcased the attempt to raise funds for humanitarian relief work in Basra, Iraq, by the University of Michigan with the help of an annual fundraiser and other marketing tools like newspapers and pamphlets. In this context, arguments were distributed that were to help collect the money needed to establish a branch hospital in Basra. These arguments were based on reasons why Americans were obliged to help and train the local population. Supposedly, the lack of medical care in the area, the presence of life-threatening diseases and the unsanitary and backward living conditions served as arguments why doctors and specialists needed to offer their help. Arguments for the establishment of a branch hospital were also undergirded with geopolitical reasoning: Basra was presented as a vital port-city key to the long-term interests of the United States, particularly for its commercial ambitions in the region. This endeavor was also motivated by regional university rivalries, for the University of Michigan, by American standards a relatively new land-grant institution, sought to emulate the charitable undertakings of more established and prestigious East Coast universities, particularly those of the Ivy League.
The final paper presented by ESTHER MÖLLER (Mainz) treated charitable associations established in the 19th and 20th century from all three monotheistic religions in Egypt. In the continuity of local charity traditions, endowments were not only created by religious institutions, but also by influential families like the one of Shaykh Aly Yussif. Moreover, international and interreligious associations were founded that also had political influences that shaped Egypt’s future and their western orientation. Nevertheless, the challenge of state politics played into this complex power structure. Different forms of representation (new ministries, the Muslim Brotherhood) were closely connected and cooperated with endowments, which could endanger their autonomy and therefore could be used as a tool of propaganda for Egypt to establish and widen its influence. As her principal example, Möller brought up the Red Crescent as an internationally active, independent and non-political association that e.g. helped Palestinian refugees who did not receive much political support at the time. To conclude, the speaker shed light on the different possible functions of a waqf that can span from religious origins to political control.
In the final discussion, the workshop discussants concluded that the broad chronological and geographic focus of the workshop has been very fruitful in discerning the many continuities and convergences between different foundations and charitable associations. Moreover, all agreed that more research has to be done on the multiple links between the juridical, social and cultural aspects of philanthropy.
Conference Overview:
Welcome and Introductory Remarks
Johannes Paulmann, Zachary Chitwood and Esther Moeller
Session 1: Discourses of Giving and Endowing
Chair: Noémie Duhaut (Mainz)
Motivations and Misconceptions: Transnational Jewish Philanthropy 1918–1940: Sasha Goldstein-Sabbah (Leiden)
My Church, My Association: A Constellation of Coptic Christian Charity (21st Century): Mina Ibrahim (Gießen)
Session 2: Practices and Structures of Charity and Endowing
Chair: Birgit Kynast (Mainz)
Foundations in Byzantium from a Social- Historical Perspective: Johannes Pahlitzsch (Mainz)
The Role of Islamic Charitable Endowments in the Provision of Health Services: Ignacio Sánchez (Warwick)
Summary of the First Day’s Discussion
Session 3: The Legal, Political and Economic Dimension
Chair: Roman Shliakhtin (Mainz)
»Religious« Dimensions of Charitable Waqf Making: Legal, Political and Economic Implications Astrid Meier (Halle)
Slaves, Philanthropy and Foundations in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire: Veruschka Wagner (Bonn)
Session 4: The Gender Dimension
Chair: Katharina Stornig (Gießen)
Women Endowers and Choice of Beneficiaries: Comparative Examples from the Geniza to Late Ottoman Times: Randi Deguilhem (Aix-en-Provence)
The Testament of Kale Pakouriane: Charity and Memoria of a Byzantine Founder at the Time of the First Crusade: Zachary Chitwood (Mainz)
Session 5: The Regional Dimension
Chair: Stanislau Paulau (Mainz)
»Michigan in Arabia« – a U.S. Student-led Charitable Endeavour to Shape the Future of Iraq: Sarah Epping (Berlin)
Between State Politics, International Relations and Local Charity Traditions. Humanitarian Aid in 20th-Century Egypt: Esther Möller (Mainz)
Summary of the Conference and Final Remarks