MOVING OUT OF THE MARGINS: THE SHI‘AS OF LEBANON AND THEIR JOURNEY OUT OF MARGINALIZATION AND POVERTY. LESSONS FOR MISSIONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST.
By
RUPEN DAS
B.Sc. Syracuse University, 1977 M.A. Syracuse University, 1979
A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Theology, Acadia Divinity College, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Ministry
Acadia Divinity College, Acadia University Spring Convocation 2014
© By RUPEN DAS 2014
This thesis by RUPEN DAS was defended successfully in an oral examination on 18th March 2014.
The examining committee for the thesis was:
Dr. Anna Robbins, Chair
Dr. Clinton Bennett, External Examiner
Dr. William Brackney, Thesis Supervisor
Dr. Glenn Wooden, Internal Examiner
ii
This thesis is accepted in its present form by Acadia Divinity College, the Faculty of Theology of Acadia University, as satisfying the thesis requirements for the degree Doctor of Ministry.
I, RUPEN DAS, hereby grant permission to the Head Librarian at Acadia University to provide copies of this thesis, on request, on a non-profit basis.
Rupen Das Author
Dr. William Brackney Supervisor
18 March 2014 Date
iii
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1: Introduction 1
I. Origin of the questions 1 1. What will be learnt and how will it be applied? 4 II. Foundational issues that influence the discussion on the poor and poverty 4 2. The hermeneutical and translation questions 5 a. Hermeneutics – The lens through which the Bible is read 5 b. The challenge of the translation principle 10 3. The question of theology and context 12 4. The missiological question 16 a. Different perspectives 17
III. What is the fresh take that this thesis provides 23
IV. Summary 23
Chapter 2: Research Methodology 25
I. Methodology 25 1. Why this specific methodology? 26 2. Why approach the question this way? 27 3. How did you pick those people? 28 4. Questions to be asked? 29 5. Recording, documentation and storage 29 6. Research standards in Lebanon 30
II. How this thesis is organized 30
Chapter 3: The Biblical Basis to Understand the Poor and Poverty – The Old Testament 34
I. The Wisdom Literature 37
II. Ancient Israel 41 1. The Ancient Near East 41 2. Early Israel and the origins of social organization 47 3. Was Israel’s social contract different? 54 4. Social change and consequences 59 a. Social and economic polarization, abuse and poverty 59 b. Injustice and the new poor 62 c. The Kingdom of God – the ideal that was forgotten 66
iv III. Summary 69
Chapter 4: The Biblical Basis to Understand the Poor and Poverty - The New Testament – The Gospels 71
I. First Century Palestine 72
II. Jesus – The rich and the poor 78
III. Jesus – Injustice and poverty 81
IV. Summary 86
Chapter 5: Teachings and Practices of the Early Church – The New Testament and Church History 88
I. The context of the early church 89
II. The practices and impact of the early church 92
III. The teachings of the early church 95
IV. Summary 106
Chapter 6: Theological Challenges 109
I. What is the Gospel? The teachings of Jesus versus Paul 109
II. Righteousness 117
III. Understanding the Millennium and the attitude towards the poor 121 1. Postmillennialism 123 2. Dispensationalism 126 3. The great reversal 129
IV. Healing the divide 131 1. Modern missions 131 2. The impact of Liberation Theology 134 3. The World Council of Churches 137 4. The Fundamentalist Evangelical reaction 138 5. Lausanne 1974 and beyond 140 6. Micah Declaration 2001 and Integral Mission 144
V. Summary 144
v Chapter 7: Theoretical Paradigms to Understand Poverty 146
I. Understanding poverty 146 1. Emerging understanding of poverty 147 2. Analyzing poverty 151 3. Types of poverty 155 4. A rights-based approach to understanding poverty 159 5. Complexity, chaos and understanding poverty 162
II. Summary 165
Chapter 8: Islamic Perspectives on Poverty 166
I. Islamic conceptions of poverty 167 1. The causes of poverty explained by the Qur’an and hadith 167 2. Prescribed responses to poverty 174 3. Recipients of charity 180
II. Human rights and obligation in Islam 184 1. Traditional Islamic resistance to human rights 186 a. Qur’anic basis for universal morality 188 b. Basis for ethical necessity and obligation 190 c. Concept of obligation and moral development 192
III. Social change and Islam 195 1. Muhammad the social reformer 196 2. The Qur’anic understanding of social change and development 198 3. Islamic thought on social justice and social change 202
IV. Summary 210
Chapter 9: Moving from the Margins – The empowerment of the Shi‘ites of Lebanon 213
I. History of the Shi‘ites of Lebanon 213 1. Origins of Shi‘ite Islam 213 2. Origins of the Shi‘ites in Lebanon 215 3. Social mobilization and political institutions of the Shi‘ites in Lebanon 216
II. Factors in the empowerment of the Shi‘ites of Lebanon 222 1. Sense of community and care for their own 224 2. Provision of social services 227 3. Understanding of poverty, marginalization and social change 229 4. Development of a social movement 232 5. Appealing to their cultural unconscious 238
vi 6. A vision for the future 242
III. And So…Lessons for community development and missions in the 245 Middle East
IV. Summary 252
Chapter 10: Conclusion 254
I. So what does this all mean? 261
Appendices
Appendix 1. Consent Form 263
Appendix 2. Approval from the Research Ethic Board 265
Appendix 3. Model for empowering communities out of poverty 266
Bibliography 290
vii LIST OF FIGURES
Fig. 1. How This Thesis Is Organized
Fig. 2. Dimensions Of Poverty
Fig. 3. Categories Of The Fluctuating Nature Of Poverty
Fig. 4. Three Types Of Collective Action
Fig. 5. The Project Cycle
Fig. 6. Community Capacities And Assets
viii ABSTRACT
The focus of this thesis is to understand how Islam conceptualized poverty and how this understanding, along with other factors, enabled the Shi‘ite community in Lebanon to move out of the margins of society and out of poverty. The objective of this thesis is to identify lessons from the Shi‘ite community’s empowerment, for the church and
Christian missions in the Middle East, in order for them to be more effective. This thesis reviewed the Old and New Testament’s teaching on poverty using a social-historical lens in order to understand the context of the teaching on the care for the poor. It then explored what the teaching and practice of the early Church was and its resulting impact.
It also used specific theoretical paradigms to analyze and understand the nature of poverty. The end result of this thesis is the development of a model for empowering communities to move out of poverty.
ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
ABCD Asset Based Community Development ABCFM American Board of Commission for Foreign Missions AIDS Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome AUB American University of Beirut CBM Canadian Baptist Ministries CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child DfID Department for International Development DMin Doctor of Ministry GNI Gross National Income GNP Gross National Product HDI Human Development Index ILO International Labor Organization LCWE Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization MDG Millennium Development Goals NGO Non-Governmental Organization RBA Rights Based Approach REB Research Ethics Board UBC University of British Columbia UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UDHR Universal Declaration of Human Rights UN United Nations UNDP United Nations Development Program WCC World Council of Churches
x ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
To understand why God cares for the poor has been a lifelong journey, which the Doctor of Ministry (DMin) program at Acadia Divinity College and this thesis has given me the time and space to explore and study. A number of people have been instrumental in this journey. Dr. Gordon King, a colleague from World Vision Canada and now at Canadian
Baptist Ministries (CBM), has been a very good sounding board and his insights have been more valuable than I can express. His passion for the rights of the poor gives weight and substance to what he believes and shares.
I’m deeply grateful to Dr. William Brackney for his wise supervision. His comments and suggestions were extremely valuable in focusing this thesis. The added benefit was our common concern for building bridges with the Muslim community. This concern provided a platform for discussions as the thesis evolved.
My appreciation to the leadership at CBM, specifically Sharlene Craig, Dr. Terry Smith,
Sam Chaise and Dr. Gary Nelson (now at Tyndale University College and Seminary), to allow me the time, space and funding to pursue the DMin.
I would not be in the DMin program if Dr. Bruce Fawcett had not been willing to take a chance on me. How does one say thank you?
A number of people facilitated the introductions to the key interviewees for this thesis.
They include Dr. Martin Accad, Wadih Masri, Dr. Nayla Tabarra and Rev. Nabil
Shehadi.
xi The Professors in each one of the courses in my DMin program were instrumental in shaping my thinking for this thesis. I’m particularly grateful to Dr. Ron Sider and Dr.
James Dunn, who through their courses, private conversations and emails, answered critical questions and provided the needed insights.
I want to acknowledge that so many others have provided insight and encouragement in this journey. While they are too many to name, I am indebted to them.
My parents, Prasanta and Ruby Das, and my grandparents were always models, since childhood, of compassion for the poor as an integral part of their faith. I always sensed that they understood this better than my theology could explain. My deep gratitude to my wife Mamta, for her encouragement and the space she provided to pursue the DMin and work on the thesis. Our children and their spouses share our concern for the poor and broken. I am grateful to our daughter Layla for proof reading the thesis and to our son
Nishant for putting the diagrams into a format that is understandable.
Ps. 115:1, “Not to us, LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.”
xii Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
Faith seeking understanding.1 St. Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109 AD)
I. The Origins of the Question
This research and dissertation has its genesis in my own faith journey in trying to
understand whether Immanuel, the God who is with us, is actually concerned about the
poor. With a traditional Evangelical2 and Fundamentalist upbringing from the 1950s
through to the early 1970s, there was very little that was taught in the churches we
attended about the social dimensions of the Gospel. The focus was on maintaining the
“purity” of the Gospel message, and any attempt to contextualize the Gospel to specific
situations of injustice and poverty, as Liberation Theology was doing in the 1960s, were
relegated to the realms of heresy.3 The Evangelical theologian, Carl Henry’s prophetic
book in 1947, The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism, where he mourned
the lack of action and the loss of voice within the Fundamentalist churches against the
1 St. Anselm is said to have written, "Neque enim quaero intelligere ut credam, sed credo ut intelligam. Nam et hoc credo, quia, nisi credidero, non intelligam.” ("Nor do I seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe that I may understand. For this, too, I believe, that, unless I first believe, I shall not understand."). Webb, Clement C. J. ed., The Devotions of St. Anselm Archbishop of Canterbury (London: Methuen & Co., 1903), 20. 2 Gabriel Fackre identifies five classifications for evangelical, i) Fundamentalist (stress on Biblical inerrancy, sectarian, in defense of doctrine); ii) Old or Traditional (stress on conversion and personal holiness reminiscent of old German pietism); iii) New or Neo- (stress on social relevance but not at the expense of personal faith, compassion, intellectual development); iv) Charismatic and Pentecostal (signs and wonders, power of the Holy Spirit, experience); and v) Justice and peace (also known as radical evangelicals). In Al Tizon, Transformation after Lausanne: Radical Evangelical Mission in Global-Local Perspective (Eugene, OR: Wifp and Stock Publishers, 2008), 3. 3 There were numerous exceptions to this among the Evangelical churches – the American Baptists in Central America being one.
1 social ills of society, was not popular reading in the churches we attended. He writes,
“Fundamentalism is the modern priest and Levite, by-passing suffering humanity.”4
Inspite of the churches we attended, within my own family I had grandparents and parents who were deeply concerned about the poor and would demonstrate the compassion of Christ as an integral part of who they were and what they believed, without ever loosing their zeal to be open about their faith and to worship the living God.
It was only during the last few decades that I have been able to work through these issues and have a better grasp of both the eternal and temporal dimensions of salvation and the
Good News about the reign of God.
The questions of this particular research originated when we moved to Lebanon as Global
Field Staff with Canadian Baptist Ministries (CBM) in 2009 and encountered the missional legacy of the Social Gospel planted by the early Presbyterian, Congregational,
Methodist and Anglican missionaries in the universities, schools and hospitals they established. This was in sharp contrast to the Evangelical Churches (mainly Southern
Baptist and Pentecostal), who were focused almost exclusively on evangelism and church planting. Looking back, the question was, did the institutions that had been established address the issues and problems of poverty? Were there other effective strategies that would be more relevant today? With poverty, injustice, political turmoil and violence on the rise in the Middle East, the Church in the region in this season seems to be on the
4 Carl. F. H. Henry, The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1947), 2.
2 defensive (often for good reasons) rather than asking how it can be relevant in its various contexts.
My experience in disaster relief and community development over two and a half decades made me aware that strategy for social change must be contextual. They needed to be rooted in the local culture and worldview, and reflect the dreams and expectations of local communities. Change to be successful, cannot be externally imposed
If the Church were to ever address the causes of poverty and injustice in the Middle East as part of its witness, it would have to learn from local experience also. What was not clear to me at that point was how the church should be involved? So before I could answer that question, there were two other questions that needed to be answered.
• If poverty is contextual, what does poverty look like in the Middle East? While there was a lot of data and statistics on this, there was almost nothing on the dynamics and causes of poverty in the region. In order to fill this gap, over the past couple of years, I led an extensive study that looked at the human face of poverty in Lebanon. This culminated with the publication in 2011 of the book Profiles of Poverty: The human face of poverty in Lebanon.5 One of the significant findings of the study was that in Lebanon (and in the region) poverty was not because of the lack of services and opportunities, but was a human rights issue and the causes were marginalization, powerlessness and voicelessness of the poor. This finding has had a significant bearing on the focus of this thesis. The issues of marginalization and powerlessness of the poor are evident in understanding the dynamics of poverty in the Old and New Testaments. They are also some the causes of poverty historically among the Shi‘ites in Lebanon.
• The second question was whether there were any examples of communities in the country that had managed to move out of poverty? If there were, what factors enabled them to do so? There are very few studies of models of empowerment of the poor in the Arab world. Where countries had moved out of poverty, it had been because of wealth from oil, gas and other natural resources. However, significant poverty still remained in pockets across the country, mostly because of marginalization based on religion and ethnicity. There were a few examples of communities that had moved out
5 Rupen Das and Julie Davidson, Profiles Of Poverty: The Human Face Of Poverty In Lebanon (Beirut: Dar Manhal al Hayat, 2011).
3 of poverty without the benefit of the wealth from natural resources. The Shi‘ite community in Lebanon, which had been among the most marginalized in the country for centuries, had over the past forty years largely moved out of poverty to become one of the most influential in the country. While many have credited Imam Musa Sadr’s Movement of the Deprived for this achievement, the reality is far more complex.
This study will focus on this second question, as to what can the Church and missions in
the Islamic context of the Middle East learn from the experience of the Shi‘ites in
Lebanon.
1. What will be learnt and how it will be applied?
This thesis will aim to respond to the question, “What can be learnt from the efforts and
strategies of Shi‘ite community in Lebanon to move out of centuries of marginalization
and poverty?” The social and political transformation of the Shi‘ites in Lebanon is the
result of many factors and influences, which will be explored in detail in Chapter 9. In
this thesis we hope to explore the causes for the historical marginalization of the Shi‘as in
Lebanon and the strategies and dynamics of their subsequent empowerment.
The results of this thesis will be foundational in proposing a model that the Church and
Christian missions in the region could use as part of integral mission, by enabling the
Church to complement the verbal proclamation of the Gospel with demonstrating the
reality of the Kingdom of God through its acts of compassion, love and social justice.
II. Foundational Issues That Influence the Discussion on the Poor and Poverty
Even though the focus of the research will be the Shi‘a Muslim community in Lebanon,
this being a thesis within a Doctor of Ministry program, it is expected the lessons learned
from this research will contribute towards effective ministry in an Islamic and Middle
4 Eastern context. The Bible and Christian theology undergird the framework for this dissertation, but other secular frameworks are also considered. It is, therefore, important to identify the foundational issues within the larger Christian community that influence any discussion on the poor and poverty.
The issues of the poor, of poverty, and of the Church’s response to it are not a neutral topic and it is difficult to conduct a rational discourse on them (at least in the Western world). Three foundational issues influence the different perspectives; i) how the
Scriptures are to be approached, ii) whether theology can be contextual, and iii) the exact nature of the mission of the Church.
1. The Hermeneutical and Translational Question
The first problem is a hermeneutical question and the issue of translation in how one reads, understands and applies the Scriptures.
a. Hermeneutics – The Lenses Through Which The Bible Is Read
Each theological approach, whether the Social Gospel, Liberation Theology, Post
Colonial, or an Evangelical Dispensational theology, claim to use the Bible to understand the world and justify their points of view. The question of the relevance of the Christian faith to issues like poverty and injustice is handled using either proof texts from Scripture or by imposing a theological framework (like Dispensationalism, Postmillennialism, or
Liberation Theology) onto Scripture. Using proof texts ignores the context and the sweep of Scripture, and usually puts an end to any questions or discussion to try and understand the reasons and implications of what is said in Scripture. On the other hand, imposing a
5 theological framework onto Scripture can limit or distort the sweep of the Biblical narrative. As a result, one reads the Scriptures through a specific theological lens rather than understanding the breadth of Scripture as it was written in its historical context.
What is lost, as well, is the mosaic of authors with their different styles that somehow together communicate the work of God and His mission.
It is important to note that each theological orientation has its own hermeneutics. While there is a range of Evangelical perspectives, Fundamentalists over the past century have viewed the Bible as God’s eternal Word and do not perceive the contextual distance and differences between the Old and New Testament times and the present as a problem.
Walter Houston, emeritus fellow at Mansfield College, Oxford University, writes that they see the Bible as “not [as] a series of documents arising from and reflecting the interests and beliefs of people within a particular ancient society, but as word spoken from above and beyond them, certainly speaking to them, but equally speaking to us.”6
So if it is God’s word, it is to be obeyed unquestioningly.
Others approach the Bible differently. More recent scholars such as David Pleins, professor of religious studies at Santa Clara University, struggle with the ethics and social vision of the Hebrew Bible and its relevance to today’s society. He writes, “In a sense, in the Bible’s struggles we will see our own. In its wrestling with divergent theological perspectives and diverse ritual practices, we can hear our own civic debates. In its people’s struggle for survival, autonomy, and liberation, we can see enduring political aspirations. In its conflicting voices, we find encouragement to add to its provoking of the
6 Walter Houston, Contending for Justice (London: T & T Clark, 2008), 7.
6 conscience of the postmodern polis.”7 But the past is more than just a mirror. The Bible is rooted in time and space and Pleins acknowledges the particularity of the biblical contexts, the cultural and historical differences and sees within it God’s engagement with
His creation. It is by understanding and critically engaging with these contextual particularities that relevance for today’s society emerges.
Gustavo Gutiérrez, often perceived as the voice of Liberation theology, identifies a number of themes that provide the paradigm for understanding God’s work of salvation.
Central to this paradigm is the story of the Exodus, the liberation of Israel, which according him is a political act.8 For Gutiérrez, all of Scripture is then read and understood through the prism of the Exodus. He writes, “The memory of the Exodus pervades the pages of the Bible and inspires one to reread often the Old as well as the
New Testament.”9 South African theologian, Allan Boesak, speaking from within South
Africa’s struggle for social and political justice, crystalizes Gutiérrez’ thinking on the centrality of the Exodus to understanding all of Scripture. He writes, “Yahweh’s liberation is not an isolated happening, a kind of flash-in-the-pan that is here one day and gone the next. It is the movement through history wherein Yahweh has proven himself to be the Liberator.”10
Houston refers to Liberation theologian Jose Porfirio Miranda’s perspective that a specific moral position needs to be adopted when reading the Bible. He quotes Miranda:
“what prevents people from hearing what the Bible is saying is not that they live in a
7 David Pleins, The Social Visions of the Hebrew Bible:A Theological Introduction (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001), vi-vii. 8 Gustavo Gutierrez, A Theology of Liberation (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2009), 88. 9 Gutierrez, A Theology of Liberation, 90. 10 A.A. Boesak, Farewell to Innocence: A Socio-Ethical Study on Black Theology and Black Power, (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1977), 17.
7 different cultural world from the Bible, but that they do not stand morally where the
Bible stands, on the side of the poor and the oppressed”.11 So the hermeneutics of
Liberation Theology are based on specific moral assumptions of justice being at the core of the mission of God, with the exodus event as the foundational act that demonstrates what God intends to do in history.
In each of these cases their hermeneutical starting points are different. All hold on to the idea of the Bible’s relevance for today, but they differ on how we hermeneutically appropriate the grand, overarching narrative of Scripture. This has a profound influence on whether God’s people should address social issues, and if they do, how they are to do it.
It would be naive to believe that anyone could read the Scriptures without the lenses of their own culture, gender, social and economic status, life experiences, season of life, political ideology, and value system. Trinity Lutheran Seminary Professor Mark Allan
Powell gives an example of life experiences influencing how one reads the Bible. He had his American students read Lk. 15:11-31, the parable of the prodigal son, close their
Bibles and then retell the story as faithfully as possible to a student partner. Powell notes that not a single one of his students mentioned the famine in Lk. 15:14. Sometime later, while visiting St. Petersburg in Russia he asked fifty participants to do the same; 42 of the fifty mentioned the famine. Why the difference? The Russians remembered or had been told first hand of the Nazi siege of the city during World War II when 670,000 died from starvation. Their experience influenced how they read the Bible. Powell notes that
11 Houston, Contending for Justice, 6, referring to Jose Porfirio Miranda, Marx and the Bible: A critique of the Philosophy of Oppression (English Translation. London: SCM Press, 1977), xviii.
8 for them, the parable was about God rescuing them from a desperate circumstance. While for the American students, who had never experienced a famine, the parable was about a disobedient son who repents and returns to his father, who in turn forgives him.12
This is known as domain specificity. It means that a person’s reactions, mode of thinking and intuition is dependent on the context in which the matter is presented. It is “what evolutionary psychologists call the “domain” of the object or event….We react to a piece of information not on its logical merits, but on the basis of which framework surrounds it, and how it registers with our social-emotional system.”13
So the poor read the Bible and are attracted to a God who heals, provides for their needs, gives them dignity, and frees them from the economic and social bondages and exploitation that they experience. The non-poor focus primarily on the spiritual dimensions of Scripture. For example, Lk. 4:18-19, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Traditional Evangelical commentary sees in these verses Jesus freeing individuals from sin and demonic oppression, and enabling them to see the Truth. This is what they understand to be the
12 Mark Allan Powell, "The Forgotten Famine: Personal Responsibility In Luke's Parable Of "The Prodigal Son"", in Literary Encouters with the Reign of God, eds. Sharon H. Ringe and H.C.Paul Kim (London: T & T Clark International, 2004), 265-274. 13 Nassim Nicholas Taleb, The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable (New York, NY: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2010), 53.
9 meaning of the year of the Lord’s favor or “the acceptable year of the Lord” (the Year of the Jubilee).14
So everyone perceives and understands Christ and reads the Scriptures through the lenses of their everyday lives, their memories and the experience of their own culture and history.15
b. The Challenge Of The Translation Principle (How Is The Gospel Communicated to and Understood by The Poor)
Daniel Migliore, Princeton University theologian, articulates the need to be aware of one’s own context and values. “Confession of Jesus Christ takes place in particular historical and cultural contexts. Our response to the questions of who we say Jesus Christ is and how he helps us is shaped in important ways by the particular context in which these questions arise.”16
This is foundational to what Princeton Theological Seminary Scottish missiologist
Andrew Walls refers to as the “translation principle”, when the Gospel, the Good News
14 From Matthew Henry’s commentary of Lk. 4: 18-19, “By Christ, sinners may be loosed from the bonds of guilt, and by his Spirit and grace from the bondage of corruption. He came by the word of his gospel, to bring light to those that sat in the dark, and by the power of his grace, to give sight to those that were blind. And he preached the acceptable year of the Lord. Let sinners attend to the Savior’s invitation when liberty is thus proclaimed. Christ's name was Wonderful; in nothing was he more so than in the word of his grace, and the power that went along with it. We may well wonder that he should speak such words of grace to such graceless wretches as mankind. Some prejudice often furnishes an objection against the humbling doctrine of the cross; and while it is the word of God that stirs up men's enmity, they will blame the conduct or manner of the speaker. The doctrine of God's sovereignty, his right to do his will, provokes proud men. They will not seek his favor in his own way; and are angry when others have the favors they neglect. Still is Jesus rejected by multitudes who hear the same message from his words. While they crucify him afresh by their sins, may we honour him as the Son of God, the Saviour of men, and seek to show we do so by our obedience.” Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry Concise Commentary (Austin, TX: Wordsearch Corporation, 2008). 15 E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O'Brien. Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cutural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible (Downers Grover, Il: IVP Books, 2012). 16 Daniell L. Migliore, Faith Seeking Understanding: An introduction to Christian Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2004), 197.
10 of Jesus Christ, is communicated in different cultures and places. Walls writes,
“Incarnation is translation. When God in Christ became man, divinity was translated into humanity….The first divine act of translation thus gives rise to a constant succession of new translations. Christian diversity is the necessary product of the incarnation”.17 While this translation includes language and culture, one wonders if it should also include patterns of thought and reasoning as well as philosophical frameworks and worldviews.
While the Gospel message is universal in its message, it is contextual in the way it is translated and understood in different societies and socio-economic groups.18
One of the drivers for contextualization is the concept of people groups, which is one of the bedrocks of mission strategy today, and is based on socio-cultural, linguistic and political criteria to determine the uniqueness of each group.19 The more recent work around the culture20 and psychology21 of poverty, raises the question of whether the poor in a given context are sociologically (and maybe even psychologically) different? They have different worldviews, community history, culture, and life experiences than the communities around them. So the question arising from the translation principle is how do the poor and those living in poverty perceive and encounter the living God and
17 Andrew Walls, The Missionary Movement In Christian History: Studies In The Transmission Of Faith (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1996), 27-28. 18 For a detailed discussion of this see these two texts by Lamin Sanneh, Encountering The West: Christianity And The Global Cultural Process (London: Orbis Books, 1993), and Translating The Message: The Missionary Impact On Culture (London: Orbis Books, 2009). 19 This is based on Rev. 7:9 where it says “…a great multitude…from every nation, tribe, people and language…” were before the throne of God; the transliteration for the word nation being ethnos, meaning ethnic group. 20 Oscar Lewis identifies the term “culture of poverty”. His descriptions of this culture of poverty have been controversial because of the perceived generalization he makes. 21 Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed (New York, NY: The Seabury Press, 1970) was seminal in addressing this issue.
11 understand that Jesus Christ is indeed Good News? Fundamental to this is, how do they read and understand Scripture?22
So one’s hermeneutics based on their theology, will determine if and how the issues of the poor and of poverty are addressed. The principle of translation will determine how various communities and individuals, especially the poor, understand the message of the
Gospel. In looking at the Church’s missional engagement with the Arab Muslim world, one’s hermeneutics and then how the Gospel is conceptually translated across cultures and socioeconomic groups is a critical issue.
2. The Question of Theology and Context
Understanding the issues of poverty and injustice is not just based on how one reads the
Scriptures, but is also theological. For a long time theology focused on articulating the core and essence of the Christian faith systematically, often referred to as Biblical
Theology and Systematic Theology. It was believed that this constituted a corpus of truth that was not only unchangeable in the way it was articulated but complete in and of itself.
However, over time theology has moved beyond this to try and understand the relevance
22 While throughout the history of missions tremendous effort has been made to be relevant to the context, whether it was in language, dress, lifestyle, forms of worship and even church design and architecture, little has been done to understand the culture of poverty and “translating “ the Gospel to that context. The challenge has been to understand the uniqueness of Christ and His work in relationship to the religions of the world. Among the early radical attempts to understand the uniqueness of Christ was Bishop John Nicol Farquhar in India who in 1913 wrote a book entitled “The Crown of Hinduism”. He focused on the theology of “fulfillment”, in that Christ not only came to fulfill the law and the prophets (Matthew 5:17) but also all the world’s “higher religions”. It is in this sense that Christ is the “crown” of Hinduism. Years later, E. Stanley Jones’ efforts in India to use local forms for dialogue (the satsangh) to communicate who Christ is, has extended contextualization to evangelism by using a method of communication that was appropriate for a religiously pluralistic society such as India. Don Richardson’s pioneering missionary work among the Sawi people of Irian Jaya took the process one step further with the use of local redemptive analogies to explain the redemptive work of Christ using stories, cultural practices and incidents from within their own context. The challenge of contextualization is ensuring that the uniqueness of Christ and His work of redemption is not lost in the process of adapting the message and strategy to a new culture.
12 of our faith and spirituality in an increasingly complex and pluralistic world where moral dilemmas are pushing against boundaries that had not previously existed.23 Migliore wrote of this process.
Theology must be critical reflection on the community’s faith and practice. Theology is not simply reiteration of what has been or is currently believed and practiced by a community of faith…when this responsibility for critical reflection is neglected or relegated to a merely ornamental role, the faith of the community is invariably threatened by shallowness, arrogance and ossification.24
In the 1920s through to the 1950s Karl Barth focused on the attitude that is required, that of repentant humility, as the community of faith seeks to examine itself in the light of revealed truth. “Theology is an act of repentant humility…This act exists in the fact that in theology the Church seeks again and again to examine itself critically as it asks itself what it means and implies to be a Church among men.”25
Alister McGrath expands the understanding of theology. He writes that Christian theology “is therefore understood to mean the systematic study of the ideas of the
Christian faith”26 which include the issues of sources, of development, of relationships, and of applications.27 With regards to applications he says, “Christian theology is not just
23 The Gospel and Our Culture Network, http://www.gocn.org/ is “A network to provide useful research regarding the encounter between the gospel and our culture, and to encourage local action for transformation in the life and witness of the church.” 24 Migliore, Faith Seeking Understanding, xv. 25 Karl Barth, God in Action (Edinburgh: T & T. Clark, 1936), 44. 26 Alister E. McGrath, Christian Theology: An Introduction. 5th. (Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011), 101. 27 The “sources” address the sources on which Christian ideas are based and include the Christian Bible, tradition, reason and experience. “Development” looks at how ideas have evolved over time. This is the field of historical theology. “Relationships” looks at how the various Christian ideas relate to each other – “the interconnected network of ideas”. Ibid, 101.
13 a set of ideas: it is about making possible a new way of seeing ourselves, others, and the world, with implications for the way in which we behave.”28
So while Truth is universal, theology is contextual because it deals with how we live out our faith and spirituality. Most of the basic understandings in systematic theology evolved and crystalized as a result of questions or challenges to the Christian faith during specific periods of history. So in effect, all theology is contextual. For example, John
Calvin’s Institutes are his theological method. Though Martin Luther and Huldrych
Zwingli wrote extensively, they never systematized their theology. Calvin’s Institutes is one of the earliest major systematic presentations of the core of Reformation theology. In retrospect, the Institutes are a reflection of John Calvin’s attempts at developing theology in the context of 16th century Europe, and then applying theology to daily life, specifically in Geneva. For Calvin, theology was not just an academic discipline developed in isolation, but it was developed and applied in context.
Hans Frei’s Typologies of Christian Theology29 describes the spectrum of theological method and of theological engagement with specific contexts, with theology as a unique academic discipline on one end of the spectrum, all the way to theology being
“Christian self-description” at the other end. Type 5 of the typologies, Christian self- description (as different from academic theology) defines itself solely from Scripture and from Christian experience, which is usually influenced significantly by context and culture.
28 Ibid, 102 29 Hans W. Frei, Types of Christian Theology, eds. George Hunsinger and William C. Placher (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1992).
14 Baptist theologian and ethicist James McClendon further nuanced the concept of theological method and theological engagement with specific contexts. He states that there are two facts that undergird the development of theology and Christian ethics. The first is that theology is not without hard struggles. This struggle is seen in the interaction of theology held by the church and the world. He states that the theology, the basic points of view of the church and of the world are not the same. He writes, “The church’s story will not interpret the world to the world’s satisfaction.”30 This difference cannot be diminished. He explains, “conspiring to conceal the difference between the church and the world, we may in the short run entice the world, but we will only do so by betraying the world.”31
Attaining the right balance in interacting with the world is a challenge. Mennonite theologian Thomas Finger states that the church cannot be separated from the world, though, as he states the Anabaptists have sometimes attempted to do this. Finger writes,
“Theology is always in dialogue with its cultural contexts…including the academic sphere. Theology tests the church’s current beliefs and often revises them through conversations with its culture. Anabaptists should not only celebrate their distinctives but also recognize how preoccupation with distinctives can encourage narrowness, exclusivity and a false sense of superiority.”32
The second fact McClendon states is that because the Church is not one congruent whole, there are divided theologies. He refers to Friedrich Schleiermacher, whom he considers
30 James McClendon, Ethics: Systematic Theology Vol. 1 (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2002), 17. 31 Ibid, 18. 32 Thomas N. Finger, Contemporary Anabaptist Theology: Biblical, Historical, Constructive (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2004), 96.
15 the father of modern theology, who argued that any given theology must represent and refer to the doctrine of some particular Christian body at some particular time.33
Theology is more than systematic theology and needs to be relevant in each and every context where the Church is present. There needs to be critical reflection by the Church on whether God has anything to say about poverty, injustice and how we as Christians are to relate to the poor, since poverty is so pervasive in the global south and growing in the northern countries. Christian ethics needs to flow out of the understanding of contextual theology.
3. The Missiological Question
Two conversations in which the author was a participant over the past few years frame the discussion about the poor and poverty in the context of the mission and mandate of the Church. The first was with a veteran western church planter who had lived in the
Middle East for a long time and had suffered at the hands of the authorities in various countries because of his faithful work. He stressed that ministries of compassion were only good and have value if they supported the verbal proclamation of the Gospel.
A couple of years earlier, in a conversation after one of the many wars that have roiled this region with devastating effect, an Arab Christian leader34 said that one of the few ways left for the church in the Middle East to maintain an effective witness in an increasingly hostile Islamic context was to reach out to the poor and demonstrate the love and compassion of Christ.
33 McClendon, Ethics, 18. 34 Rev. Dr. Habib Badr, senior pastor of the National Evangelical Church in Beirut stated this in a conversation with the author on July 15, 2007.
16 These two conversations represent the two bookends of an intense discussion within the larger Christian community, with many perspectives in-between and some even beyond the bookends. The missiological issue is whether addressing the needs of the poor and issues of justice is a mandate given by God to the Church. Responding in compassion to human needs, which from a human point of view seems fairly straightforward, has become a complex discussion involving theology, understanding of missions, eschatology, and even what we mean by ‘church’. Even though significant thinking has been done at the Lausanne conferences (LCWE35) and other forums over the past thirty years, the deep theological divides remain.
There probably aren’t many who would question whether Christians should show compassion towards the poor. It seems a good thing to do, whether one is a Christian or not. The question is not just a missiological one but also one of Christian ethics, whether the church as an organized community of faith (an institution) should also be involved in addressing poverty and issues of justice. The fear is that this would somehow detract from what God has to say about eternity.
a. Different Perspectives
There are a variety of perspectives within the church on what the content of the Gospel is and how the Christian and the Church should relate to society. Theologian and social activist Ron Sider identifies four divergent models.36 The first is the individualistic evangelical model where the focus is on personal sin, where the content of the Gospel is
35 Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization 36 Ronald J. Sider, Good News and Good Works: A Theology for the Whole Gospel (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1993), 356-358, Kindle.
17 salvation of the individual and where society is changed when converted individuals are salt and light. The second model is the radical Anabaptist model where the main emphasis is on personal sin with some emphasis on social sin. The content of the Gospel is the Good News of the Kingdom and where converted individuals and the example of the church change society. The third model is dominant ecumenical model, where the main emphasis is on both personal and social sin, though more of the emphasis is on the social sins. The content of the Gospel is the Good News of the Kingdom and where society is changed through conversion, life of the church and through restructuring social institutions. The last model is the secular where the emphasis is on the offence against one’s neighbour and structural injustice. The content of the Gospel is on peace and justice in society and where society is changed by restructuring society.
Expanding the four divergent models, there are six perspectives as to whether Christians and the Church should be involved in addressing social issues.37 All of them draw from specific readings of the Scriptures dependent on their theology. While there is overlap between these perspectives, each one highlights a particular emphasis. i. A human rights perspective: For many Christians, compassion is a good thing and is
not necessarily a reflection of their faith. It is part of living in this world and being
part of a common humanity. Many Christians in the post-modern generation believe
this and is modeled for them by celebrities like Bob Geldof (the driving force behind
Live Aid), Bono and Angelina Jolie, among many others. Compassion for them, one
37 This is based on the author’s observations and interactions over the past three decades of ministry in a variety of contexts and cultures.
18 of the highest of human values, is not theologically or biblically based but is rooted
and grounded in the concept of human rights.38 ii. Saving souls for eternity: Quoting Matt. 26:11,39 some say that Jesus Himself said
that there would always be the poor in this world, implying that if this was so, then
nothing can be done for them. They say that Jesus was prioritizing worship of Him
over the needs of the poor, though the Deuteronomy passage Jesus quoted from does
not imply that at all.40 For them the focus of ministry is evangelism and the Great
Commission. Dwight L. Moody highlights the urgency of the task when he said, “I
look upon this world as a wrecked vessel. God has given me a lifeboat and said to me,
‘Moody, save all you can.’”41 So the question is what value is there in providing them
food and improving the quality of their lives, if their eternal destiny is not addressed?
This group rejects any involvement in social issues. Ron Sider describes this
perspective as the individualistic evangelical model. He writes, “What do people who
adopt this model care most passionately about? Nothing in the world, not even life
38 Robert Weber writes that younger evangelicals live in constant tension with the world. He summarizes it, “the younger evangelicals’ presence in the world is clearly a threefold tension. They live in this world and want to be responsible citizens, yet they are not of this world. They are moving away from moral relativism of their postmodern world, seeking to offer a sharp alternative to the dominant culture. In personal and the family and church life, they hope to be an embodied presence, an alternative culture that acts as salt and light, transforming society towards the kingdom ideal.” Robert E. Weber, The Younger Evangelical: Facing The Challenges Of The New World (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2002), 235. The clarity they seek is not necessarily in historical, Biblical Christianity. 39 “The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me”. Cf. Mark 14:7, John 12:8 40 The cross reference in Deuteronomy 15:11 “There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land”, indicates a very different emphasis. Since there will always be poor in the land, God commands generosity towards the poor and the needy. 41 Quoted in David J. Bosch, Transforming Mission (New York, NY: Orbis Books, 2008), 318.
19 itself, they believe, is as important as coming to saving faith in Jesus Christ that leads
to eternal life in the presence of the risen Lord.”42 iii. The primacy of evangelism: There are some who say that caring for the poor and
those in need is important as it provides an opening for evangelism. As their physical
needs are met it provides an opportunity to share the gospel with them. While they
acknowledge that God is concerned about issues of justice and reconciliation, for
them the only purpose for addressing social needs is that it opens doors and builds
bridges. Providing assistance is a means to an end and the objective is evangelism.
Both Billy Graham and John Stott acknowledged the need to address social issues,
but were clear that evangelism was the primary mandate of the Church. This was
articulated in the Lausanne Covenant (1974) where in Section 5 (Christian Social
responsibility) it states, “we affirm that evangelism and socio-political involvement
are both part of our Christian duty” but clarifies this in Section 6 (The Church and
Evangelism), “In the Church's mission of sacrificial service evangelism is primary.”43 iv. Integral mission: Since Lausanne 1974, there has been a growing belief that
evangelism and addressing social issues are integrally linked, as the proclamation of
the Gospel has social implications and social involvement has evangelistic
consequences. The thinking has sought to balance the focus on the Great Commission
(Matt. 28: 19-20), to make disciples of all nations, with the Great Commandment
(Matt. 22: 36-40), to love God with your total being and your neighbour as yourself.
The emphasis is both on the last thing that Jesus said - the commission that He gave
42 Sider, Good News, 34. 43 The Lausanne Movement, The Lausanne Covenant, 2013, accessed July 23, 2013, http://www.lausanne.org/en/documents/lausanne-covenant.html.
20 us, and on the greatest commandment He gave us to obey. They do not prioritize one
over the other. For them, both comprise two interconnected parts of God’s mandate
for the Church.44 This is articulated in the Micah Declaration.45 v. Development and transformation: Since the mid 1800s there has been a strong
emphasis on the Church being the instrument to bring justice and establish the
Kingdom of God here on earth. This is to happen by transforming society (by
addressing poverty and injustice) through every God given means possible such as
education, health programs, food security programs, and technology, among others.46
David Bosch describes this perspective. “Sin is defined preeminently as ignorance.
People had only to be informed about what was in their own interest. The Western
mission was the great educator, which would mediate salvation to the
unenlightened.”47 Many Christian community development organizations ascribe to
this perspective of transformation of communities and of the world, even if they
theologically don’t agree with Postmillennial Theology and the Social Gospel. Their
44 The expression “integral mission” was first articulated within the Latin American Theological Fraternity (FTL). Rene C. Padilla and Tetsunano Yamamori, The Local Church, Agent of Transformation: An Ecclesiology For Integral Mission (Buenos Aires: Kairos Ediciones, 2004). 45 “Integral missions or holistic transformation is the proclamation and demonstration of the Gospel. It is not simply that evangelism and social involvement are to be done alongside each other. Rather, in integral mission our proclamation has social consequences as we call people to love and repentance in all areas of life. And our social involvement has evangelistic consequences as we bear witness to the transforming grace of Jesus Christ. If we ignore the world we betray the Word of God, which sends us out to serve the world. If we ignore the Word of God, we have nothing to bring to the world”. Available at <
21 focus is on community transformation while only acknowledging in passing the
fundamental flaw of human nature (sin) and the issue of eternal destiny.48 vi. Justice through Christ as savior, deliverer and liberator: Many in the majority world,
especially in poor and marginalized communities, yearn for a God who is concerned
for all aspects of their often crushed and broken lives. They are attracted to a God
who draws near (Immanuel), who walks with them and understands their sorrows and
pain, because He Himself has experienced them. They also know that the causes of
their poverty are the unjust structures of society and the injustice perpetuated by those
with power. For them, salvation is not just knowing the God who draws near, but also
experiencing justice in society. The Good News for them is that Jesus Christ is savior,
deliverer and liberator. Being poor they not only cry out to Christ for help, but they
look forward to the day when God’s Kingdom would be established and justice and
poverty will be wiped away. They not only yearn for heaven, but also for a just world.
The focus of ministry among them is Micah 6:8, “He has shown you, O mortal, what
is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and
to walk humbly with your God.”
While this thesis will focus primarily on integral mission as the model for the church to engage with society, it will also incorporate elements of transformation and development perspective and the justice perspective.
48 Interestingly, the focus and theology of Evangelical Christian NGOs reflect more closely those of Liberation Theology. “Liberation for modern people, says Gutierrez, is a ‘process of transformation’ designed to ‘satisfy the most fundamental human aspirations – liberty, dignity, the possibility of personal fulfillment for all.’” Pleins, The Social Visions, 164.
22 III. What is the Fresh Take that this Thesis Provides?
This thesis will first seek to understand the Biblical teaching on the poor and addressing
poverty through a social-historical lens. Based on the more recent scholarly works on the
social and historical contexts of the Bible, it will seek to ask the question, why does the
Bible teach what it does on helping the poor and addressing injustice.
This thesis will also provide fresh insights into Islamic perspectives on understanding and
responding to poverty, besides the learnings from the attempts of the Shi‘a community in
Lebanon to break out of poverty,
Islam is very clear about its obligation to the poor who are in their midst. Giving to the
poor is one of the pillars of their faith. Other than charitable acts, there isn’t much else in
Islam about social mobility and empowering poor communities to move out of poverty.
Through interviews and a literature review, this study will explore these thoughts within
Islam.
IV. Summary
This research has its genesis in the author’s struggle to find relevance for his faith in the
various contexts he has lived in. The answer was not as simple as imagined because there
are different perspectives as to whether Christians should engage with society and
culture, and on the broader question as to what the mandate of the Church is. Three issues
frame these discussions. The first is how one reads and understands the Bible and its
overall narrative. The second is whether theology can be contextual. And lastly the
understanding of what the mission of the Church is.
23 Having moved to the Middle East with CBM, the questions were what does poverty look like in the region and whether there were models of communities moving out of poverty.
The first question was answered through an extensive study of poor communities in
Lebanon to understand the causes and dynamics of poverty.
The purpose of this thesis is meant to answer the second question. The example of the
Shi‘as of Lebanon and their move from the margins of society and from poverty to becoming power brokers in Lebanon is one that merits attention because it has only been analyzed through a political lens. The social dynamics of the process could provide valuable lessons to the Church and the strategy of integral mission in how to enable communities to become empowered to move out of poverty in the context of the Middle
East.
Chapter 2 will describe the methodology. Chapter 3 and 4 will explore the Biblical understandings of the causes of poverty.
24 Chapter 2
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The purpose of this research is to understand how the Shi’ite community in Lebanon
moved out of centuries of marginalization and poverty, in order to contribute to the
development of a model of ministry for the Church in the region to use.
There are specific questions that arise from the statement of purpose that this study tried
to answer:
• How does Islam understand poverty and why people are poor? • How does Islam address poverty in their midst? • Do their teaching and activities help communities/individuals move out of poverty (social mobility) or does it just address immediate needs? • What was unique about the Shi‘as in Lebanon that enabled them to move out of poverty? • What does the Church in the region have to learn about how to address poverty as part of being missional?49
I. Methodology
The primary method of research is qualitative and will include a literature review,
analysis of speeches of key Shi‘ite leaders, review of key documents from the period
being studied, and formal interviews of key leaders and thinkers.
There has been very little written in English about the Shi‘ite community in Lebanon
(probably about 8-10 books). Similarly, there isn’t much in English on understanding the
theology and perspectives on poverty and its dynamics from an Islamic perspective.
49 This will be explored in detail in Chapter 6 including the perspective of the World Council of Churches and a range of Evangelical thought on this issue.
25 1. Why This Specific Methodology?
In order to understand how the Shi‘as in Lebanon were able to move out of poverty, the ideal approach would have been to interview 30-40 members of the older generation who could remember the events of the 1960 and early 1970s. However, Lebanon today is a socially fragmented country and access into the various communities is very difficult due to horrific memories of the atrocities committed during the 15-year civil war, and the ongoing fear of the conflict in Syria spilling across the border and further fragmenting society.
The alternative methodology to be used in this study is to conduct in-depth interviews with key influential social and religious leaders to understand their thinking and the perspective of their communities. Most of the material that has been written in English is by researchers and academics from outside the Shi‘ite community in Lebanon.50 The in- depth interviews of this study are intended to understand the perspectives of reality and history from within the Islamic and specifically the Shi‘ite community in Lebanon.
50 The key texts are the following: Tamara, Chalabi, The Shi'is of Jabal 'Amil and the New Lebanon (New York, NY: Palgrave MacMillian, 2006). H.E. Chehabi, ed., Distant Relations: Iran And Lebanon In The Last 500 Years (London: I.B.Tauris Publishers, 2006). Marius Deeb, "Shia Movements in Lebanon: Their Formation, Ideology, Social Basis, And Links With Iran And Syria," Third World Quarterly 10, no. 2 (April 1988): 683-698. Hillel Fradkin, “The Paradoxes of Shiism.” Current trends in Islamist Ideology (Hudson Institute) 8 (2009): 5-25. Heinz Halm, Shi'ism. Translated by Janet Watson and Marian Hill (New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 2004). S.H.M. Jafri, The Origins and Early Development of Shi'a Islam (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000). Hassan Mneimneh, "The Arab Reception of Vilayat-e- Faqih: The counter-model of Muhammad Mahdi Shams al-Din." Current Trends in Islamist Ideology (Hudson Institute) 8 (2009): 39-51. Vali Nasr, The Shia Revival (New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 2007). Nichlas Noe, ed., Voice of Hezbollah: The Statements Of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah (London: Verso, 2007). Augustus Richard Norton, Amal and the Shi'a: Struggle For The Soul Of Lebanon (Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1987). Amal Saad-Ghorayeb, Hizbu'llah: Politics and Religion (London: Pluto Press, 2002). Roschanack Shaery-Eisenlohr, Shi'ite Lebanon: Transnational Religion and the Making of National Identities (New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 2008). Rodger Shanahan, The Shi'a of Lebanon: Clans, Parties and Clerics, (New York, NY: I.B.Tauris & Co. Ltd., 2005).
26 The results of the interviews will be correlated with secondary sources, namely books on the topic, documents, and speeches of key leaders. The larger framework within which this would be situated is the question of Islam’s understanding of poverty and the reasons why people are poor. A specific issue within this framework is whether Islam only addresses the immediate needs of the poor or is there space in its teaching for social mobility for the poor to move out of poverty. The Shi‘ite community in Lebanon is unique in this respect, in that there was social mobility within Lebanese society.
2. Why approach the question this way?
The rise of Hezbollah as a political and military force has created much interest in not only the organization but also in the Shi‘ite community in Lebanon. However, the interest has been from a political or historical perspective.51 While the international and academic communities have acknowledged the marginalization of the Shi‘ite community over the centuries and their remarkable recent move out of poverty, the reasons for these have never been analyzed. It is worth noting that Hezbollah is only a part of the larger Shi‘ite community in the country.
This research project hopes to first hear the voices of key leaders within the broader
Shi‘ite community, their perspective of what happened and how this transformation was possible. The bias of their perspectives will be balanced by secondary literature.
Secondly, both the data from the interviews and the secondary sources will be analyzed using theories and frameworks that define the study of poverty, community development
51 See bibliography in footnote 2.
27 and social movements (and non-movements52). It is hoped that this will help explain the dynamics of the process of change that occurred.
The leaders who were interviewed provided unique perspectives and insights on events because of their relationships with key actors, besides their own standing in the community:
• Saddredine Sadr, (Shi‘a) the son of Imam Musa Sadr and one of the directors of the Imam Musa Sadr Foundation. • Ibrahim Shamseddine, (Shi‘a) the son of Mohammed Shamseddine (the former Grand Mufti of Lebanon) is an international speaker on issue of religious violence and peacebuilding. He is the director of a number of foundations addressing social issues among the Shi’ite community in Lebanon. • Hussein and Nadeen (Last name withheld), (Shi‘a background). Nadeen is the daughter of a journalist, who was a close companion of Imam Musa Sadr. • Sheikh Mohammad Abu Zayad, (Sunni), the Chief Justice of the Sunni Court in the city of Saida in Lebanon. • Colin Chapman, the professor emeritus of Islamics at the Near East School of Theology (NEST), Beirut.
The choice of the above interviews includes key leaders from both the Shia and Sunni communities in order to understand the different perspectives on historical events and also the nuances of Islamic theology and practice with regards to poverty and the poor.
Each interviewee with the exception of Hussein and Nadeen and Colin Chapman were interviewed in-depth at least twice - Sadr (2), Shamseddine (2), and Abu Zaid (4).
3. How Did You Pick Those People?
The above interviewees were picked after reading extensively all the literature that I could find on the topic and then after extensive discussions with various leaders, academics and thinkers in Lebanon. Each of them is either an acknowledged leader in
52 A term defined by sociologist Asef Bayat.
28 their community or has unique access to historical memory. In some cases they have both. I have since personally come to know all the above individuals.
The research and analysis was not based on the content of the interviews only but was triangulated by the analysis of secondary data and sources.
4. Questions To Be Asked
Each interviewee has a different role within their community. So the questions and the emphasis on certain questions varied. However, the questions explored fall into two categories.
The Qur’an and Poverty
• What does the Qur’an and associated literature (the hadith) say about the poor and poverty? • How should a Muslim respond to poverty and the poor? • What does the Qur’an say about the causes of poverty? • Does the Qur’an refer to social mobility of the poor and marginalized or does it only focus on their immediate needs being met? • How do Islamic scholars conceive of social change?
The Empowerment of Shi‘ites of Lebanon
• What were the various elements that came together in the 1960s-90s period that enabled the Shi‘as of Lebanon to move out of poverty? • What was the role of Imam Musa Sadr and his Movement of the Deprived? • Why did this empowerment take place among the Shi‘as and not the other marginalized communities in Lebanon?
5. Recording, Documenting And Storage
Due to the political climate and sensitivities of the crisis unfolding in the region and in
Lebanon, most public figures do not want to be recorded. While the interviewees, with
29 the exception of Hussein and Nadeen, agreed to be identified, none of them agreed to be
recorded. This however allowed for a certain level of honesty and openness in the
discussions about personal perspectives. (The Consent Form is in Appendix 1).
Extensive notes were taken during each interview and these are stored on the researcher’s
computer and backed up on an external hard drive.
The content of the interviews are not deemed to be politically sensitive or contain
personal information. So there are no discernable security concerns. The data has been
retained.
6. Research Standards In Lebanon
Lebanon does not have national research standards. However, research institutions in the
country abide by the various international standards. For example, at the American
University of Beirut’s (AUB) Faculty of Medicine the following standards are used:
http://www.aub.edu.lb/fm/shbpp/research/Pages/sources.aspx
II. How the Thesis is Organized
The two questions that this thesis will seek to answer are: how does Islam conceive and
understand poverty? And, how did the Shi‘as of Lebanon move out of the margins of
society and out of poverty? The first question is foundational to answering the second as
it provides insights into how the Shi‘ite leaders of Lebanon understood poverty and how
they responded accordingly to empower their community.
30 Three frameworks will provide the basis to analyze the Islamic conceptions of poverty and how it understands poverty should be addressed. The first is the Biblical understanding of poverty and what Scripture identifies are its causes. Scripture also clearly identifies what the response of the people of God should be. The second is the various theological perspectives on how different Christians tried to relate to society and its problems based on what they understood the Bible teaches. The last framework is the theoretical and is some of what development professionals use to analyze and respond to poverty.
Figure 1. How this thesis is organized
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! ! B69(8!P6=!'M(! ! I6J!96(A!#A8&K! U(AA67A!P=6K! WML=OM!"7!'M(! RM(!D"S8"O&8!L79(=A'&79"7T!6P! L79(=A'&79!'M(! 'M(!M"A'6=N!6P! B"998(!X&A'!'6! @6)(='N!&79!M6J!'6!&99=(AA!"'! 7&'L=(!&79! 'M(! 35 is the narrative strand that tells the story of the Jewish people. The other component, halakhah (usually translated as “Jewish Law) is concerned with the legal decisions and the creation of a just society under the reign of God.58 They provide differing voices and perspectives on poverty, which at times converge. For example, the writers and compilers of Genesis, Exodus, Samuel-Kings and Chronicles hardly refer to the question of poverty, and neither is the vocabulary describing the poor used. Instead the prevailing issue in these narratives is a critique of kingship, monarchic power, and foreign domination, rather than an analysis of the structure and causes of poverty in society.59 Even in the three cases where there seem to be a critique of the socioeconomic abuses, those of Samuel’s critique of kinship (I Sam. 8), Solomon’s use of forced labor (I Kings 5: 13-18, 9: 20), and Ahab’s taking of Naboth’s vineyard (I Kings 21), these were more about royal abuse of power and do not use the vocabulary of poverty. This is in contrast to the Prophets, Proverbs, Job and the legal tradition, where the concern for the poor and issues of injustice stand at the core of their discourse. 60 This chapter explores the legal requirements with regards to the poor and marginalized within the context of the narrative strand. To understand what the Bible has to say about the poor and poverty, it is important to study the Biblical passages in context. A social-scientific and historical approach that recovers Israel’s past and the context of the New Testament will explain the context of the teachings in the Scripture. This chapter will seek to use this approach to understand the Old Testament perspectives and teachings on poverty. 58 Ibid, 41. 59 David Noel Freedman, “Poor, Poverty,” in The Anchor Bible Dictionary (New York, NY: Doubleday, 1996), 402. 60 Pleins, The Social Visions, 526 36 I. The Wisdom Literature The books of wisdom61 have much to say about poverty and wealth. There are three reasons given as to why someone may be poor. The most common reason for poverty, which is readily understood by the western world, is laziness. Pr. 10:4 “Lazy hands make for poverty”; Pr. 20:13 “Do not love sleep or you will grow poor”; Prov. 21:17, “Whoever loves pleasure will become poor”. This is further elaborated on in Pr. 13:18, “Whoever disregards discipline comes to poverty and shame….” Leslie Hoppe, Professor of Old Testament Studies at Northwestern University says that these proverbs imply that the reader is in control of his own destiny and that there are consequences to their actions.62 In cultures and societies with supposedly equal access and opportunities for everyone, poverty is the result of laziness and the lack of personal discipline. Proverbs was written at a time when Israel was at the zenith of its power and enjoyed tremendous prosperity. Of all the Wisdom Literature, Proverbs provides a different perspective on poverty. It defines the poor as “lazy, lacking in diligence, morally obtuse, and socially inferior.”63 This is in sharp contrast to the prophetic writings where laziness and moral failure are never mentioned as causes of poverty. Pleins explains that such a perception about the poor was “useful for protecting the [wisdom] creed’s views of wealth and status, establishing in this way its own peculiar social ethic.”64 If the socially and politically powerful defined the causes of poverty as being personal moral failure, 61 These are Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. 62 Leslie J. Hoppe, There Shall be No Poor Among You: Poverty in the Bible (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2004), 106. 63 Pleins, The Social Visions, 474. 64 Ibid, 474. 37 then there was no need to address the issues of injustice, which may have been the major cause of the plight of the poor. Proverbs, written by the elite, ensured that the socioeconomic status quo remained and nothing changed. However, Proverbs also has a prophetic voice and is in line with the social critique of the prophets. Besides shedding light on human action (failure) and their consequences, it also provides a warning on social injustice. This is the second reason for poverty. In the Old Testament period and in New Testament Palestine, as in much of the majority world today, the poor are not the lazy. Pr. 13:23 “An unplowed field produces food for the poor, but injustice sweeps it away”. The majority of the poor would probably have enough food and more if they did not have to live within unjust systems, which rob them of their livelihoods and deny them a fair return or income for their work. There is a warning for those who exploit the poor. Pr. 14:31 “Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker…” Pr. 22:22 pronounces God’s judgment, “Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the needy in court, for the Lord will take up their case and will exact life for life.”65 Similarly there is commendation for those who are kind. Pr. 14:31 “…but whoever is kind to the needy honours God.” Eccl. 5:8-9 states that one should not be surprised by such injustice and denial of rights because this is a reality of the world we live in. This basic understanding of why people are poor is expanded in the rest of the Bible and additional causes are mentioned. There are at least 245 references to the word the poor, 65 Alternate translation, “and will plunder those who plunder them.” 38 poverty and lack in the concordance66 and these begin to provide insight into some of the types and causes of poverty. However, David Freedman, biblical scholar and general editor of the Anchor Bible series, cautions that the context and usage of the words for the poor and poverty are decisive in determining their meaning and not their etymology.67 Moreover the meaning of words may change or evolve over time. Poverty manifested itself in different ways. In the Old Testament the realities of the poor varied and the different Hebrew words used for the poor highlight this.68 • The poor who lack the basics essentials for living and survive mainly on bread and water. In the modern study of poverty and the development disciplines, these people would be those who live in extreme poverty. • The poor who have been dispossessed off their land and assets through acts of injustice or lack of diligence. • The poor who are frail or weak. These are the poor beleaguered peasant farmers.69 This would be both a result of and cause of poverty. In community development, this is referred to as the social determinants of health; the social and economic factors that determine poor health. The worse the socioeconomic indicators (i.e. the level of poverty), the worse the health of the individuals. • The poor who are needy or dependent, the “economically or legally distressed; destitute; beggar”.70 David Pleins states that the ‘ebyon were the beggars, as they did not even have the means to be self-sufficient.71 • The poor who have been oppressed or afflicted. They were the economically poor, oppressed, exploited and suffering. ‘ani is sometimes also be used to mean humble. During the postexilic period, because of their experience of the exile, most of the 66 The Hebrew words are chaser, yarash or rush, dal or dallal, ‘ebyon, ‘ani and anau, mashor, misken, and ras. 67 Freedman, Poor, 402. As an example, Freedman states that dal in Proverbs refers to a lazy person person, while for the prophets dal is an object of exploitation. 68 Jayakumar Christian, God of the Empty-Handed: Poverty, Power and the Kingdom of God, (Monrovia, CA: MARC, 1999), 17 and Freedman, Poor, 402. Thomas Hanks adds a further dimension to the understanding of poverty when he analyzes the Biblical vocabulary of oppression and its relationship to poverty. Thomas D. Hanks, God So Loved the Third World: The Biblical Vocabulary of Oppression (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1983), 3-39. 69 Freedman, Poor, 402. 70 Ibid, 402. 71 Pleins, The Social Visions, 53. 39 population felt that they had joined the ranks of the poor. So poverty, humility and piety were often used synonymously during this period.72 The Hebrew words ani, ‘ebyon and dal are the most commonly used terms for the poor, and identify Israel’s disenfranchised who consisted mainly of the widows, the orphans, the resident aliens, and the oppressed. The third reason for poverty is God’s judgment. Speaking specifically to God’s people, Moses states that there are times when God punishes with poverty those who transgress His laws (Deut. 28:15-46). The basic premise is that those who follow the way of wisdom (i.e. following God’s laws) will “live in safety and be at ease, without fear and harm” (Pr. 1:33). The implication was that if one suffers or is in poverty (the idea being synonymous, Deut. 28: 15-48) it is because they have sinned by not following or obeying God’s laws. The book of Job provides a balance to this argument. The basic argument of Job’s friends Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar is that if you sin you will suffer (known as retribution theory).73 There is truth in this because breaking God’s laws has consequences at the physical, social, emotional, spiritual and moral levels. However, the three friends went further and reversed the cause and effect to say that if you suffer, then you must have sinned.74 While sin may cause suffering (or lead to poverty), not all suffering (or experience of poverty) is caused by sin. Professor of Biblical Studies at Westmont College, Tremper Longman and former Professor of Old Testament at Westminster 72 Ibid, 52 and Freedman, Poor, 402. 73 Many religions (especially Islam and Hinduism) teach that suffering and poverty are a result of the wrongs that human beings have done. For them poverty and suffering are indicators of sin and wrongdoing. Surprisingly, echoes of this belief are heard within the Christian church. 74 Tremper Longman III and Raymond B. Dillard. An Introduction to the Old Testamen. (Nottingham, UK: Inter-Varsity Press, 2007), 235. 40 Theological Seminary, Raymond Dillard (1944-1973) write, “The book of Job does not begin to explain all the reasons for suffering in the world. It rejects the retribution theory of the three friends as the only explanation of the origin of suffering. Job establishes once and for all that personal sin is not the only reason for suffering in this world.”75 There are times when suffering and poverty are not easily explained by any social theory or any Christian theology. So poverty was not only the result of laziness or of personal sin (and God’s resulting judgment). As noted in the Books of Wisdom the issue of injustice is a major reason for poverty. II. Ancient Israel Who were the poor in ancient Israel and why were they poor? 1. The Ancient Near East The earliest Biblical description of the life of the poor is from the period of the Patriarchs (2100–1800 BC) and is found in the book of Job.76 Job, struggling to understand the cause of his misfortune, sees in the poor a mirror to his own experience, in that the suffering of the poor is not caused by their own sin. Pleins contrasts the book of Job with the standard explanation for poverty found in Proverbs, which is laziness and personal moral failure. Instead he states “poverty is the product of 75 Ibid, 235. 76 There is much debate on the dating of the book of Job. The three commonly used dating are the pre- Moses (before 1500 B.C.), at the time of Solomon (around 900 B.C.) or as late as the Babylonian exile or later (600 B.C. or later). 41 exploitation”.77 Job indicts the wealthy for their mistreatment of the poor (Job 24:2-14). They rob the poor (even widows and orphans) of their land and their livestock, the only source of livelihood they have (2-3); they physically abuse and terrify them (4); they force the poor to forage for food and gather what little they can from the wastelands to feed their children (5-6); the poor are forced to sleep outside with no clothes and little covering in the drenching rain trying to find what little shelter they can from the rocks (7, 8); defenseless infants and children are taken away as collateral for unpaid debts (9); the poor have few clothes, work hard and still go hungry (10); while producing olive oil and wine for the wealthy, the poor suffer from thirst (11); the poor groan under their pain and suffering and no one hears them (12); and at night they are robbed and killed (14). While there is evidence of significant poverty in early antiquity in the Near East especially among the Phoenicians, Babylonians, and Egyptians, 78 other than Job’s description of the poor there is very little that describes the nature and causes of poverty.79 However, there is a lot of evidence in the various ancient Near Eastern legal codes and wisdom literature of how the poor and vulnerable in society should be taken care of. Professor of Old Testament at Sankt Georgen Seminary in Frankfurt, Germany, Norbert Lohfink writes, “Reality may often have been cruel; nevertheless, in Egypt, in 77 Pleins, The Social Visions, 501. 78 Philip Ball, "Few had Wealth in Ancient Egypt," Nature: International Weekly Journal of Science, (November 29, 2002), accessed December 8, 2012, http://www.nature.com/news/2002/021129/full/news021125-8.html. Ball quoting the work of Egyptian mathematician A. Y. Abul-Magd of Zagazig University and his study of the housing market in 14 century B.C. in the city of Akhetaten states there was almost no middle class and the wealth was concentrated in less that 20 percent of the population. The other major cause for poverty in ancient Egypt was the occasional catastrophic decline in the flooding of the Nile, for example, after the reign of Pepy II (Neferkare) ending in 2152 B.C. when there was widespread famine, poverty and lawlessness. 79 Most studies of society in antiquity based on archeological evidence or manuscripts have focused on the structure of society, religious practices, the type of governance, trade and the economy, and conquests and other military related issues. There is very little on understanding the dynamics of poverty and who the marginalized groups were and why they were marginalized. 42 Mesopotamia, among the Hittites and the Canaanites, the care for the poor probably had a higher profile in ethical consciousness than in our modern societies.”80 It was a virtue of the gods, kings and judges, and determined the piety of a ruler.81 Professor of Biblical Studies at Liberty University, Richard Patterson writes, “One wonders if it is too much to suggest that it’s [the virtue of caring for the poor] early predominance in the Near East might not have been a primeval reflection of God's own self-disclosure as being the Redeemer of the helpless.”82 The creator God, the lawgiver, had written His laws and values onto the hearts of all people (Rom. 2:1583), even before He gave the Law to Moses. The social values inherent in these ancient codes and literature would deeply influence the social contract that Israel as a nation and society would develop. Yet there are some fundamental differences between these ancient legal instruments and literature and the Mosaic Law (to be discussed in Section II.3). There seems to have been a general awareness of the need for the King to make sure that the widows, the orphans and the poor received justice and had their needs taken care of. The oldest evidence of this value was in the Mesopotamian region in ancient Sumer in the earliest well-known codes of Urukagina of Lagash (2380-2360 B.C.),84 and that of 80 Norbert Lohfink, "Poverty in the Laws of the Ancient Near East and the Bible," Theological Studies 52 (1991): 34. 81 Charles F. Fensham, "Widow, Orphans and the Poor in Ancient Near Eastern Legal and Wisdom Literature," in Essential Papers on Israel and the Ancient Near East, ed. Fredreick E. Greenspan (New York, NY: New York University Press, 2000), 176. 82 Richard D. Patterson, “The Widow, Orphan, and the Poor in the Old Testament and the Extra-Biblical Literature,” Bibliotheca Sacra, (July 1973): 233. 83 Roman 2:15 “since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness”. 84 This was the oldest example of a legal code in recorded history. Other later codes were Lipit-Ishtar (1934-1924 B.C.), Eshnunna (1850 B.C.), the Hittite Laws (1650 B.C.), the Middle Assyrian Laws (prior to 1100 B.C.) and Neo-Babylonian Laws (700 B.C.). Pleins, The Social, 42-43. Urukagina of Lagash exempted the widows and orphans from taxes. He decreed that the rich must use silver when purchasing from the poor, and if the poor does not wish to sell, the powerful man (the rich man or the priest) cannot 43 Ur-Nammu (2050 B.C.),85 who was the founder of the third dynasty of Ur. Both detailed the protection of the widow, orphan and the poor.86 The law code of Hammurabi (1795- 1750 B.C.) built on these two earlier codes.87 The King, as the living representative of the god of justice, the sun god Shamash, was expected to take care of the poor and needy. In the Prologue, Hammurabi states that the gods have called him to: To bring about the rule of righteousness in the land, To destroy the wicked and the evil-doers; So that the strong should not harm the weak;88 In the Epilogue Hammurabi clarifies what that means by stating: That the strong might not injure the weak, In order to protect the widows and orphans;89 In the central region of the Fertile Crescent in Syro-Palestine similar values of compassion were highly regarded, though the legal codes or wisdom literature did not force him to do so. “The Reforms of Urukagin,” World History Project, 2007, accessed December 10, 2012, http://world-history.org/reforms_of_urukagina.htm. 85 Though earlier law-codes existed, such as the Code of Urukagina, Ur-Nammu represents the earliest extant legal text – three centuries older than the Code of Hammurabi. Some historians think that the code should be ascribed to his son Shulgi. Ur-Nammu stated that an orphan was not to be delivered up to the rich man and that the widow was not to be delivered up to the mighty man. Victor H. Matthews, and Don C. Benjamin, Old Testament Parallels: Law and Stories from the Ancient Near East, (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2006), 101-102. 86 Patterson, “The Widow”, 226. 87 There are a lot of parallels between the Code of Hammurabi and the Covenant Code (Ex. 21-23), The Holiness Code (Lev. 17-26), and the Deuteronomic Code (Deut. 12-26). See Victor H. Matthews, and Don C. Benjamin, Old Testament Parallels: Law and Stories from the Ancient Near East (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2006) 105-114. Because the Code of Hammurabi predates the Old Testament codes, there is a lot of debate as to the nature and extent of its influence on the Old Testament codes. 88 Paul Halsall, Code of Hammurabi, March 1998, accessed December 9, 2012, http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/hamcode.asp#text 89 Ibid. 44 reflect this. Instead these are found in various epics.90 In Ugarit, the stories of two kings were well known. In the Aqhat Epic, King Dan’el is described as: Thereupon Dan'el the Raphaman... … picks himself up He sits before the gate… He judges the cause of the widow(s) He adjudicates the case of the fatherless.91 In another epic, King Keret92 who is mortally ill, is confronted by his son Prince Yassib for failing to behave like a king: You did not judge the cause of the widow, You did not adjudicate the case of the wretched, You did not drive out them that preyed upon the poor; You did not feed the orphan before you or the widow behind you.93 There were no legal codes in Egypt as the word of the reigning king was regarded as actual law and no written code could exist alongside it.94 However, there is much in their wisdom literature. In ancient Egypt, a king who was beneficent was supposed to take care of the poor, the widows and orphans. King Merikare, who ruled during the First Intermediate Period (2075 B.C.), is instructed by his father Khety III, saying that “the good king does not oppress the widow or confiscate the property of the orphans.”95 Similarly King Amenemhat of the Middle Kingdom’s twelfth dynasty emphasized 90 Fensham, “Widow",182. 91 Patterson, “The Widow”, 227. Also see James B. Pritchard, ed. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, 3rd Edition (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1969), 149-151. 92 Sometimes identified a “Kirta” in various other manuscripts and inscriptions 93 Patterson, “The Widow”, 227. 94 Fensham, “Widow”, 180. 95 Patterson, “The Widow”, 226. 45 concern for the poor and Ramses III (1186-1155 B.C.) of twentieth dynasty boasted that he had given special attention to ensure justice for the widow and orphan.96 Besides these, there is considerable other evidence of the ruler’s concern for the poor, the widow and the orphan.97 The responsibility of the King in the ancient Near East was to maintain order over part of the world that he could control, namely his kingdom. This involved administering a judicial system that protected the right of the vulnerable in his kingdom.98 So the expectation was that the King was to take care of the poor and the vulnerable. Lohfink summaries this, “Thus the king was the center of welfare for the land; it was he who took care of the disadvantaged part of the population. Along with his victorious wars against outside enemies and the shrines he had built for the gods, these social and economic actions were a main topic of royal propaganda.”99 Maybe a few wealthy individuals would have been generous, particularly in Egypt. An inscription by Montuwser, who was a steward of King Amenemhat’s successor, Sesostris I, in Egypt reads, “I was a father to the orphans, a helper of the widows.”100 A tomb inscription of the upper classes in Egypt may have included biographical information such as, “I gave bread to the hungry, water to the thirsty, clothing to the naked, and a passage to those who had no ship.”101 96 Ibid, 226-227. 97 See a more detailed listing in Fensham, Widow, 180-182. 98 John H. Walton, Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academics, 2006), 283. 99 Lohfink, “Poverty”, 35. 100 Patterson, “The Widow”, 227. 101 Lohfink, “Poverty”, 34. He also refers to the ancient Eyptian funerary text Book of the Dead 125 where among the “Negative Confessions” the following are listed “I have not orphaned the orphan of his goods…I have not caused affliction; I have not caused hunger;” 46 The reason the king had this social and moral responsibility was that in the earlier kingdoms of Ugarit, the king was seen as the adopted son of the god who heads the pantheon. Bernard Levinson, Professor of Classical and Near Eastern Studies at the University of Minnesota, gives the example of Keret (or Kirta), who as monarch, is designated “a scion of El—/Son of the Gentle and Holy One”.102 However, this would change by the Ur III period (2112-2004 B.C.) from the concept of divine adoption to divine appointment. Levinson writes, “…not divine adoption but divine appointment of the monarch to rule came to be the standard motif of royal legitimation in Babylon and Assyria, whose kings thus ruled under divine aegis.”103 In Egypt, the Pharaohs were reincarnation of the gods. So whether it was divine adoption or appointment, or reincarnation, the king was the representative of the gods and was responsible for the wellbeing of society and was endowed with divine wisdom104. This responsibility rested solely on him. The absolute minimum that was required of him was to ensure the legal protection of the most vulnerable in society. Levinson writes, “Because of the divine endowment of judicial wisdom, a primary duty of the monarch was to administer justice. In particular, he was responsible for ensuring the socially marginalized equal access to legal protection.”105 2. Early Israel and the Origins of Social Organization It is not merely quaint, therefore, to know that the Bible arises out of an agriculturally based society; for a compelling theological analysis of the 102 Bernard M. Levinson, "The Reconceptualization of Kingship in Deutronomy and the Deutronomistic History's Transformation Torah," Vetus Testamentum 51, no. 4 (2001): 512-513. Levinson further writes, “The metaphor of legal adoption to symbolize the close bond between god and king, [is] found in the literature of Ugarit and Israel...” (p. 514) 103 Ibid, 514. 104 Ibid, 514. 105 Ibid, 515. 47 Bible’s social ethics, it is imperative to understand the ways ancient Israel’s land ownership and distribution may have functioned to oppress large sectors of ancient Israelite society. Only in this way will we, for example, grasp the strength of the prophetic social critique or discern the weakness in ancient Israel’s gleaning laws.106 - David Pleins The origin of Israel as a society was during the exodus from Egypt and the subsequent wilderness wanderings. It was during this period through the giving of the Law that Israel’s social contract was developed. The Torah or the Pentateuch weaves the narrative of Israel’s story with the principles and laws that together were to form the basis of society and social discourse. Both strands are important to understand, as the narrative partially explains the existence of the laws. During the period of the Prophets, the laws provided the lens through which the Prophets critiqued society and its narrative. According to Biblical scholar formerly at the Ecole Biblique in East Jerusalem, Roland de Vaux, ancient Israel in the wilderness was a semi-nomadic society and was not divided into social classes.107 Israelite society as originally structured was nonhierarchical and decentralized. Missiologist and Dean Emeritus of the School of Intercultural Studies at Fuller Seminary, Arthur Glasser writes about the value of that. “It protected the social health and economic viability of the lowest unit, not wealth, privilege, or power of any structured hierarchy. Its aim was to preserve the broadly based egalitarian self-sufficiency of each family and protect the weakest, poorest, and most threatened persons in the nation.”108 106 Pleins, The Social Visions, 22. 107 Roland de Vaux, Ancient Israel: Its life and Institutions ( London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1965), 68. 108 Arthur Glasser, Announcing The Kingdom: The Story Of God's Mission In The Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2003), 117. 48 What is remarkable is that according to the traditional dating of Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy, at least the Covenant Code (Ex. 21-23) and the Deuteronomic Code (Deut. 12-26) are given during and towards the end the wilderness sojourn.109 Even though at the time they were a nonhierarchical and very egalitarian society, the Law addresses issues of poverty, social vulnerability and marginalization, and warns about class distinction and the dangers of social polarization when the divide between the rich and the poor deepen. It would seem that God being aware of the depth of human sinfulness and their propensity towards evil, the law He gave before they even entered the land ensured protection and provision for the weak, the poor and the marginalized of society. As Israel moved from the desert and wilderness, at the end of the conquest, Joshua introduced the land tenure system. His objective was to prevent any sort of absentee landlord system, where a wealthy landlord would claim a percentage of the produce from the land being worked by tenant farmers. Instead land tenure was to be based on the kinship system with regards to both possession and the use of the land. This ensured the economic viability of all the Israelites.110 All enjoyed more or less a similar standard of living with wealth coming from the produce of the land. The ideal that God intended for his people was, “There should be no poor among you” (Deut. 15:4). But knowing the reality of sin and greed and its consequences, God states: “There will always be poor people in the land” (Deut. 15:11a). This was a statement of fact and of reality rather than 109 There is considerable debate about when the various laws and codes were written and by whom. For a more detailed discussion on the dating of the various books and sections see Harold V. Bennett, Injustice Made Legal: Deuteronomic Law And The Plight Of Widows, Strangers And Orphans In Ancient Israel (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmanns Publishing Company, 2002), 6-21. Also see Douglas A. Knight, Law, Power, and Justice in Ancient Israel (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011), 261. 110 Glasser, Announcing the Kingdom, 117. 49 of God’s ideal. Because of this, He commands, “Be open handed toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in the land” (Deut. 15:11b). Possession or non-possession of land during this period would be the major indicator of poverty. The non-possession of land would identify who the vulnerable in society were. These were identified as the slaves, widows, fatherless children, the needy, non-Israelites who had placed themselves under Israel’s protection, and the sojourners or “resident aliens”. So, while the laws ensured the vulnerable were taken care of, fundamental to everything else, there was to be equitable distribution of the land and a system (the Sabbatical and Jubilee years) to ensure that equity and justice would continue and that generational poverty not be perpetuated. Though slaves were not regarded as marginalized but were part of the family, they had no civic rights.111 Because of this, Mosaic Law ensured that slave owners treated their slaves justly and properly (Deut. 15:12-15). The law protected the slaves from exploitation (Ex. 21:2-27; Lev. 25: 25-55). Others were similarly protected and provided for through the Law. These were the non- Israelites under Israel’s protection (Deut. 10:19), the sojourners and “resident aliens”, also known as gerim or ger (Lev. 19:10; 23:22; Deut. 24:19-21; Num. 35:15), and widows (Ex. 22:22-24; Deut. 10:18; 24:17-21). Glasser identified the widows as symbolic of those vulnerable in the community. “Widows were regarded as helpless, needy persons, unable to protect or provide for themselves…In a sense widows represent all the disenfranchised persons in society, those who are deprived of reasonable 111 Ibid, 87. 50 livelihood and need care by others.”112 Lohfink referring to the context of early Israel and the surrounding cultures writes, “The fixed word-pair "widow and orphan" is old. Israel inherited it from its surrounding cultures as a symbolic name for those in need of help.”113 Of particular interest to note are the foreigners who had settled in the land, also known as resident aliens. The concept is similar to the practice among ancient Arab nomads, where a jar was a refugee or individual who had settled in a tribe other than his own while seeking protection. Similarly, the ger “is essentially a foreigner who lives more or less permanently in the midst of another community, where he is accepted and enjoys certain rights.”114 Abraham and Moses were gerim. Later when the Israelites settled in the land and saw themselves as “the people of the land” and the legitimate owners, all the former inhabitants became gerim, unless they became slaves or were assimilated into Israelite society through marriage. To this group were latter added immigrants. So while the gerim were free men and not slaves, they did not have full civic or political rights. Since most of the landed property was in the hands of the Israelites, the gerim worked by hiring out their services. So they were poor and were considered in the same category as the widows, orphans and the other poor, who were protected by the Mosaic Law to receive charity and help. Besides the charity, they were entitled to justice (Deut. 1:16), the cities of refuge were open to them (Num. 35:15), and they were liable to the same penalties as 112 Ibid, 87-88. 113 Lohfink, “Poverty”, 34. 114 de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 74. 51 the Israelites (Lev. 20:2; 24:16, 22). Some gerim did manage to become rich (Lev. 25:47; Deut. 28:43).115 However, settlement on the land changed ancient Israel socially. The basic unit of the society was now no longer the tribe (as during their wilderness sojourn) but the clan (the mishpahah). They settled in towns, which were very rarely more than the size of villages. There is also evidence of isolated farmsteads across the land. The municipal law given in Deuteronomy with regards to cities of refuge, unknown murderers, rebellious sons, adultery and the Levites governed the social life in these small towns. Over time there was some diversity in the various types of settlements and there were a handful of major town and cities. However, between 80-95% of the population lived outside the urban areas in villages averaging 75-150 people per settlement, sometimes even fewer.116 Most of the villages were agricultural and usually showed no significant social differences. However, according to Research Fellow in the Centre for Biblical Studies at the University of Manchester, Walter Houston, the towns and cities began to be characterized by social stratification and economic specialization.117 Douglas Knight, Professor of Hebrew Bible and Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt University, states that there is very little archeological evidence of lower class residential neighborhoods in Israelite cities till later (about the 7th century B.C. and the fall of the northern kingdom). There is some limited evidence of neighborhoods of bureaucrats, laborers, artisans and other 115 Ibid, 75. 116 Knight, Law, 262. 117 Houston, Contending for Justice, 20. 52 defined trades within the cities. The majority of the poor lived outside the walls where archeologists have found traces of built up areas.118 So poverty in the land was either event based (the widow, orphan and those who because of misfortune ended up needy and in poverty) or those who did not belong to the community (foreigner) and as a result did not have the same rights (or obligations). These included the slaves, non-Israelites who had placed themselves under Israel’s protection, and the sojourners or “resident aliens”. This would have been the same in any ancient Near Eastern society. Lohfink comments that all the categories designated as poor had one thing in common and that is that they did not possess land. He states that what the law in Deuteronomy seeks to do “is not to add new groups to the poor, but rather to change the structures of society so as to provide support for those groups which, for very different reasons, are not in a position to live off their own land.”119 Knight states that there evolved a culture of concern in the village communities as they all were vulnerable to famine, droughts, and passing armies. So the Biblical laws on protection of the widows, orphans, strangers, and the poor mirrored the vulnerabilities of individuals and groups in the community.120 This would however change as Israel established itself in the land and the very fabric of society changed. There would be new causes for poverty and new groups of poor and disenfranchised (discussed in Section II.4). 118 Knight, Law, 75. 119 Lohfink, “Poverty”, 44. 120 Knight, Law, 153. 53 3. Was Israel’s Social Contract Different? Was the social contract defined by the Mosaic Law given to Israel unique and any different from those in other ancient Near Eastern societies, especially in the light of their legal codes and wisdom literature? David Pleins observes that while many of the ancient Near Eastern codes and Biblical legal material are similar, Biblical law was not merely “civil law”; they blended religious ritual with social obligation. He writes, “social well being is not simply a product of royal or judicial fiat but finds its roots in the community’s worship response to Israel’s divine sovereign.”121 Lohfink makes an interesting observation. Using the Code of Hammurabi as an example (but not limited to it), he states that these ancient codes “make a distant approach to the topic of the problems of the poor. But they never deal directly with the poor or with their rights in society.”122 He identifies the linguistic difference between the Prologue123 and Epilogue124 of each of the codes and the laws themselves. The Prologue usually states the religious background and general policy of the king.125 He says that while the Prologue and the Epilogue have a major focus on the poor, the laws themselves never mention the poor but only refer to some of the issues that they faced.126 So it would seem while the 121 Pleins, The Social Visions, 44. 122 Lohfink, “Poverty”, 37. 123 A prologue is usually defined as a separate introductory section of a literary piece. 124 An epilogue is usually a section at the end that serves as a comment on or conclusion to what has been stated. 125 Fensham, “Widow”, 178. 126 Lohfink, “Poverty”, 37. Lohfink specifies the issues of the poor that are mentioned in the various codes. “From the Code of Eshnunna: on the right of repurchase of a house sold in financial difficulties (39 A 3). From the Code of Hammurabi: on the treatment of a fee when he who holds it is in war captivity or returns from it—somewhat feudal law (27-29); on the death of a person taken as pledge (115-16); on persons who were sold into slavery for debts (117- 19); the case of a woman with the la'bu disease (148-49); on widows and orphans—more marriage law and law of succession (177). From Middle Assyrian Laws: casuistics on widows—more marriage law and law of succession (33-36, 46). From Neobabyhnian Law Fragment 12-15: 54 concern and intention (as expressed in the prologue and epilogue) was there to assist the poor, the actual means to ensure justice and provide help were never properly defined other than the occasional injunction. John Walton, Professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College, states that the Hammurabi Code did not impose any obligation on society or the courts and that there was no call to obey.127 In approaching the Old Testament, Lohfink suggests that in the earliest of the legal codes, the Covenant Code of Ex. 20:22 – 23:33, the actual means of how to ensure justice for and assistance to the poor were an integral part of the laws and their status was explicitly defined in the second giving of the Law in Deuteronomy.128 The details of the social protection were important as Charles Fensham, former Professor of Semitic Languages at Stellenbosch University, South Africa, writes, “These people [the poor] had no rights, no legal personalities, or in some cases restricted rights. They were almost outlaws. Anyone could oppress them without danger that legal connections might endanger his position.”129 While the ancient literature and codes literature expressed concern for the poor, the Mosaic Law explicitly stated how they were to be defended.130 The Biblical Law codes provided structured solutions for those who were hungry, the wage laborers, the landless, the debt slave, and the poor.131 Secondly, while there is much that is similar to the Egyptian wisdom texts and prayers, and to the ancient Near Eastern royal ideology of being just and compassionate to the a similar prescription. Nevertheless, at the most, only 148-49 of the Code of Hammurabi actually approaches the area of the problems of the poor.” See also Fensham, “Widow”, 178-179 127 Walton, Ancient, 298. 128 There is some critical discussion stating certain elements of this passage were added later. See Lohfink, “Poverty”, 38-39 for a brief discussion of this. 129 Fensham, “Widow”, 188. 130 Pleins, The Social Visions, 51. 131 Ibid, 525. 55 poor in everyday life, in business dealings, and in the court, the part that is new in the Old Testament is the concern for and care of the stranger. The implications of this are not fully fleshed out till Deuteronomy, but a foundation is laid in Exodus in the first giving of the Law (the Covenant Code). While the formulaic language identifying the poor had till then been the “widow and the orphan”, how and when does the “stranger” get inserted into that formula? While Lohfink suggests a variety of possible historical and sociological influences,132 what is clear is that God states His reason for including the stranger in the Law. Ex. 3:9 and Deut. 26:7 describe the treatment of the Jews in Egypt as oppression. At the end of the Covenant Code in Ex. 23:9, using the same language, God states, “Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt.” The experience and history of the Jews would give them a fresh and deeper understanding of a new dimension of poverty and exclusion, and as a result would impact the social contract that was beginning to be defined by the Covenant Code of Exodus.133 The formulaic language identifying the poor had now become the “widow, the orphan and the stranger in the land”. The third distinction is that under the Mosaic Laws, not only was God concerned about justice (as was the god, Shamash), God identifies Himself as the protector of the poor and vulnerable. Shamash, the sun god, is called the judge of heaven and earth and the judge of the gods and men134, thereby indicating that the religious and social ethics are closely 132 Lohfink, “Poverty”, 40-41. 133 Ibid, 40-42. 134 This was found on the inscription found at Iahdun-Lim of Mari discovered in 1953 (and not on the Code of Hammurabi) and the inscription was dedicated to Shamash. 56 related. The king is to execute justice and ensure that the strong do not oppress the weak so that Shamash, (the god of justice) may rise over the people.135 There is a more nuanced difference when it came to the Mosaic Law. Ps. 82136 illustrates this distinction. The idea is that Yahweh is the God of justice and there is no other like him. Verses 3-4 are the key where God challenges the gods to “Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” The gods fail to accomplish this. The implication is that God is the only One who can truly provide justice and bring deliverance to the poor and vulnerable. 137 Fensham summarizes this; “The important difference between this conception and that of Mesopotamia and Egypt is that the exercising of justice is narrowed down to one God and all the others are excluded.”138 So God’s defense of the poor is an integral part of His character, of who He is. Ps. 68: 5 states, “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling”. Deut. 15:9 and 24:15139 both state that when the poor have been taken advantage of, they may cry out to God against their oppressors, the result being that “you will be guilty of 135 Fensham, “Widow”, 178. 136 Ps. 82 1-8, “God presides in the great assembly; he renders judgment among the “gods”: 2 “How long will you [plural] defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? 3 Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. 4 Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. 5 “The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. 6 “I said, ‘You are “gods”; you are all sons of the Most High.’ 7 But you will die like mere mortals; you will fall like every other ruler.” 8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are your inheritance. 137 Fensham, “Widow”, 183-184. 138 Ibid, 184. 139 Deut. 15: 9 “ Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: “The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near,” so that you do not show ill will toward the needy among your fellow Israelites and give them nothing. They may then appeal to the Lord against you, and you will be found guilty of sin.” Deut. 24:15, “Pay them their wages each day before sunset, because they are poor and are counting on it. Otherwise they may cry to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.” 57 sin.” The seriousness of the crime and the severity of the punishment are described by Lohfink. “The connected sanction is that whoever forces the poor to cry will be in the state of hêt'.”140 Hêt' is not just any sin. As Old Testament scholar at Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Klaus Koch has shown, hêt' is a sin which can be expiated only by the death of the sinner.”141 Unlike the ancient gods who heard the cry of the poor and either blessed them or cursed them, God defended the poor and considered their oppressors as having broken His laws. Their condemnation is clear. Deut. 27:19, “Cursed is the man who withholds justice from the alien, the fatherless or the widow.” Ex. 22:21- 24 is even more explicit. “Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt. Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.” The final distinction between Israel’s emerging social contract and the ancient legal codes of the Near East, is that responsibility for the care of the poor and the vulnerable shifted from the responsibility of the king and sometimes the wealthy, to the community that received the Mosaic Law. The responsibility mentioned in the above verses of Deut. 27: 19 and Ex. 22:21-24 are clearly addressed to everyone in the community and not just to the ruler and elites. Systems were put in place to ensure that the widows, the orphans and the foreigners in their midst were taken care of and entitled to justice. Slaves were to be treated humanely. The vulnerable were the responsibility of the community and not just the king. 140 Lohfink, “Poverty”, 46. 141 Ibid, 46. Lohfink’s reference for Klaus Koch is K. Koch, Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, ed. G. Botterweck and H. Ringgren (Grand Rapids, MI: William Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1974) 3:309-320, esp. 315-16. 58 Fensham summarizes the relationship between social values evident in the legal codes and ancient literature from the region and the Mosaic Law. He writes, “The Israelites in later history inherited the concept from their forbearers, some of whom had come from Mesopotamia, some had been captive in Egypt, and others had grown up in the Canaanite world. In the Israelite community this policy was extended through the encouragement of the high ethical religion of Yahweh to become a definite part of their religion.”142 Israel’s social contract draws deeply from the values God the lawgiver had already revealed in the surrounding cultures, and its uniqueness is that it raises it to a higher ethical standard that reflects the character of their God. 4. Social Change and Consequences a. Social and Economic Polarization, Abuse and Poverty Roland de Vaux notes that between the 10th and 8th century B.C. a social revolution took place within Israel that would change the very fabric of Jewish society.143 Houston contends that up to that point, variations in wealth were not significant, and it did not amount to a class system, although some variations can be traced back to the pre- monarchic period. He writes, “They were sufficiently shaped by the egalitarian ethos of traditional society even to make special provision for the destitute in their cities. Nevertheless, profound changes began to develop in society, and gathered strength in the 9th century for Israel and from the 8th in Judah.”144 142 Fensham, “Widow”, 198. 143 de Vaux, Ancient, 73. 144 Houston, Contending for Justice, 49. 59 As the monarchy grew, there were the court officials, military and civil authorities, who formed a sort of “caste” separate from the people in the villages, who started profiting from their positions and from the favors that were granted to them by the king. Others made profits from their land by hard work or good luck. Over time, realities of business transactions, corrupt judges and officials, and the greed of the wealthy elite destroyed any social equality there was, with some becoming rich while others sank into poverty.145 De Vaux contends, “The wealth of the day was in fact badly distributed and often ill- gotten.”146 Pleins, quoting German theologian Gerhard Johannes Botterweck, says that the injustice of the economic system that the large landowners set up disadvantaged the small farmers who usually had hardly enough left over after a harvest, but they were then forced to pay rent and taxes on what they produced.147 Thus enriching the landlords at the expense of the small farmers.148 In addition to this the poor were victims of artificially high prices and extortion.149As patronage, hired labor and credit on the security of the person became part of economic life, by the 6th century B.C. the abuse of credit that threatened the peasants with eviction from the land that they owned became common.150 145 Ibid, 49. 146 de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 73. 147 D. N. Premnath notes that agrarian societies tended to be socially stratified. “In a stratified society, the power and status of individuals dictate the distribution of goods and services, whereas in a less stratified society, the distribution of goods is dependent on need. A stratified society implies a condition where a dominant class of people control and dictate the distribution of goods. The basic concern of the dominant classis how to extract the maximum surplus from the primary producers. It requires a delicate balance between extracting maximum surplus but allowing just enough for the producing class to survive in order to continue production.” D.N. Premnath, Eighth Century Prophets: A social analysis (St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press, 2003), 78. 148 Pleins, The Social Visions, 371. See Amos 5:11. 149 Ibid, 372. See Amos 8:4-6. 150 Premnath, further notes; “Many factors drove the peasants into debt. First, the exactions in agricultural produce were heavy, sometimes more than half of the total produce. Prices tend to be the lowest at the time of the harvest. Illegal business practices on the part of the landowners further cut into the returns. Second, the common peasants bore the brunt of much of the taxation to support the program of the state….Third, when the peasants were dependent primarily upon rain for agriculture, there were serious consequences if the rains failed. They were forced to borrow to feed the family. If the rains failed for subsequent seasons, 60 It is important to note, as de Vaux points out, that the poor in ancient Israel (at least in the early stages) did not constitute a separate social class in contrast to the rich. They were individuals who were isolated and defenseless.151 Of all the prophets, this social evolution is described in detail by Amos who lived during the first half of the 8th century B.C. during the reign of Jeroboam the II (793-753 B.C.) in Israel and the reign of Uzziah (791-740 B.C.) in Judah. This provides the context for his messages of divine judgment. It was a period of unprecedented prosperity in both kingdoms as a result of military success and territorial expansion. In the process both kingdoms had accrued great wealth, and a powerful and wealthy upper class of society had developed.152 They enjoyed new levels of leisure time and disposable wealth, and this brought with it open vices (Amos 2:7-8), including alcohol abuse which had become a problem for the women (4:1). The wealthy could purchase justice (5:12) while the poor and those less fortunate were reduced to servitude (2:6-7; 8:6). “The poor and needy were crushed by the powerful.”153 (2:7; 4:1; 5:11; 8:6). Research Associate at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, William Domeris’ extensive study of poverty in Israel during the monarchic period 154 demonstrates the complexity of the causes of poverty in Israel. The peasants experienced a significant level of deprivation as a result of inadequate land, poor weather and the collapse of what he calls positive reciprocity, which is when help and favors are given the peasants went into deeper debt. Often, the peasants offered either the piece of land they owned or an article of value or a member of the family as collateral. Failure to repay mounting loans resulted in the foreclosure of land and/or being sold into slavery.” Premnath, Eighth, 162 151 Vaux, Ancient Israel, 74. 152 Longman III and Dillard, An Introduction, 423. 153 Ibid, 431-432. 154 This would be the Iron Age II, which would be the 8th and 9th centuries B.C. 61 and returned within a community. According to Domeris the impact on the poor was compounded as the legal and economic systems failed, something that the Prophets of the time had much to say about.155 b. Injustice and the New Poor One thing that is clear from the 8th Century prophets is that poverty and injustice were not accidental. As D.N. Premnath, associate professor of Biblical Studies at St. Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry, notes, “They knew exactly what the causes were and who was responsible for it. They did not speak in abstraction. They knew what the oppression/injustice was, and who the oppressors and oppressed were.”156 The Prophets, particularly Amos, Micah, Isaiah and Jeremiah, give a description of the poor who emerged during the period of the monarchy. Traditional scholarship has always maintained that the poor mentioned by the prophets were predominantly the peasants in the countryside. Other scholars157 contend that besides the peasants, the poor also lived in the cities and were often exploited. Houston writes, “With the steady development of urban culture in Judah from the late eighth, and the breakdown of the old kinship networks in the sixth century, it would have become more common for the marginalized people to fail to find succour in their communities: hence, later prophets more frequently show concern for the widow, the fatherless and stranger.”158 Amos uses three of the words that identified the poor. These were ‘ebyon, dal and ‘ani. The first two are either used as a singular or plural and the last only in the plural form. 155 William Domeris, Touching the Heart of God: The Social Reconstruction Of Poverty Among Biblical Peasants (New York, NY: T&T Clark, 2007). 156 Premnath, Eighth, 182. 157 Houston, Contending for Justice, 61. 158 Ibid, 63-64. 62 All three are in the masculine form. There has been much discussion on who these three words describe. Some scholars say that the word dal translates simply as ‘peasant”. Others argue that dal refers to a poor peasant who still possessed some land as compared to ‘ebyon as those who did not own property and eked out a living as a day laborer. Ani could refer to either but connotes especially their claim on the compassion of those better off.159 Houston refering to Brazilian Old Testament scholar Milton Schwantes’ work, says that though there may be differences, Amos uses them interchangably. “They all refer, obviously, to people lacking in material resources and therefore in poverty.”160 Amos also uses the word saddiq in 2:6 and 5:12. Normally this word is translated as “righteous”. However, in both these passages he uses them in parallel with others words for poor, in particlar ‘ebyon or ‘ebyonim. The passages seem to indicate the saddiq as either innocent or the victims of a miscarriage of justice. Houston implies from this that they may be morally innocent, meaning that there may be a legal case against them, but the saddiqs’ only crime is that they are unable to pay their debts.161 One interesting observation by Houston, “in Amos the trio of the widow and the fatherless and the alien are not mentioned as victims of oppression. The focus is on full citizens, adult males, who are being deprived of their rights.”162 Phyllis Bird, Associate Professor of Old Testament Interpretation, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, notes who are the poor and victims of injustice not mentioned by Amos.163 Other than the word hanna ‘ra in 2:7, referring to a victim of oppression, 159 Ibid, 62. 160 Ibid, 62. 161 Ibid, 62. 162 Ibid, 86-87. 163 Phyllis Bird, Missing Persons and Mistaken Identities: Women and Gender in Ancient Israel (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1997). 63 specifically a sexually abused woman (a bondservant probably), that the words for “poor” and especially saddiq in the Hebrew Bible do not occur in the feminine.164 This does not mean that the women were not poor. Bird who has written about women and gender issues in the Old Testament writes, “Even where women of the community are clearly suffering from the conditions of poverty…the injustice done to the poor by the rich is formulated with males in mind.”165 This may also reflect the patriarchal structure of society. While Amos may not mention women as being poor or marginalized, Micah (2:9) and the other Prophets mention women and children (fatherless). Bird points out that in only two places in the prophets, Isa. 10:1-4 and Zech. 7:10, are women mentioned in the same context as the poor (male).166 When families were forced into servitude or slavery because they were unable to pay their debts, they were forced to give up their children first, especially their daughters.167 The Mosaic Law specifically ensured the protection of women, particularly widows, and the fatherless and that this was primarily through the family and kinship structure. So if the women were among the poor, it was because the male heads of the household had failed them. Bird states, “These are the people [referring to the widow and the fatherless] who have no rights, no fixed place in the structure of the family, particularly, one may surmise, after the dissolution of the extended family in urban conditions, which is why their position is precarious…”168 While Amos was concerned for the rights of those who were full citizens, Isaiah (5:8-10) and Micah (2:1-5) are specifically concerned with peasant families who were losing their 164 Houston, Contending for Justice, 63. 165 Bird, Missing Persons, 76. 166 Ibid, 77. 167 Ibid, 75. 168 Houston, Contending for Justice, 63. 64 lands. Many of the prophets (other than Amos) refer to the oppression of the fatherless and the widows. Jer. 7:6 and Ez. 22:7, 29 also refer to the oppression of the aliens in the land (the ger). Both male and female debt bondservants are mentioned in Jer. 34, many of whom would have been children (Neh. 5:2-5), including girls (as referred to in Amos 2:7).169 The Mosaic Law had been clear that the status of Israelites who were slaves was temporary. Male salves (Ex. 21:2-6) and female slaves (Deut. 15:12-17) had to be set free after six years of service. At that point they had a choice of whether they left their master’s house or remained. According to de Vaux, “These laws do not seem to have been strictly observed. According to Jer. 34:8-22 which is explicitly based on Deuteronomy, the people of Jerusalem had liberated their ‘Hebrew’ slaves, during the siege under Nebuchadnezzar; but when the siege was raised for a while, they seized them again. The prophet denounces this as a felony against their brethren and transgression of a law of God”.170 There was further provision for the liberation of slaves during the jubilee year (Lev. 25:41-53). De Vaux adds, “There is no evidence that the law was ever applied, either before or after Nehemiah, who makes no reference to it when he orders a remission of debts, involving the liberation of persons held as security (Neh. 5:1-13).”171 While God intended ancient Israel to reflect equity and justice in their society, what evolved was a stratified society with wealth and power concentrated within a small ruling elite living mainly in the cities. As a result poverty increased because of the breakdown of the kinship structure and the most vulnerable in society were no longer taken care of. 169 Ibid, 87. 170 de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 88. 171 Ibid, 88. 65 Poverty also increased because of oppression, brutality and injustices practiced by the wealthy elite. The oppression and injustice more often than not contributed to the breakdown of the kinship structure. c. The Kingdom Of God: The Ideal That Was Forgotten The narrative of Scripture keeps the character of God central to how the history of Israel unfolds. Scripture provides a vision of the world based on the character of God. This is an important distinction later in the thesis when the Islamic vision for society is discussed. The Mosaic Law reflected the kind of society that the Creator King desired. In the midst of holiness, righteousness, and incredibly mighty power, the character of God is revealed along with the values that He desired for His Kingdom. These included justice, compassion and care for the poor, the weak, the vulnerable and the outsider who did not belong. Deut. 10:19, Lev. 19:10; 23:22; 25:35-43, Deut. 24:19-21 Num. 35:15, Ex. 22:22-24, Deut. 10:18; 24:17-21 all describe provisions in the law that ensured that the widows, the sojourners and “resident aliens”, the non-Israelites under Israel’s protection, the fatherless and the slaves – all who were poor and vulnerable, were protected and provided for. The kind of society that God had wanted for His chosen people in the Old Testament was to be a model of what His Kingdom would be like when it is finally established in all its fullness. The Prophets painted word pictures of the fleeting glimpses they had of this Kingdom. The most extensive picture is in Isa. 65:17-25. God’s Kingdom will comprise of new heavens and a new earth that He will restore. As God takes delight and pleasure in His people, there will no longer be any sorrow, weeping and crying. Children will no 66 longer die in infancy (because of disease, malnutrition or abandonment) and adults will not die prematurely (because of chronic illnesses or sudden health crises). People will have secure shelters and homes that no one can take away from them (due to default on loans, soaring debt or wealthy land developers), neither will they become refugees, being driven from their homes. They will have food security and enough to eat as their own gardens and vineyards will yield rich harvests. They will be able to put in a hard day’s work and be satisfied because what they earn and produce will be theirs to enjoy and not robbed from them by absentee landlords and exorbitant taxes. Their children will grow up secure in a family and not be sold into slavery because of debts that their parents cannot repay. The delight of God in them would be so great that before they can even express their thoughts and desires to Him, He would have anticipated them and answered by providing their hearts’ desires. Nature will be at peace and balance restored in the ecological system. These glimpses of the Kingdom of God are the very thing that the poor in ancient Israel and the refugees in exile yearned for and by which they were sustained. Their hope was in God that He would one day bring this about and relieve them of their poverty and suffering. They yearned for a kingdom where they would not be oppressed but are able to live in security. Unlike later utopian visions of society, this was going to be ushered in by God Himself rather than by social engineering. As ancient Israel evolved as a political entity, a theocratic society based on worship of the living God who had revealed Himself and governed by the Mosaic Laws, it was gradually influenced by values and ethics of the surrounding nations. They forgot God’s values. Jeremiah reminds the nation of what was important when he writes about the King (Jer. 67 22:15-16), “He did what was right and just, so all went well with him. He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?” As pagan worship, idolatry, and social disintegration took hold in Israel, God sent prophets to warn them of impending judgment if they did not return to Him. Finally He does judge them. His verdict is damning as they reject Him as God worthy of worship and as King to be obeyed: • They had betrayed Him and His love for them. They were unfaithful to the covenant they had with God and they worshiped idols. (Hos. 2:1-3, 8-13; Amos 2:7b-8, 10-17; 5:25-27; Ex. 32:1; Mic. 2:1-2; Isa. 5:8-24) • They were unjust in their dealings and exploited the poor and the minorities in their midst (Amos 2: 6-7a; 5: 7-12; Mic. 6:6-8) In His judgment, God deported to Babylon the ruling elite, the wealthy of society, and the landowners; the very ones who had exploited the poor.172 The warning of Ex. 22:21-24 had come true.173 The ones who remained in the land were the poorest, who previously had not owned any property. They were given vineyards and field (even though this was short-lived) to prevent the fields from falling into disuse and provide subsistence for the Babylonian conquerors.174 Though there is a return, a rebuilding and a partial restoration, the equitable, just and secure society that God has envisioned for His people seems to have died in the silence of Biblical history. 172 The total population of Palestine at this point was probably about a million people with 800,000 in the northern kingdom and the remainder in Judah. According to evidence, Sargon II carried off 27,290 persons from Samaria. It is estimated that Nebuchadnezzar deported only about 10,000 from Judah in 597 B.C., consisting mainly of people of rank and station, blacksmiths and locksmiths, mostly from the cities. Vaux, Ancient Israel, 66-67. See also II Ki.24: 14-16. 173 Ex. 22: 21-24 “Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt. Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.” 174 Pleins, The Social Visions, 291 and Richard I. Bradshaw, Exile. 1999, accessed January 18, 2013, http://www.biblestudies.org.uk/article_exile.html. cf. II Ki. 25: 11-12 and Jer. 39:10; 52: 15-16. 68 The exile had a profound impact on how poverty was viewed. The exile experience allowed the entire population to feel that they were now part of the poor and oppressed. Pleins identifies four major changes, which occurred that the postexilic compliers of the prophetic writings highlighted. First, the Prophets depict poverty as evil. Second, the people must spare no effort to remove it from the community of God, and reforms and legislations must be enacted to ensure that. Third, God will ultimately eliminate all poverty in the future. And finally God has a special concern for the poor.175 These perceptions would carry through to 1st century Palestine. It is important to note that God’s judgment of His people for exploiting the poor was not just limited to Israel. God hates it when any nation abuses and exploits the poor. Ez. 16: 49 describes the reason for God’s judgment of Sodom. “Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.” Professor of Old Testament at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, Timothy Laniak explains that because human beings everywhere bear His image and likeness, God has a stake in how humans are treated.176 III. Summary A social-scientific and historical approach to the study of poverty in the Bible helps explain the history and the social, economical and political contexts that created and entrenched poverty in Old Testament society and explains much of the teaching on the issues of poverty, care of the poor and of justice. 175 Pleins, The Social Visions, 421. 176 Timothy S. Laniak, Finding the Lost Images of God (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2010), 48. 69 While there is acknowledgement that laziness and lifestyle choices are causes of poverty, in the Old and New Testaments, it is clear that greed caused the rich to usurp the land of the poor at every excuse. In addition the elite placed unbearable taxation systems on the poor peasants, which caused them to go into debt and ultimately end up in destitution. God envisaged a just society, which would reflect his very nature and character. The laws He gave were to be the social contract of God’s people, and they reflected the character of God. There being no duality in Hebrew thought, the physical realm was to reflect the reality of the spiritual realm. The unseen God is to be perceived not only through the laws that He gave and the narrative and teaching of the rest of the Bible, but he is to be perceived through His creation and the attitudes and practice of His people. This understanding of the causes of poverty is continued in the New Testament and is the context of much of Jesus’ teaching. 70 Chapter 4 THE BIBLICAL BASIS TO UNDERSTAND THE POOR AND POVERTY The New Testament – The Gospels Social-scientific and historic research has identified that the basic structure of society in Palestine during the period of the New Testament, especially the Gospels, was similar to the monarchic period, that of the Prophets, and the postexilic period.177 However, the political landscape had changed with the Roman occupation. This chapter will focus on the socioeconomic context of the Gospels rather than an analysis of the teachings on the poor and poverty. It will look at what did Jesus say about the poor and seek to understand the context within which He said it. How the early Church responded to the poor in their midst and to poverty will be addressed in the next chapter. In the New Testament there are two types of people who are poor. The first is a person who does manual labor. They worked in shops and fields and though they had no wealth or leisure time (like the wealthy did), they had sufficient resources to meet the very basic of needs. But they were poor. The second was someone who is a pauper and has been reduced to begging because they do not have enough to survive.178 Professor of New Testament at Notre Dame University, Jerome Neyrey quotes historian Gildas Hamel, 177 Pleins notes that there are two contrasting views of what happened in the postexilic period. One view is that of domination and control, while the other view is that the harsh reality of the exile experience and the destruction of the elite created a kinship with the poor and that there was reconciliation between the various actor such as the rich and the poor and they tried to create a ‘state’ in the midst of the pressures of Babylonian and Assyrian assimilation. Pleins, The Social Visions, 389. 178 Jerome H. Neyrey, "Loss of Wealth, Loss of Family and Loss of Honour: The Cultural Context Of The Original Makarisms In Q," in Modelling Early Christianity: Social Scientific Studies of the New Testament in its Context, ed. Philip F. Esler (London: Routledge, 1995), 139. 71 “The ptochos was someone who had lost many or all of his family and social ties. He often was a wanderer, therefore a foreigner for others, unable to tax for any length of time the resources of a group to which he could contribute very little or nothing at all.”179 Poverty, injustice and the poor were the focus of some of Jesus’ teaching, most of which was within the context of the coming of the Kingdom of God. In order to understand Jesus’ teaching on poverty and to know who the poor Jesus was referring to were, it is important to understand the social and political contexts of the poor in 1st century Palestine.180 I. First Century Palestine The Roman territory of Palestine was mainly an agrarian society with a few towns and cities. Richard Rohrbaugh, Professor of religious studies at Lewis and Clark College, writes that according to sociologist Robert Bellah at University of California, Berkeley, there were four classes in Palestinian society during this period. At the top were the urban elite who were the political-military elite and consisted of only about one to two percent of the total population. These consisted mainly of those involved in the administration of the Roman Empire and the Herod dynasty. While they were never a large number they were a very cohesive group. The second class, which was also primarily urban, was the cultural-religious elite. They had a stabilizing function in society as they provided the bureaucratic system necessary for governance. This was also a fairly small group.181 179 Ibid, 140. 180 I am grateful to Gordon King for his insights. 181 Richard L. Rohrbaugh, “Ethnocentrism and Historical Questions about Jesus,” in The Social Setting of Jesus and the Gospels, eds. Wolfgang Stegemann, Bruce J. Malina and Gerd Theissen (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 2002), 27-35. 72 Rohrbaugh further states that another 13% was composed of a lower middle class, which included those working in the trades, artisans and craftsmen who had shops in the market, merchants and traders. This group lived modestly and had the confidence that their resources would be able to meet their needs and any future emergencies. This group comprised the bulk of the city’s population.182 The lowest class, the poor consisted of two kinds. About 75% of the population was peasants in rural areas with small landholdings or tenant farmers. They also included the day laborers (casual laborers), and slaves.183 In today’s classifications, they would be those in chronic poverty, which tends to be long term and intergenerational. The bottom 10% of the population was those living in extreme poverty.184 These would include the beggars, the sick, the blind, the lame, the lepers, the destitute, orphans, widows, prostitutes, dung collectors and shepherds, among others.185 This breakdown is slightly different to what Bruce Longenecker suggests based on Steven Friesen’s and Walter Scheidel’s models of the economic structure of the Greco-Roman world in the 1st Century. Longenecker suggests the elites were about 3%, merchants, traders and artisans with moderate surplus about 17%, merchants, traders and artisans with minimum surplus about 25%, small farmer and traders at subsistence level 30%, and all those below subsistence level 25%. So between 80-85% of the population was either poor or lived at or slightly above the poverty line.186 182 Ibid, 37. 183 Ibid, 39. 184 These are those who barely have enough to get through each day and lived below subsistence level. 185 Bruce W. Longenecker, Remember the Poor: Paul, Poverty and the Greco-Roman World (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010), 46. 186 Philip A. Harland, "The Economy of First-Century Palestine: State of the Scholarly Discussion," in Handbook of Early Christianity: Social Science Approaches, eds. Anthony J. Blasi, Jean Duhaime and Philip-Andre Turcotte (Walnut Creek, CA: Alta Mira Press, 2002), 515. 73 According to historian Michael Rostovtzeff (1870-1952) at the University of St. Petersburg, there was a “general tendency throughout the Empire towards the concentration of land in the hands of a few proprietors who lived in the cities...The land was owned by men who were not themselves experts in agriculture but were townsmen for whom land was a form of investment.”187 Wealth was generated through trade, through land ownership and from the produce of the land. While the wealthy mostly lived in urban areas, their wealth and affluence was based on them owning a disproportionate share of the farmland.188 While similar socioeconomic breakdowns exist in many countries in the world today, what was different in 1st century Palestine was that the wealth and resources were limited. According to New Testament Scholar at Creighton University, Bruce Malina and Rohrbaugh the concept of “limited good” is the key to understanding the dynamics of wealth and poverty and the attitudes towards the wealthy.189 Modern economies operate on the basis of unlimited supplies of resources and commodities. If there is a shortage, more can be produced. So if one person got more or anything, it did not automatically mean that another person got less. Malina and Rohrbaugh explain the very different reality of 1st century Palestine, which was based on “limited good”. But in ancient Palestine, the perception was the opposite: all goods existed in finite, limited supply and all goods were already distributed. This included not only material goods, but honor, friendship, love, power, security, and status as well – literally everything in life. Because the pie could not grow larger, a larger 187 Michael Rostovtzeff, The Social and Economic History of the Roman Empire, ed. P.M.Fraser (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1957[1926]), 344. 188 Harland, “The Economy”, 515. 189 See also Alicia Batten, "Brokerage: Jesus as Social Entrepreneur," in Understanding the Social World of the New Testament, eds. Dietmar Neufed and Richard E. DeMaris (London: Routledge, 2010), 168. 74 piece for anyone automatically meant a smaller piece for someone else190…Profit making and the acquisition of wealth were automatically assumed to be the result of extortion or fraud…To be labeled ‘rich’ was therefore a social and moral statement as much as an economic one. It meant having the power or capacity to take from someone weaker what was rightfully his.191 Professor of ancient history at York University (Canada), Philip Harland notes that most scholars acknowledge that the economic situation of the peasantry was precarious due to subsistence-level farming and the expenses for taxes, rents, and seed, as well as the threat of natural disasters and famine.192 As taxation from the Romans and the demands from the temple authorities in Jerusalem increased, the poor were pushed further into destitution.193 Palestine, which was transitioning from a barter economy to a ‘money’ based economy under the Romans, forced the poor to trade what little they had for survival and for their food needs to acquire money (coins) to pay their taxes and temple dues. Various scholars estimate that as much as 40% of what a peasant produced went towards taxes and religious dues.194 Farmers were subjected to blackmail, bullying and over taxation (Lk. 3:13-14). Besides this, as the cities grew, they required increasing amount of resources and food from the rural areas. The urban elite procured these on terms that they dictated to the poor, which were often grossly unfair. In addition, any emergencies such as accidents, ill health, and crop failure forced the poor into debt, with them having to borrow money at exorbitant rates.195 If they failed to repay the loans, they would not only lose their land but also could also be enslaved or imprisoned (Mt. 5:25- 190 It is only when this is understood, is the concept of the Year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25:8-55) understood. All debts were to be cancelled, land that had been sold could be redeemed. 191 Bruce J. Malina and Richard L. Rohrbaugh, Social Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2003), 400. 192 Harland, “The Economy”, 521 and Malina and Rohrbaugh, Social Science, 390. 193 Richard Horsley, Jesus and the Powers: Conflict, Covenant and the Hope of the Poor (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2011), 134. 194 Harland, “The Economy”, 521. The estimates of various scholars range from 20-40%. 195 Ibid, 516, 520. 75 26). As a result, most of the peasants in the rural areas were poor and destitute. Because of our supposedly egalitarian societies in the West, it is hard to understand the social impact of poverty in 1st century Palestine (and in much of the majority world today196). There was shame attached to being poor as it meant that with limited resources one could not fulfill one’s social and religious obligations.197 Jerome Neyrey writes, “Although most people had meager possessions and low status, there were families or kinship groups who could no longer maintain their inherited status in regard to marriage contracts, dowries, land tenure and the like. Loss of wealth translated into lower status, which meant loss of honour.” 198 The causes of poverty and oppression in the New Testament were very similar to those from the period of the monarchy in ancient Israel, though some of the oppressors had changed. Thomas D. Hanks, Adjunct professor of Bible at Latin American Biblical University, San Jose, Costa Rica, makes an observation on the Hebrew vocabulary of poverty and oppression in the Hebrew Scriptures that further explains this relationship between the rich and the poor in Palestine. Hanks observed that the Hebrew words that described poverty “occurred overwhelmingly in connection with the vocabulary of oppression.”199 From that, Hanks makes four observations; i. Oppression is a fundamental structural category of Biblical theology 196 Also referred to as the global south and the developing world. 197 Malina and Rohrbaugh, Social Science, 390-391, 400. 198 Neyrey, “Loss”, 140. 199 Thomas D. Hanks, God So Loved the Third World: The Biblical Vocabulary of Oppression (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1983), 35. 76 ii. The theme is virtually absent in classical theology200 iii. Oppression is viewed as the basic cause of poverty in Biblical theology iv. Most English translations conceal the radical socioeconomic analysis of the Hebrew Scriptures.201 He notes that other than oppression, other causes of poverty are rarely mentioned. He follows this through into the New Testament. The Greek word thlipsis (especially in Jas. 1:27) has been translated in the English translations of the New Testament as ‘difficulty’, ‘suffering’, ‘hardship’, ‘distress’, ‘oppression’, ‘affliction’ or ‘tribulation’. 202 Hanks contends that the primary translation of thlipsis is ‘oppression’. Arthur Glasser, writing about the message of the Prophets, linked wealth with injustice, concurs. He writes, When the prophets speak about poverty, however, they almost invariably relate it to the ways in which the rich people contribute to this acute problem. The two aspects of society are not independent phenomena. They are intimately interrelated. During the period of the monarchy the prophets constantly linked wealth with injustice; the oppressors of the poor were the rich. Furthermore, poverty was rarely portrayed as an accident. More often than not, it is determined by the structure of society. Poverty brings unnecessary misery to people, a misery that is heightened when it is realized that the poor are the victims of the injustice of others (Is. 10:1-2; Jer. 5:28; Ez. 16:49; 18:12-13; Amos 2:6-7).203 It is almost as if time had stood still and very little had changed during the hundreds of years between the period of the monarchy and 1st century Palestine. In 1st century Palestine, being rich was as much a social and moral statement as an economic one. Being rich meant that one had the power to take whatever one wanted from someone weaker because the poor were unable to defend themselves. It was synonymous with 200 A quick review of six major texts of systematic theology, only one had a chapter on the social dimensions of sin 201 Hanks, God, 38-39. 202 Ibid, 50. 203 Arthur Glasser, Announcing The Kingdom: The story of God's mission in the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2003), 118. 77 being greedy. It was assumed that acquiring wealth and making profit was only possible as a result of extortion or fraud204 and at the expense of the poor. II. Jesus – The Rich and The Poor It is from this context that Jesus draws richly in his teaching using parables. 1st century Palestine provided Him the pictures of violence, oppression and poverty. Real life was the basis for his parables of the absentee landlord (the rich in Jerusalem who had their rural farm properties administered by others), tenant revolts, slavery, debt and debtors, day laborers waiting the whole day for employment, a widow pestering a corrupt judge to get justice, the rich farmer who hoards his grain, starving beggars, uncaring rich people, corruption and extortion.205 So when Jesus spoke about the poor, they were not a small section of society who had fallen on hard times and who deserved our compassion. He was referring to the majority (at least 80-85% of the total population) who were oppressed because of the greed and injustice of a small wealthy and powerful elite.206 When He taught and preached, his listeners were the chronically poor and those in extreme poverty (who lived in the fringes of society), while some from the wealthy and elite sections of society listened in. He used parables about being exploited that they could relate to (Mk. 12:40-44, Matt: 18:21- 35).207 He spoke about a God who cared enough to feed the birds of the air and clothe the flowers of the field because they were worried about their next meal and did not have a spare set of clothes or enough warm clothing for the winter (Matt. 6:25-34). He fed them 204 Malina and Rohrbaugh, Social Science, 400. 205 Lk. 12: 13-21; 16: 1-15; 16:19-21, 18:1-14; Matt. 18:21-35, 20:1-16. 206 Harland, “The Economy”, 515. 207 Jesus’ parables in Lk: 14-20 provides insight in the daily social and economic challenges that poor peasants faced. 78 as they listened to Him teach, because they did not have enough food to bring with them (Matt. 14:13-21). He healed them because they could not afford to go to the doctors (Matt. 8:1-17, 9:1-8, 12: 9-14, and so many more). So whether in ancient Israel or in the New Testament world, the poor were those who were weak and marginalized because of the injustices of the social system.208 This is no different than the history of the Shi’ite community in Lebanon, as will be seen later in this thesis. They had few resources to survive and almost no social or legal protection.209 They lived in shame because they could not meet their social obligations.210 The Mosaic Law was explicit in ensuring that they were to be provided for and protected. Yet the existing social system had abandoned them, as there was no social safety net when they were exploited by the wealthy and elite.211 Jesus understood the vulnerability of the poor and the impact of an unjust society on them. He spoke out against greed and injustice (Matt: 21:12-13; Mk: 12:40-44) but He also showed them what the Kingdom of God would be like – a just society where the weak and poor would no longer be vulnerable but valued (Matt: 6:25-34). 208 David Fiensy however clarifies this. He writes, “He [Jesus] criticized not the system so much as the dominant partners of the system: the aristocrats…When Jesus talked about the rich persons in such a critical way, he was referring to those 1,500 to 2,000 aristocrats living in Sepphoris and Tiberias. He said nothing that we know about the system as such. But he could be stingingly critical of the wealthy men and women who controlled it.” David A. Fiensy, "Ancient Economy and The New Testament," in Understanding the Social World of the New Testament, eds. by Dietmar Neufeld and Richard E. DeMaris (London: Routledge, 2010), 205. 209 Ibid, 204. 210 Malina and Rohrbaugh, Social Science, 390-391, 400. 211 Fiensy refers to Hungarian economic historian, economic anthropologist and political economist Karl Polanyi. “Polanyi stated that in traditional (“primitive”) societies starvation was not a threat unless the whole community starved at the same time since one could always count on help from relatives and neighbors (which must be reciprocated later). Fiensy, “Ancient”, 203. Such communities that lived on the economic margins would be characterized by development practioners as experiencing transitional poverty, which continues to keep them vulnerable and never allows them to get out of poverty. (cf. Chapter 7). 79 Jesus, who came from the poorer sections of society,212 along with his disciples, shared the lot of the poor (Lk: 9:58). Jesus did not seem to have a problem with the wealthy as long as they used their wealth for the common good, such as supporting parents (Mk. 9:7- 13), or lending to those in need without expecting a profit in return (Mk. 5:42). The occasions when Jesus denounced the rich were when they oppressed the poor (Mk. 12:40- 44) and when riches became a dominating power in a person’s life (Mk. 10:17-22). However, Jesus was opposed to the social, political and economic structure of society that allowed for the rich and powerful religious and political elite to abuse and oppress the poor. Jesus not only ministered to the needs of the poor, but he also taught His disciples the value of giving. In Lk. 6:30, Jesus says, “Give to everyone who asks you…” In Matt. 6:1- 4 He says, “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Jesus was very clear that giving to the poor was not a choice or option that one had. It was a requirement as a follower of Christ, because He says, “When you give…” not “if you give…” He also teaches that giving should be done in such a way so that it brings no attention to the giver. The giving and assistance 212 Richard L. Rohrbaugh, "Honor: Core value in the Biblical world," in Understanding the Social World of the New Testament, eds. by Dietmar Neufeld and Richard E. DeMaris (London: Routledge, 2010), 120. 80 was to be part of a person’s life and not something exceptional. In Matt. 25:31-46,213 Jesus teaches that He will judge His followers as to whether they met the needs of the poor or not. As seen from passages above, one of the signs of being His follower, a mark of being a disciple, was whether they were generous and compassionate. III. Jesus – Injustice and Poverty Was Jesus concerned only about meeting the needs of the poor or was He also concerned about the injustices that caused poverty? At the beginning of His ministry, Jesus stood in the synagogue in Galilee and read from the Old Testament. Lk. 4: 18-19 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” The meaning of this passage is often debated between those who take it at supposed face value, that Jesus’ mission was to bring social and economic justice,214 and those who only perceive its spiritual dimensions. The pre-Lausanne 1974 evangelical understanding is 213 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me’…Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” 214 Malina and Rohrbaugh, Social Science, 243. See also Gustavo Gutierrez, A Theology of Liberation (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2009), 97, and Leonardo Boff and Clodovis Boff, Introducing Liberation Theolog (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2008), 53. 81 reflected in English Presbyterian minister Matthew Henry’s (1662–1714) commentary on Lk. 4:18-19. By Christ, sinners may be loosed from the bonds of guilt, and by his Spirit and grace from the bondage of corruption. He came by the word of his gospel, to bring light to those that sat in the dark, and by the power of his grace, to give sight to those that were blind. And he preached the acceptable year of the Lord. Let sinners attend to the Saviour’s invitation when liberty is thus proclaimed. Christ's name was Wonderful; in nothing was he more so than in the word of his grace, and the power that went along with it. We may well wonder that he should speak such words of grace to such graceless wretches as mankind. 215 Referred to by many as the “Nazareth Manifesto” and stated at the beginning of His ministry, it frames His mandate from God. But what did Jesus want to communicate by choosing these verses from the Prophet Isaiah? Scholar in Middle Eastern New Testament studies, Ken Bailey provides a detailed analysis of this passage.216 Using “Hebrew parallelism”217, a Jewish rhetorical device, to analyse the structure of thought in the passage, he identifies the key actions in Lk. 4:18- 19 as: The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me A. to proclaim good news to the poor. B. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners C. and recovery of sight for the blind, 215 Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry Concise Bible Commentary (Wordsearch Corporation. Austin, TX, 2008). 216 Kenneth E. Bailey, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospel (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2008), 147-162. 217 Ibid, 13. Baliey states (p. 149) that Jesus uses this Jewish rhetorical device for a Jewish audience that would appreciate the biblical artistry involved, where he weaves a number of Old Testament passages (Isa. 61:1-2 and 58:6) together as he read the scroll. 82 B. to set the oppressed free, A. to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour. Choosing the key action verbs, the structure reads as follows. A. Preach B. Sent C. Sight B. Set [Send forth] A. Proclaim He uses the A-B-C-B-A format. The outer envelope of tasks (A) refers to proclamation. The second idea (B) in the parallelism refers to advocacy for justice. The climax of the message is at the center (C) and speaks of compassion (sight for the blind). The question is, who are the poor being referred to in verse 18? There are two Hebrew words for poor used in Isaiah; one is ‘ani (often translated ‘poor’) and the other is ‘anaw usually translated ‘meek’). They are used interchangeably. The text from which Jesus read, Isaiah 61:1, uses ‘anaw, which tends towards meaning “meek”. Throughout Isaiah the two words appear fifteen times; three of them tend towards meaning those who don’t have enough to eat; eleven of those times are oriented towards the humble and pious who seek God.218 So while Jesus’ audience were primarily those who were socially and economically poor, Jesus emphasizes the qualities of meekness, of “being humble and pious and sincerely seeking God.”219 Jesus knew that his audience would understand these qualities better than the rich, because they had been abused and held in bondage because of injustice and robbed off their land and inheritance. They did not expect justice 218 Ibid, 158. 219 Ibid, 159. 83 from their earthly political rulers but cried out to God for deliverance and justice. It is to these, who had cried out to God, that the Good News, the message of hope, is proclaimed that the Kingdom of God is near. The second idea (B) “to let the oppressed go free” (New Living Translation) is from Is. 61:2 and Is. 58:6. Isaiah was writing to the Jews in exile. The Persian Emperor Cyrus the Great had just conquered the Babylonian empire and had allowed the various refugees living in Babylon to return home. So the phrase of letting the oppressed go free is of refugees returning home. They would no longer be under bondage and be slaves. This is the imagery that Jesus evokes for those who are under the bondage of the wealthy. The promise of the Kingdom of God is that they will be able to go back to their homes, which had been usurped by the wealthy. Justice will be done. According to Bailey, the text in C, “the opening of the eyes of the blind” in the Hebrew phrasing is ambiguous and literally reads, “The opening – to those who are bound.” While most English translations use the standard wording, the Aramaic Targum of Isaiah nuances it, as it reads, “To those who are bound, be revealed to light.”220 The imagery is of those who have been living in the darkness of the dungeons are freed and come out into the light. Bailey states that understanding Hebrew parallelism in the way Jesus uses the texts from Isaiah puts the Messiah’s agenda of compassion at the core of Jesus’ agenda and ministry. Bailey summarizes the message of Lk. 4:18-19 in saying that Messianic agenda was proclamation, advocacy for justice, and compassion. Relating it to the mandate and 220 Ibid, 161. 84 ministry of the Church, he writes, “The preacher knows that those marching for justice are an important part of the team. Thoughtful justice advocates know that the justice of God must judge the justice for which they strive. Those who show compassion, in whatever form, realize that without a message that changes hearts and minds and without a just society, their work is incomplete.”221 He adds that each action is meaningful in of itself, “but only together in their Christological setting do they achieve their full healing power.”222 So for Jesus, his work did not just comprise of proclaiming and training, nor was it only acts of compassion, or only of challenging the authorities and wealthy for their corrupt actions for social and economic justice. The “Nazareth Manifesto” clearly identified that compassion was at the core of His ministry and what He did. Out of that came the advocacy for justice and the proclamation of the Good News that the Kingdom of had now come and will one day come in all its fullness. Bruce Longenecker at St. Andrews University (then) reflecting on Jesus’ response to John the Baptist (Matt. 11:4-6 and Lk. 7:22223) writes, “Jesus’ reply depicts a world in which healing blindness, curing diseases, restoring hearing and raising the dead were as exceptional as encouraging the poor. The astonishment that would have attended Jesus’ miracles of power is, as we are led to think, comparable to the astonishment that would 221 Ibid, 162. 222 Ibid, 161. 223 Matt. 11-46, “Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.” And Lk. 7:22, “So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” 85 have attended Jesus’ pronouncement of blessings for the poor.”224 The socioeconomic powers were so deeply entrenched that it would require a miracle for there to be justice in society. IV. Summary The structure of society and the causes of poverty in 1st century Palestine were very similar to what it was in the period of the Divided Monarchy, that of the Prophets, and the postexilic period. However, the political players had changed with the Roman conquests. The majority of the population (75%) lived in the rural areas and between 80- 85% of the total population were poor, either they had enough to survive, but barely, or had to beg. The causes of poverty continued to be exploitation by the ruling business, political and religious elite. It is within this context that Jesus ministered and taught. His audiences were predominantly the poor. He used their experiences of exploitation and surviving for His teaching and illustrations and He introduced them to the Kingdom of God where there would be justice, and where God would provide all that they needed. This provided the framework for Jesus’ ministry. At the center was the demonstration of the compassion of God. This made God real to the people. Out of this flowed teaching and proclamation, and then advocacy for justice. The review of the Old and New Testaments show that the cause of poverty was injustice. It is not the way God intended society to be, but with the introduction of the monarchy, 224 Longenecker, Remember, 120. 86 society became stratified and wealth became increasingly concentrated in the hands of an elite resulting in the growth of large estates as the peasants slid deeper into poverty, with many loosing their land and even their freedom as they were sold into slavery. It is in this context that the prophets preach their message of justice, and where Jesus shows a preference for the poor. The next chapter will explore the teaching and practice of the early Church, as it followed the teachings of the Old Testament and the Gospels. 87 Chapter 5 TEACHINGS AND PRACTICES OF THE EARLY CHURCH The New Testament and Church History Did the early Church continue in the teachings and traditions of the Old Testament and the Gospels with regard to responding to the needs of the poor and to poverty? There is the Biblical evidence that needs to be examined. There is also church history, especially the teachings of the Early Church Fathers, which are indicative of the values and attitudes of the early Church. Besides that, what does research on the social history of the late Roman Empire show about the practice and impact of the Christians? There were no specific studies done on poverty in ancient Rome till 1989 when Cambridge Classics scholar, C.R. Whittaker published a chapter entitled “The Poor” in a collection of studies published as L’uomo Romano.225 Since then Princeton historian, Peter Brown’s Poverty and Leadership in the Later Roman Empire published in 2002 has brought the discussion on the different attitudes towards poverty to the forefront. Much has been written since then, building on previous studies on antiquity (not necessarily focusing on poverty) done by German classical scholar, M. H. Bolkenstein and French historian and Byzantinist Evelyne Patlagean. This chapter will describe the context within which the early Church lived so that its practice and teachings are better understood. It will then look at the practice of charity by 225 Margaret Atkins and Robin Osborne, Poverty in the Roman World (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), 1. 88 the early Church and its impact. And lastly it will explore the teachings of the Early Church Fathers. I. The Context of the Early Church The ancient Roman Empire was a combination of agrarian rural communities and large urbanized areas with a city at its centre. By the time Rome became an empire in the 1st century B.C. it was the first western city to have a million inhabitants.226 The Roman world was pre-industrial and its economy was mainly agricultural. The Roman economy was “underdeveloped” with life expectancy being low (between 20-30 years) and nutritional deficiencies widespread.227 Wealth had been determined by access to land. But this began to change from 8 B.C. onwards with considerable urbanization in Greece and Italy. Significant numbers were employed as artisans and in service activities. They were reasonably fed. Many more were also employed as mercenary troops, infantry and rowers.228 In the rural areas able-bodied men could subsist by either growing their own food or gathering food from land beyond cultivation. But in times of scarcity, many sold themselves or their children into slavery.229 Those who were not able-bodied or disabled, depended upon family and friends; and when this support was exhausted, they moved away to places where they had no social support, and poverty then became structural.230 226 Ibid, 1. 227 Ibid, 4. 228 Ibid. 4-5. 229 Ambrose of Milan describes one such incident he witnessed, in his sermon, On Naboth. 230 Atkins and Osborne, Poverty, 5. 89 Various models of analyzing the socioeconomic structure of society have been used. One model used extensively in New Testament studies is the binary model of the Greco- Roman economy, where an extremely small group of elite is contrasted with a large undifferentiated majority struggling at the subsistence level.231 However, binary models are not true economic descriptors because there were significant variations with the grouping of the rich and the poor. Longenecker instead suggests a variation of University of Texas Professor Steven Friesen’s non-binary economy of scale. Friesen’s scale has seven levels, between those living at a subsistence level all the way up to the imperial elites. Longenecker adjusts that to five levels and modifies the percentages at each level based on new research.232 • Elites (imperial, regional or provincial, municipal) 3% • Those with a moderate surplus 15% • Those who are near subsistence level but stable 27% • Those at subsistence level and sometimes dipping below it 30% • Those consistently below subsistence level 25% What such a scale does not indicate is the quantity of wealth that the 3% elite controlled. Princeton University historian Peter Brown writes, “Wealth had to be seen to be believed. What was seen at the top – notably, but not exclusively at Rome – was expected to border on the incredible.”233 Among the many examples he gives, he mentions the young heiress Melania the Younger who is said to have enjoyed, around the year 405 A.D. an annual income of around 1,660 pounds of gold.234 231 Bruce Longenecker, Remember the Poor: Paul, Poverty and the Greco-Roman World (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010), 40. 232 Ibid, 53. 233 Brown, Through the Eye of a Needle: Wealth, the Fall of Rome, and the Making of Christianity in the West, 350-550 AD (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2012), 16. 234 Ibid, 17. 90 In the Greco-Roman world political status was more important than level of wealth. The distinction was between whether one was a citizen or not. A citizen could be wealthy or poor, but that was rarely identified as such. That is why the poor were not thought of as a distinct social group. Citizens had economic benefits – such as landownership and political rights.235 If some were occasionally spoken of as poor – they were citizens who were perceived to be in danger of impoverishment, of coming down in the world, not because they already lay at the bottom of society. So any relief provided to the poor was based on political status. Those who were citizens received benefits from the Emperor or the wealthy. For example, the great grain distribution of 58 A.D. because of a looming food scarcity was restricted to only the citizens. However, the wealthy focused on philanthropy that benefited the city, community and the temple rather than poor.236 Moses Finlay, a Classics scholar at Cambridge, observes that not even the State was concerned for the poor, excepting those in Rome, where the poor had become a political force as a result of the grain distribution which had forced the elite to acknowledge the existence of large numbers of poor.237 The huge needs of those who were not citizens and were primarily poor, started changing the perception of people. There was finally a growing recognition of the presence of the poor.238 235 Atkins and Osborne, Poverty, 5. 236 Ibid. 6. 237 Ibid, 12. 238 Ibid. 7. 91 II. The Practices and Impact of the Early Church The earliest communities that followed Christ did not have to be told to be compassionate to the poor and marginalized. They merely did what they had seen Christ do. They healed the sick and the crippled (Acts 3:1-10; 5:12-16). They made sure that no one among them was in need (Acts 4:32-36). They ensured that the most vulnerable in their communities were properly taken care of (Acts 6:1-7). They taught that the only sure sign of religion that God the Father accepted as pure and faultless (i.e. faith) is if the widows and orphans were taken care of (Jas. 1:27). They said that one was saved by grace through faith and created in Christ Jesus to do good works (Eph. 2:8-10). Ministering to the poor was just as important as having proper theology and missiology (Gal. 2:1-10). Their preaching of justification by faith was to be complemented by their demonstrating the reality of the Kingdom of God.239 As the church grew, they continued the practices and traditions that they had been taught. Brown refers to the Christians in the Roman Empire (300-600 A.D.) providing for the needs of the poor as a revolution that impacted the social imagination of the times.240 The notion of euergesia (good works) in classical culture as something that the wealthy did was a civic virtue and contributed to the general well being of society. They gave to institutions like the city or the temple, but not necessarily to the poor. Some poor did benefit through the services that were funded this way. But the poor were never the focus. It was the Christians, and particularly the bishops who were expected to be “lovers of the poor”, a category that comprised of those who were poor (deep poverty) and those who 239 See Bruce Longenecker’s Remember the Poor for an extensive discussion of Gal. 2:10. 240 Peter Brown, Poverty and Leadership in the Latter Roman Empire (Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 2002), 1. 92 lived under the threat of poverty (shallow poverty).241 In the 4th and 5th centuries as poverty increased in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire, the cities were unable to absorb the poor, who were not citizens. Brown writes, “The existing structures of the city and the civic model that had been associated with them collapsed under the sheer weight of a desolate human surplus, as the cities filled with persons who were palpably “poor”. They could not be treated as citizens, neither could they be ignored ….”242 It was the Christians who responded to the needs of the poor. Brown writes about these Christians, “They [lay and clerical alike] were themselves, agents of change. To put it bluntly: In a sense it was the Christian bishops who invented the poor. They rose to leadership in late Roman society by bringing the poor into ever-sharper focus.”243 This ministry of compassion and charity as demonstrated by the lay people and the church leadership in the Roman Empire had a significant influence on the social value of the society. American Old Testament scholar and theologian, Walter Brueggemann highlights the growing appreciation of the “legitimacy of the cry of the poor [that] created a social awareness that the powerful were obligated to provide justice and protection for the poor. Through the work of the bishops the poor were given a voice that created ‘an advocacy revolution’….”244 Brown refers to this change within the attitudes of the wealthy as being from patronage to humnanitas.245 It would be only appropriate to acknowledge that there was charity in Roman society, mainly in the form of alms giving. There were also example of the extreme wealthy such 241 Walter Brueggemann, “How the Early Church Practiced Charity,” The Christian Century (14 June 2003), 30-31. 242 Brown, Poverty, 8. 243 Ibid, 8-9. 244 Brueggemann, “How the Early Church”, 30. 245 Brown, Through the Eye, 58. 93 as the senator Petronius Probus, who used his enormous wealth to bestow gifts to “countless throngs of men” to ensure he held his followers. 246 However, Baylor theologian, Longenecker states that when Jesus described reality, “you will always have the poor among you”, he implied that the elite had no intentions of changing the socioeconomic structures and the sub-elites certainly could not.247 M. H. Bolkenstein states that it was only in the early Roman Empire around the late 1st century A.D. that people saw the poor as being less morally corrupted and the giving of monetary relief to the poor as a virtue.248 Bolkenstein states that this change was the result of what he called “eastern influences”, which caused priority to be given to the poor in the Greco-Roman world as it was in ancient Israel. He quotes Seneca in Letters to Lucillius (95.51) who says that the minimum moral demand on any man was to give a coin to the beggar and crust to the starving.249 Others disagree; Brown places this change at around late antiquity with the conversion of Constantine in 312 A.D. and as a result of the charitable programs of the church leadership. Evelyne Patlagean states that it was due to the massive change in structure of society in late antiquity and the major demographic changes that were taking place.250 In contrast to the lack of concern in the ancient non-Judeo-Christian societies, the care for the poor was embedded within the theological traditions of early Judaism. Nicholas Wolterstroff, Professor of Philosophical Theology at Yale writes, “Israel’s religion was a religion of salvation, not of contemplation – that is what accounts for the mantra of the 246 Ibid, 59. 247 Longenecker, Remember, 107. 248 Atkins and Osborne, Poverty, 2-3. 249 Ibid, 3. 250 Ibid, 3. 94 widows, the orphans, the aliens, and the poor. Not a religion of salvation from this earthly existence but a religion of salvation from injustice in this earthly existence.”251 Adolf von Harnack, in his monumental book The Mission and the Expansion of Christianity, stated that the “Gospel of Love and Charity” (Evangelium der Liebe und Hilfleistung), was the main factor in the rise of Church.252 The concept of the love of the poor therefore did not naturally grow out of the Greek and Roman ideals of benefactors helping their city. Christian and Jewish charity was not just another form of charity and generosity being practiced among other forms– it was a completely new departure from existing values and practice. Brown writes, “It gained symbolic weight far out of proportion to its actual extent and efficacy.”253 However Brown clarifies, “Classical benefactors were not necessarily more hard-hearted. They simply looked out on society and saw, above all, cities and citizens, while Jews and Christians had come to see, rather, rich and poor”254 III. The Teachings of the Early Church The impact of the charitable practices of the early Church was significant and noticeable. The Roman Emperor, Julian the Apostate, in 362 A.D. while on his way to the Persian frontier, was appalled by the giving habits of his fellow pagans when compared with the charitable deeds he had seen among the Jews and Christians. Writing to Arsacius, the pagan high priest of Galatia, Julian states, “For it is disgraceful that, when no Jew ever 251 Nicholas Wolterstorff, Justice: Rights and Wrong (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2008), 115. 252 Adolf von Harnack, The Mission and Expansion of Christianity in the First Three Centuries. Trans. J. Moffat (New York, NY: Harper & Brothers, 1961). 253 Ibid, 6. 254 Ibid, 9. 95 has to beg, and the impious Galileans [Christians] support not only their own but ours as well, all men see that our people lack aid from us [that is from the pagan priesthood].”255 It is apparent that by the 4th century A.D., the charitable activities of the Christians were significant enough to come to the attention of the Roman Emperor. Earlier in the 2nd century, the Greek rhetorician and satirist, Lucian of Samosata (125-180 A.D.), who was not a follower of Christ, wrote what he saw in the Christians, (Peregrinus 13), “They despise all things indiscriminately and consider them common property…” 256 The following review of the teachings of some of the early Church Fathers will only address the first four centuries (a bit of the fifth century), the formative period when the theology and practice of the Church was being established. Two documents are of significance during the 1st century. The first is the Didache (The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles), the oldest surviving written catechism from the late 1st century (probably between 70-90 A.D., though recent studies indicate that it could be as early as the 50s), variations of which were probably used widely in the Jesus groups and churches. It teaches generosity and charity. 1:5 Give to everyone who asks of you, and do not demand it back; for the Father wants something from his own free gifts to be given to all. Blessed is he who gives according to the commandment, for he is guiltless; 4:8 You shall not turn away from him who is actually in need, but share with your brother in all things and not say things are your own, for if you are partners in what is imperishable, how much more so in perishable things? 15:4 And your prayers and almsgiving and all your deeds, do as you find it in the 255 Quoted in Brown, Poverty, 2. 256 Lucian of Samosata, “The Passing of Peregrinus,” (2001), accessed June 15, 2013, http://www.tertullian.org/rpearse/lucian/peregrinus.htm. Alternate translation, ““Christians despise all possessions and share them mutually.” 96 Gospel of our Lord. In 1.5, the wording is almost identical to those of Jesus in Matt. 5:42 and Luke 6:30. The vertical and horizontal dimensions of spirituality are very clear in 4:8 and 15:4. The second document of significance from the 1st century is attributed by some to Clement of Rome,257 one of the earliest Apostolic Fathers of the Church and the Bishop of Rome (either the 3rd or 4th Pope) from 92-99 A.D. His First Epistle to the Corinthian Church is one of the oldest extant Christian documents outside the New Testament and was read in churches along with other Epistles, some of which were later included in the New Testament canon. In Chapter 33 he exhorts the Corinthians to not give up the practice of good works and love, as God Himself is an example of good works.258 Then writing specifically about the poor and charity (Chapter 38), Clement states what should be the nature of the relationship between the rich and the poor: Let the strong take care of the weak; let the weak respect the strong. Let the rich man minister to the poor man; let the poor man give thanks to God that he gave him one through whom his need might be satisfied.259 Polycarp (69-155 A.D.) was the Bishop of Smyrna and a friend of Ignatius. Both had been students together under the Apostle John. Polycarp writes: When you can do good, defer it not, because “alms delivers from death”. Be all of you subject one to another “having your conduct blameless among the Gentiles,” that ye may both receive praise for your good works, and the Lord may not be 257 Modern scholarship has questioned the authorship of the First Epistle to the Corinthian Church. The letter is anonymous and does not include the name of Clement of Rome, but its style suggests that there was single author. It was not accepted into the New Testament canon but is part of the Apostolic Fathers collection. 258 Philip Schaff, “The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus,” in Christian Classic Ethereal Library (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2001 [1885]), 23. 259 Ibid, 26. 97 blasphemed through you. (Chapter 10)260 Polycarp clearly identifies that the giving of alms and helping the poor was a powerful witness to the Gentiles, the assumption being that it was something that was so different than what the Gentiles were used to seeing. The Didache, the writings of Clement of Rome, and Polycarp are significant because of their late 1st century, early 2nd century dates and the fact that the writers had a direct connection with the first Apostles. They, in effect, establish the connection and continuity between the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles with the later Church Fathers. Justin Martyr (100-165 A.D.) was an early Christian apologist. For Justin Martyr, the qualities of justice and philanthropy were critical because of the social structure of the Christian community in the middle of the 2nd century. He describes the Christians at the bottom of the social ladder. These included the illiterate and those with simple and unrefined language (First Apology Chapter 60), the needy, who included the orphans, the widows, the imprisoned Christians, and the strangers in the Christian community (First Apology Chapters 13, 14, 15, 67). A fund had been set up for them (which was filled up every Sunday at the worship service) and food was provided for them. (First Apology Chapters 31, 67)261 He writes further in Chapter 15, “We, who valued above all things the acquisition of wealth and possessions, now bring what we have into a common stock, and communicate to every one in need.”262 260 Ibid, 54-55. 261 Peter Lampe, Paul to Valentinus: Christians in Rome in the First Two Centuries (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2003), 100. 262 Schaff, “The Apostolic”, 219. 98 A few years after Justin Martyr’s death, Dionysius of Corinth, around 170 A.D. attested to the generosity of the church in Rome, and wrote in his letter to the Roman church about the practice of charity in Rome. Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea quotes that letter in his writings; “From the beginning you had the custom of helping all of the brethren in many sorts of ways and sending support to many congregations in all cities. Through these gifts which you have been sending all along…you have eased the poverty of the needy.”263 Eusebius was then to add how the church in Rome had also helped churches in all Syria and Arabia. German theologian and Professor of New Testament, Peter Lampe writes, “Eusebius can report no other Christian community with a similar economic engagement not only for “their own needy” but for many other Mediterranean cities as well.”264 Earlier in the 2nd century, Aristides, the Athenian philosopher who became a Christian writer, described the social consciousness of the Christians. In his Apology, which he addressed to Emperor Hadrian, Aristides writes about the moral quality of the lives of the Christians. (Apology 15) They have the commands of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself graven upon their hearts…they despise not the widow, nor oppress the orphan; and he that has, gives ungrudgingly for the maintenance of him who has not. If they see a stranger, they take him under their roof, and rejoice over him as a brother; for they call themselves brethren not after the flesh but after the spirit. And they are ready to sacrifice their lives for the sake of Christ; for they observe His commands without swerving, and live holy and just lives, as the Lord God enjoined upon.265 The Shepherd of Hermas is a literary work dated either from the 1st or 2nd centuries, with 263 Quoted on Lampe, Paul, 101, from the writings of Eusebius. 264 Lampe, Paul to Valentinus, 101. 265 Aristides, “The Apology of Aristides,” Early Church Fathers – Additional Texts, (2003), accessed June 23, 2013, http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/artistides_02_trans.htm. 99 the consensus being that it is from around 160 A.D. Some early Church Fathers, including Irenaeus, considered it as a canonical book. It was one of the most popular books among the churches in the 2nd and 3rd centuries and therefore was quite influential.266 It states that the widows and orphans were taken care of by the Christian community through subsistence provided by the deacons. The Commandment Second stated, Practice goodness; and from the rewards of your labors, which God gives you, give to all the needy in simplicity, not hesitating as to whom you are to give or not to give. Give to all, for God wishes His gifts to be shared amongst all…This service, then, if accomplished in simplicity, is glorious with God. He, therefore, who thus ministers in simplicity, will live to God.267 Clement of Alexandria (150-215 A.D.) was a theologian who taught in Alexandria. He writes extensively about wealth, poverty and charity in Who Is The Rich Man That Will Be Saved? He does not condemn wealth but warns against loving riches and not being totally surrendered to God. He exhorts the rich to give to those in need. He bids Zacchaeus and Matthew, the rich tax-gathers, entertain Him hospitably. And He does not bid them part with their property, but, applying the just and removing the unjust judgment, He subjoins, “To-day salvation has come to this house, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham.” He so praises the use of property as to enjoin, along with this addition, the giving a share of it, to give drink to the thirsty, bread to the hungry, to take the houseless in, and clothe the naked. (XIII)268 Irenaeus (130-202 A.D.), the Bishop of Lyon in Gaul, was one of the great theologians of the early Church. He had been a disciple of Polycarp. Writing around 180 A.D. in 266 Lampe, Paul, 98. 267 Ibid, 37. 268 Philip Schaff, Ante-Nicene Fathers: Fathers of the Second Century, Vol. II (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library, 2001 [1885]), 861. 100 probably his most important work, Against Heresies (Book 4, Chapter 13), Instead of the tithes, which the law commanded, the Lord said to divide everything we have with the poor. And he said to love not only our neighbours but also our enemies, and to be givers and sharers not only with the good but also to be liberal givers toward those who take away our possessions.269 Tertullian (160-220 A.D.) was Christian author and theologian from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He writes (in The Apology of Tertullian, Chapter 39) about the lifestyle of the Christian and how the church should collect money and provide for those in need. All here is a free-will offering, and all these collections are deposited in a common bank for charitable uses…for feeding the poor and burying the dead, and providing for girls and boys who have neither parents nor provisions left to support them, for relieving old people worn out in the service of the saints, or those who have suffered by shipwreck, or are condemned to the mines, or islands, or prisons, only for the faith of Christ… But we Christians look upon ourselves as one body, informed as it were by one soul; and being thus incorporated by love, we can never dispute what we are to bestow upon our own members. Accordingly among us all things are in common.270 John Chrysostom271 (347-407 A.D.), the Archbishop of Constantinople was a prolific expositor of the Bible. He preached extensively on the issues of wealth and the social responsibility that the rich had towards the poor. He writes, “The rich are in possession of the goods of the poor, even if they have acquired them honestly or inherited them legally.”272 He adds, “Not to enable the poor to share in our goods is to steal from them 269 Schaff, “The Apostolic”, 690. 270 Tertullian, The Apology of Tertullian, translated by William Reeves (London: Griffith, Farran, Okeden &Welsh, 1889), 110-111. 271 Chrysostomos meant “golden mouth”, as he was known for his eloquence in preaching. 272 Quoted in Walsh and Langan, “Patristic Social Consciousness,” in The Faith That Does Justice, ed. John Haughey (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist, 1977), 129. 101 and deprive them of life. The goods we possess are not ours but theirs.” 273 In I Corinthians: Homily 10:3 he says, “All the wealth of the world belongs to you and to the others in common, as the sun, air, earth, and all the rest...Do not say ‘I am using what belongs to me.’ You are using what belongs to others.”274 One’s intimacy with God can be affected by the lack of compassion and charity. Chrysostom writes, “When you are weary of praying and do not receive, consider how often you have heard a poor man calling, and have not listened to him.”275 Basil of Caesarea (330-379 A.D.), sometimes also referred to as Basil the Great, was the Greek bishop of Caesarea Mazaca in Cappadocia, Asia Minor. As a priest he was known for his work among the poor and those who were underprivileged. In 368 A.D. when a severe drought hit Asia Minor, the result of which was exacerbated by the greed of some who held back some of the available grain in order to inflate prices, he preached a sermon entitled To the Rich (Homily VII) which was based on Matt. 19:16-22, where the rich young man asked of Jesus as to what he must do to inherit eternal life. In Homily VIII, where he addresses the issue of the drought and famine, and bases the text of his sermon on Amos 3:8, he states that the national disaster affecting the region can be traced to national sin, especially the neglect of the poor.276 Basil’s ministry involved caring for the poor and the ill, and he organized soup kitchens during the famine that followed the drought. The gates of Caesarea were overcrowded 273 Quoted in Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Edition, (Washington D.C.: United Sates Catholic Conference, 1994), # 2446. 274 Quoted in Walsh and Langan, Patristic Social Consciousness, 129. 275 Quoted in Donald Haggerty, Contemplative Provocations, (San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press, 2013), Chapter 11. 276 Philip Schaff, Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers, Series II, Vol.8 (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2001{1885}), 110-111. 102 because of the assistance that he provided. Basil gave away his own personal family inheritance so that the poor could be helped. He built a large complex outside Caesarea called the Basiliad, which included a hospice, a hospital and a poorhouse. Not only was he involved in acts of compassion; he was also concerned about justice. Some of his letters indicate that he worked to reform prostitutes and thieves, and he criticized public officials who failed in their duty to administer justice. In his blistering Sermon to the Rich, Basil challenges the rich about their attitude towards wealth: Which things, tell me, are yours? Whence have you brought your goods into life? You are like one occupying a place in a theatre, who should prohibit others from entering, treating that as his own which was designed for the common use of all. Such are the rich…If each one would take that which is sufficient for his needs, leaving what is superfluous to those in distress, no one would be rich, no one poor… The rich man is a thief.277 He then bluntly states, “You have not shown mercy, you shall not receive mercy; you’ve not opened your home, you shall be evicted from the kingdom. You haven’t given of your bread; neither shall you receive eternal life.”278 So his exhortation to the wealthy in Homily VI based on Luke 12:18, Come then; dispose of thy wealth in various directions. ‘Be generous and liberal in thy expenditure on the poor. Let it be said of thee, ‘He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever.’ Do not press heavily on necessity and sell for great prices. Do not wait for a famine before thou openest thy barns. ‘He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him.’ Watch not for a time of want for gold’s sake—for public scarcity to promote thy private profit.279 277 Peter Gilbert, ed. “St. Basil’s Sermon to the Rich,” De Unione Ecclessiarum, (2008), accessed June 28, 2013, http://bekkos.wordpress.com/st-basils-sermon-to-the-rich/ 278 Ibid. 279 Schaff, Nicene and Post Nicene, 99. 103 Ambrose (339-397 A.D.), Bishop of Milan, was one of the most influential persons of his time and was contemporary of Jerome and Augustine. His sermon, On Naboth is particularly striking, indicating a passionate commitment to alleviating the misery of the poor. Ambrose practiced what he preached: at the time of his ordination, he gave away all his property to the Church and to the poor, after seeing to it that his sister Marcellina was provided for. Some years later, as we know from his own account in the treatise On the Duties of Ministers (2.28.136–43), he melted down the sacred vessels of the Church at Milan in order to ransom captives. For this, the Arians, who were only too happy to find something to accuse him of, blamed him but he defended himself by asserting that ‘the Church has gold not for keeping but for disbursing and for aiding those in need.’280 On Naboth is the clearest exposition of Ambrose’s thinking on the wealthy and charity. In it, he compares the wealthy to King Ahab and the rich fool, and he rebukes their heartlessness towards the poor. He develops three key ideas. a) The earth and its resources are the common property of all mankind. b) Charity and almsgiving benefits both the rich and the poor. And c) greed destroys not only those towards whom it is directed, but also those who harbor it. Boniface Ramsey, a biographer of Ambrose, writes, “These ideas were commonplaces in Christian antiquity, but rarely did other Western Fathers promote them as vigorously as did Ambrose in this writing.”281 280 Boniface Ramsey, Ambrose (London: Routledge, 1997), 38. 281 Ibid, 117. 104 In On Naboth (1.2) he starts by challenging the rich about the fleeting nature of all wealth and possessions. “Nature, which begets everyone poor, knows no wealthy, for we are not born with clothing or begotten with gold and silver.”282 In probably one of the best description in literature of the depths of misery that poverty inflicts on a person, Ambrose then tells of an incident, which he witnessed when a poor man is threatened with imprisonment because he had not been able to repay his debts. In order to delay his punishment so that he could find someone to help him, he has the option of selling one of his sons. He then describes the torment. Ambrose wrote (5.21), “But the damage inflicted by poverty and the obligations of a father’s love for his family were in conflict, with hunger demanding the sale and nature urging its duties.” Finally, he ends his sermon by saying (12:53): It is not anything of yours that you are bestowing on the poor; rather, you are giving back something of his. For you alone are usurping what was given in common for the use of all...Hence Scripture says to you: Incline your soul to the poor, give back what is owed, and answer him with peaceable words in gentleness. (Sirach. 4:8)283 Gregory of Nazianzus (329-389 or 390) was the Archbishop of Constantinople and was a classically trained orator and philosopher. One of Gregory’s most moving orations, On the Love of the Poor, is an appeal to a Christian congregation to notice the destitute (especially the homeless victims of an outbreak of leprosy) in their own city and to open their homes to them in compassion. It was probably delivered in Caesarea during the years 369–371. Like the two Biblical 282 Ibid, 118. 283 Ibid, 135. 105 homilies of Gregory of Nyssa dealing with the same theme, it seems to form part of a campaign to win public support for the efforts of Basil of Caesarea to organize relief for the poor and sick, a project that culminated in the opening of a new hostel for the homeless just outside Caesarea during the early years of Basil’s work there as bishop (370–379).284 In Oration 14 On the Love of the Poor, Gregory identifies love and mercy as the basis for responding to the needs of the poor. In 14.5 he says, And if, following the command of Paul and of Christ himself, we must suppose that love is the first and greatest of the commandments, the crowning point of the law and the prophets, I must conclude that love of the poor, and compassion and sympathy for our own flesh and blood, is its most excellent form.285 Gregory then appeals to their common humanity to offer kindness to those suffering. In 14.6 he says. We must open our hearts, then, to all the poor, to those suffering evil for any reason at all, according to the Scripture that commands us to “rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.”286 Gregory’s message is a simple one; for the Christian, love for one’s neighbour, especially those suffering and in need, is the most direct way of loving Christ. VI. Summary The context within which the early Church lived its life had significant portions of its population marginalized and living in poverty. It was also a place where charity and 284 Brian Daley, Gregory of Nazianzus (London: Routledge, 2006), 75-76. 285 Ibid. 78. 286 Ibid, 78. 106 concern for the poor was not common. The considerable philanthropy that existed was focused on the benefit of the city and the temple. It was the church and its leaders that brought the poor into focus. The teachings of the Church Fathers in the first four centuries provide insight into the values, the prevalent thinking, and practice in the church during this period.287 The Church and the Church Fathers merely continued to teach what Jesus and the Apostles had taught. This included compassion and charity for the poor, the vulnerable and the marginalized. However, there is very little, if any at all, on justice for the poor and marginalized, which was so much part of the teaching of the Old and New Testaments. Maybe, this was an acknowledgement by the church leaders that the structure of society could not be changed. They also believed that wealth was from God, but it was to be used for the benefit of all, especially those in need. However, they repeatedly acknowledged that much of the wealth was gotten unjustly, often at the expense of the poor Secondly, during the first two centuries, when the church comprised mainly the middle and lower classes of society, with a few who were wealthy, the focus of the teaching was on ensuring that resources were shared, and that those in extreme poverty were taken care of. By the 3rd century, as more of the wealthy joined the church, the teaching challenged their values and often shamed them to be generous and address the needs of the poor. 287 The review in this chapter has not covered all the relevant Church Fathers such as Cyprian, Augustine and St. Bede, among others. 107 The first six hundred years was a period when much theology was being formulated and theological debates tore the Christian community apart. While they believed that correct theology was important, compassion for the poor and those suffering was equally central to the Christian faith. The central truth throughout all the teaching was that the only way one could demonstrate that they were true followers of Christ, was if they showed mercy and compassion toward the poor. The next chapter will trace the theological and missiological discussion that have framed the issue of whether the Church should be responsive to issues like poverty and injustice. 108 Chapter 6 THEOLOGICAL CHALLENGES Our theology has an impact upon how we relate to the poor. While Jesus spoke about the poor and met their needs on occasion, many contend that this was not at the core of His message of salvation, but was only a secondary issue – the result of a transformed life. The issue as to whether the community of faith should relate to social problems, has deeply divided the Church during the past two centuries. Much of this divide is based on three theological premises. The first of these is in understanding what is the Gospel, as many contend that Jesus and Paul had different understandings of the Gospel. The second theological issue is in understanding what is meant by “righteousness.” Lastly, the difference in understanding when Christ will return and when the thousand-year reign of Christ will occur by Postmillennialist and Dispensationalist theories has influenced how the church should relate to society and whether it should address social issues. These three issues are interlinked and each has contributed to a historical split within Protestant Christianity. The road back to healing the split has been long, but in the process the understanding of what is the mandate of the church has been clarified and deepened. It is also these three issues that have historically influenced how missions have operated in the Middle East. I. What is the Gospel? - The Teachings of Jesus Versus Paul Oxford University New Testament theologian, David Wenham articulates the first of these theological issues by wondering what the relationship is between the teachings of 109 Jesus and those of Paul. How important was the historical Jesus and His teachings to Paul? Wenham writes, “The accusation sometimes made is that Paul was not trying to be faithful to Jesus – hence his apparent lack of interest in Jesus – and that his is a different religion from that of Jesus, not a legitimate development of it….”288 This difference is brought into sharp focus when trying to understand what the Gospel is. Is the Good News that the “the Kingdom of God has come”? After all Jesus proclaimed, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news” (Mk. 1:15). And then later, “And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations” (Matt. 24:14). Or is the Gospel “justification by faith”, as Paul proclaimed (Rom. 3:27-28; Rom. 4:2, 5-6; 5:11; 9:30-32; 10:4-6; 1 Cor. 4:7; 2 Cor. 12:9)? It would seem that for Paul the Gospel was all about Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection. He writes in Rom. 1:1-4, “the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures, the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.” The understanding of what is the Good News, the Gospel, is critical in determining whether the Church should be involved in addressing social issues. If the Gospel is only about believing that God has forgiven my sins through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ, then the focus of any ministry is to ensure as many people as possible know and understand this and have the opportunity to accept the forgiveness that God 288 David Wenham, Paul: Follower of Jesus or Founder of Christianity (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995), 9. 110 offers. Everything else in this world is secondary or unnecessary. However, if the Gospel is the Good News that the Kingdom of God has finally come, then the focus of ministry is not only on how people can enter the Kingdom through the forgiveness that God offers through His Son (Jn: 3:3), but also to ensure that the reign of God and His powerful presence impact all spheres of life. The understanding is that God not only redeems human beings, but also His entire created universe. There have been different understandings about what constitutes this Kingdom. The Jews yearned for liberation from debt, from economic and political oppression, and from Roman oppression. They were not interested in, as N. T. Wright, who teaches at St. Andrews University, states, a “post mortem disembodied bliss, but for a national liberation …. Hope focused on the coming of the kingdom of Israel’s God.”289 Their understanding of kingdom was of a king, of a people and of a law that governed the people. It was of a physical and political entity in time and a specific geographical space. For Jesus, the Kingdom of God (basileia tou Theou) was not a physical or political realm but the “dynamic reign of God.”290 In trying to explain how different this reign of God was from the traditional Jewish understanding of an earthly kingdom, Wenham explains, “Some scholars believe that the expression “Kingdom of God” refers in a rather loose way to God’s kingship: Jesus called people to reckon with God as king and with his powerful presence in the world. Most, however agree that the expression suggests more specifically the coming of the day of divine liberation and of the new society.”291 He 289 N. T. Wright, The New Testament and the People of God, Vol. I (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press,1992), 170. 290 Scott McKnight, “Jesus versus Paul,” ChristianityToday.com (2010), accessed December 5, 2010, http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/december/9.25.html, and Wenham, Paul, 35. 291 Wenham, Paul, 35-36. 111 states that the kingdom of God proclaimed by Jesus is the “eschatological kingdom” – the one that is to come in the last days. It would usher in the divine rule and the new world order the Jews were looking for. However, this was not just a future event. Jesus’ announcement of the appearance of the Kingdom (Mk. 1:15; Matt. 12:28) was an eschatological inbreaking or inaugurated eschatology – meaning that the future was now present. Professor of New Testament Exegesis and Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary, George Eldon Ladd’s (1911- 1982) book title describes it well; The Presence of the Future. South African Biblical scholar Derek Morphew describes it as, “…there is both ‘kingdom now’ and kingdom ‘not yet.’”292 The reign of God, which will one day come in all its fullness, has already started with the coming of Christ. It was evident in the healings and deliverances from bondage that Christ performed. Righteousness in relationships and forgiveness for sins were signs that the Kingdom was already here. But the reign of God also meant good news for the poor because they would be freed from the oppression of the rich. Those living in the edges of society, the lepers, prostitutes and tax collectors would now be treated with the dignity of God created human beings. Justice would reign and there would be peace from the violence that had torn the land. The process had begun with Christ’s first coming, giving us glimpses of what it would be like when Christ returns and the reign of God is evident in all its fullness, which will be the fulfillment of Rev. 11:15 “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.” 292 Derek Morphew, Breakthrough: Discovering the Kingdom (Cape Town, ZA: Vineyard International Publishing, 1991), 202. 112 Former South African theologian and professor of missiology at the University of South Africa in Pretoria, David Bosch (1929-1992) has described the reign of God through the incarnated Christ as an assault on evil. He says it is interesting to note the ‘religious’ words (as we now understand them) used by the Gospel writers to describe Jesus’ response when confronted with demon possession, sickness and exploitation. For example, the word ‘to save’ (sozein in Greek) is used at least in eighteen cases by the Gospel writers in reference to Jesus healing the sick. Similarly, the word ‘forgiveness’ (aphesis in Greek) has a wide range of meanings, which include freeing of bonded slaves, cancellation of monetary debts, eschatological liberation and the forgiveness of sins.293 These imply that the reign of God in His Kingdom was not just something spiritual and in the future, but was a present reality that could be experienced in the midst of evil, suffering and injustice. Bosch concludes, “In Jesus’ ministry, then, God’s reign is interpreted as the expression of God’s caring authority over the whole of life.”294 Paul made only thirteen references to the Kingdom 295 because his focus was on ecclesiology, eschatology (to a certain extent), and foremost on soteriology (especially justification). It seems he rarely talked about the poor, and when he did his concern was mainly for the poor in Jerusalem. This understanding has been strongly countered by Bruce Longenecker in his book Remember the Poor (2010). Longenecker contends that Paul’s concern for the poor was not just Jerusalem centric but was for the poor everywhere. Jesus on the other hand inaugurates his ministry in the synagogue at Nazareth with passages from Isaiah by focusing on the poor, the oppressed and those 293 David Bosch, Transforming Mission, (New York: Orbis Books, 2008), 33. 294 Ibid, 34. 295 Rom. 14:7; I Cor. 4:20; 6:9-10; 15:24; 15:50; Gal. 5:21; Eph. 5:5; Col. 1:13; 4:11; I Thess. 2:12; II Thess. 1:4-5; II Tim. 4:1; 4:18. 113 suffering; “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Lk. 4:18-19) However, upon closer examination, this disconnect is less obvious. Paul was very familiar with the concept of the Kingdom of God and understood it just as Jesus did. For him, as people believed, they were called to the kingdom (I Thess. 2:12), the kingdom of light (Col. 1:12). The kingdom was not associated with outward rituals like food and drink but with manifestations of the Spirit of God in the individual and the community of faith (Rom. 14:17). The kingdom was both present now (Rom. 14:17) and yet something in the future – yet to come (I Cor. 6:9-10; 15:24). Wenham mentions two reasons why Paul may not have used Kingdom language and motifs much.296 First, the “Kingdom of God” language which Jesus used so often would have been very familiar and easily understood by the Jews of 1st century Palestine, but would have meant nothing to Paul’s Greek-speaking Gentile readers.297 Secondly, the “kingdom and king” language, was sensitive enough in Jesus’ rural and Jerusalem contexts. When Herod the Great heard from the Magi who had come looking for Jesus at the time of His birth, he was disturbed to hear the newborn referred to as the “king of the Jews” (Matt. 2:1-3). It would have been even more sensitive in the context of the Roman Empire and some of the people Paul related to. It was an act of treason to pledge 296 Wenham, Paul, 78-79. 297 Wenham quotes F.W. Beare. Paul’s use of different language was “the transposing of the gospel into the language and thought forms of another people, the kind of adjustment that was needed if the gospel of Jesus was to be brought effectually into the Greek world”. Wenham also suggests that there is a possible parallel in the Gospel of John where John prefers “eternal life” to “kingdom” terminology. Wenham, Paul, 78. 114 allegiance to a king other than Caesar.298 So while Paul clearly understood the reality of the Kingdom of God that Jesus spoke of, his writing and language were adapted to influence a very different audience with a different worldview but with similar social problems. However, the understanding of the Kingdom of God was central in Paul’s thinking. Though Paul may not have used the term “the Kingdom of God” frequently in his writings, it was something that he preached about consistently. At Ephesus he told the elders, “Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again.” (Acts 20:25) When Paul was imprisoned in Rome before his execution, Luke writes, “For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!” (Acts 28: 30-31) In preaching on the theme of the Kingdom of God, Paul knew he was providing an alternative to Caesar’s empire and all the values it stood for. This kingdom had now established itself within the Roman Empire, bringing different values. Herein lay the danger that the Christians and their message posed to the Roman Empire. N.T. Wright states, “If Paul’s answer to Caesar’s empire is the empire of Jesus, what does this say about this new empire, living under the rule of its new Lord...This counter empire can never be merely critical, never merely subversive. It claims to be the reality of which Caesar’s empire is the parody. It claims to be modeling the genuine humanness, not least the justice and peace, and the unity across traditional racial and cultural barriers, of which 298 Ibid, 79. 115 Caesar’s empire boasted.”299 The modeling of genuine humanness included caring for the poor, a value that was rare in the Roman Empire and the kingdoms that preceded it. Why is having a proper understanding of what the Gospel is so important? The narrative throughout the Bible is not just about God wanting to reconcile individuals to Himself, but it is of a God wanting to dwell with His creation and to establish His Kingdom here on earth. It is only in this context that I Pet. 2:9 can be understood, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” Because God has chosen us and is establishing His Kingdom among us (a holy nation), we serve as priests. As priests of God, God has shown us what He wants and how He wants us to live. “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Mic. 6:8) Skye Jethani, the senior editor of Leadership Journal, uses the phrase “making the invisible kingdom visible,”300 which is probably one of the best descriptions of the purpose of the Church addressing physical and social needs. Bosch describes the motivation for making this Kingdom visible. “Those who know that God will one day wipe away all tears will not accept with resignation the tears of those who suffer and are oppressed now. Anyone who knows that one day there will be no more disease can and must actively anticipate the conquest of disease in individuals and society now. And anyone who believes the enemy of God and humans will be vanquished will already 299 N.T. Wright, “Paul's Gospel and Caesar's Empire,” in Paul and Politics, ed. R.A. Hosley (Harrisburg, PA: Trinity, 2000), 182-183. 300 Skye Jethani, Making the Invisble Kingdom Visible, May 6, 2013, accessed may 13, 2013, http://www.outofur.com/archives/2013/05/making_the_invi.html?utm_source=parse&utm_medium=Newsl etter&utm_term=12502841&utm_content=174724452&utm_campaign=2013. 116 oppose him now in his machinations in family and society. For all of this has to do with salvation.”301 Proclaiming salvation is about making the invisible kingdom visible. Because of this perceived difference in the teachings of Paul versus the teaching of Jesus, there is a deep divide on whether addressing the needs of the poor and injustice are part of the mandate and mission of the church. II. Righteousness The second theological issue that has a significant impact on whether the church has a social responsibility is how the concept of righteousness is understood. The root of the Hebrew word for righteousness (sedeq, sedaqa, saddiq) connotes conformity to an ethical or moral standard.302 The meanings of the word include rightness, lawful, and justice. 303 The word describes three aspects of personal relationships: ethical, forensic and theocratic. The ethical aspect involves how people relate to each other. “The man who is righteous tries to preserve the peace and prosperity of the community by fulfilling the commands of God in regard to others.”304 In the post- exilic period, the word developed to mean benevolence, almsgiving, etc. as the acts of a godly man.305 However, British New Testament scholar, James D.G. Dunn (formerly at Durham University and now retired) explains that there are significant differences between the 301 Bosch, Transforming, 400. 302 R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer, Jr., Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Workbook of the Old Testament (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 1980), 752. For a detailed analysis of the word, see pages 752-755. 303 Strong’s Concordance 6664 tzedek – righteous, integrity, equity, justice, straightness. 304 Harris, Theological, 753. 305 Ibid, 754. 117 Greek and Hebrew understandings of righteousness. Dunn states that according to the Greek worldview, “righteousness” is an idea or ideal “against which the individual and individual action can be measured.”306 It is a state of moral perfection. In Hebrew thought “righteousness” is understood more as a relational concept – “as the meeting of obligations laid upon the individual by the relationship of which he or she is part.”307 The understanding of “the righteousness of God” is more in line with Hebrew thought, where God’s righteousness can be understood as God’s faithfulness to His people. German theologian G. Schrenk states that sedaqa implies a relationship. He writes, “This linking of right and salvation is most deeply grounded in the covenant concept. Sedaqa is the execution of covenant faithfulness and the covenant promises. God’s righteousness as His judicial reign means that in covenant faithfulness to His people He vindicates and saves them.”308 Simply put, Dunn summarizes God’s righteousness was the “fulfillment of His covenant obligation as Israel’s God in delivering, saving, and vindicating Israel, despite Israel’s own failure.”309 So, just as God was righteous in His relationship with Israel, He is righteous with the rest of His creation also. (Rom. 1: 16-17) So "righteousness" is also understood as God's faithfulness to fulfill His obligations to human beings and His creation, because as creator He has a relationship with them. Even though they are fallen and marred by sin, God has an obligation to redeem them and He is faithful to do that through Christ. Understanding God’s righteousness as obligation in the context of a relationship, explains why God is concerned about the poor. The poor are not 306 James D.G. Dunn, The Theology of Paul the Apostl, (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1998), 341. 307 Ibid, 341. 308 Quoted in Harris, Theological, 755. 309 Dunn, The Theology, 342. 118 just marred by sin, but also by social and economic oppression and injustice. So the Psalmist identifies God as “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.” (Ps. 68:5-6). God’s redemption is not just spiritual, but addresses the totality of human beings in every sphere of their lives. Therefore because of his righteousness God restores human beings (and His creation) to the condition He intended for them. This understanding of righteousness explains what is meant when it states in Matt. 1:19 that Joseph was a righteous man. He was a person who would fulfill his obligation to Mary to not only do what is right but also care for her in the context of his relationship to her. Similarly, Cornelius is referred to as being righteous (Acts 10:22) and says that he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly (Acts 10:2). He fulfilled his obligation to those in need and to God. According to Dunn, the shift from the Hebrew understanding of righteousness to the Greek understanding occurred during the Reformation and the period following. Righteousness came to be understood as only perfection or an ideal when describing God. He is righteousness itself. In salvation, God bestows His righteousness (or perfection) on the individual. It is only through this moral perfection, which is given through Christ and not earned, one can enter the Kingdom of God. While this is true, Dunn writes, “…the Reformed tendency to set righteousness as a gift from God in antithesis to righteousness as an obligation on the believer has been overstated.”310 310 James Dunn, August 21, 2012, email message to the author. 119 As human beings receive the righteousness of God, they are then able to fulfill their obligation not only to God, but also within the social context they live in. Prov. 29:7 says, “The righteous care about justice for the poor;” and Eph. 2:10, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Jesus Christ to do good works.” This understanding of righteousness as obligation is central to the discussion in this thesis. University of California historian Gildas Hamel states that the Hebrew word in the Old Testament and the Arabic word in Islam for charity are the same, tzedakah or sedaquah and sadaqa. While in Islam sadaqa is a term for charitable and voluntary gifts, Gildas writes that in Judaism “the most frequent word used by the rabbis to express charity, sedaquah, meaning ‘righteousness’ or justice, reveals a basic attitude, namely that of the donor’s obligation and the poor’s right.”311 Jewish religious writer and translator Philip Birnbaum in commenting on Book VII of Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah says that the charity to the poor was an act of justice and moral behavior. He adds that Judaism considers as a legal claim that has to be honored, the right of the poor to food, clothing and shelter. “Tsedekah is not an act of philanthropic sentiment but an act of justice.”312 One’s understanding of righteousness will influence whether an individual and community of faith will be involved in addressing the issues of social injustice. If the understanding of righteousness is only that of moral perfection, the focus is primarily on attaining that moral perfection through Christ and maintaining it.313 If righteousness is 311 Hamel, Gildas, Poverty and Charity in Roman Palestine: First Three Centuries CE (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1990), 216. 312 Philip Birnbaum, Mishneh Torah: Maimonides’ Code of Law and Ethics (New York, NY: Hebrew Publishing Company, 1974), 156-157. 313 This is seen mostly clearly in movements such as the Holiness Movement among others. 120 also understood as an obligation in the context of the social relationships one has, then the focus will also be on addressing the needs of the poor, the marginalized and others suffering in society. III. Understanding The Millennium and the Attitude Towards the Poor Over the past three centuries there has been a growing demand to improve the world we live in. Much of the focus has been on dealing with social problems and improving the quality of life. Terms like ‘human rights’ and the ‘rights of the individual’ are now part of most discussions on social change. This desire has now permeated the Church and has influenced theology. Veteran missionary and theologian, Bishop Leslie Newbigin (1909- 1998) has written, “The inner relationship between this expectation of a new world and the Christian gospel of the reign of God is one of the issues that must be discussed in any contemporary theology of mission.”314 The word millennium has moved from theology (particularly eschatology) to everyday usage.315 The millennium in Scripture refers to the thousand-year period of Christ’s rule (Rev. 20:6). There is much confusion and controversy as to when this period is and as to how it will be inaugurated. How this is understood impacts how the Church relates to society, and whether the Church should be involved with the poor and issues of injustice. 314 Leslie Newbigin, The Open Secret: Sketches for a Missionary Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1995), 7. 315 We talk of the new millennium, of Millennium Development Goals and the giant millennium Ferris wheel in London. 121 One perspective, known as premillennialism,316 is that the millennium will happen after Christ’s second coming. A variation of premillennialism is Dispensationalism. This perspective believes that the church will be secretly ‘raptured’ by Christ seven years before the second coming of Christ.317 This will then be followed by seven years of great tribulation, which will then be followed by the millennium. The church will not be on earth during the great tribulation and the millennium. Another perspective is amillennialism, which defines the present Church age starting with the Book of Acts as the millennium. American Presbyterian theologian Oswald T. Allis (1880-1973) writes, The view, which has been most widely held by opponents of Millenarianism, is associated historically with the name of Augustine. He taught that the Millennium is to be interpreted spiritually as fulfilled in the Christian Church. He held that the binding of Satan took place during the earthly ministry of our Lord (Lk. 10:18), that the first resurrection is the new birth of the believer (Jn. 5:25), and that the Millennium must correspond, therefore, to the interadventual period or church age.318 The millennial is thus symbolic rather than a literal thousand years and it is Christ’s rule through the Church. Some take amillennialism further and say that the Church age will culminate is a period of glory of a thousand years, when the church will triumph in the world before Christ’s second coming. This is known as postmillennialism (described below). 316 The movements and groups that believe in premillennialism were and still are, conservative evangelicalism, fundamentalism, Pentecostalism, the holiness movement and Adventism, among others. 317 There are some who believe that the rapture will take place three and a half years into the seven-year period. They are referred to as believing in the mid-tribulation rapture. There are others who believe that the rapture will take place at the end of the tribulation. Others believe in the pre-tribulation rapture. 318 Oswald T. Allis, Prophecy and the Church (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 1945), 2-3. 122 The following discussion of Postmillennialism and Dispensationalism is not an in-depth analysis or critique of either theology. The aspect that will be discussed is how each theology’s understanding of when Christ will return and when His thousand-year reign will take place, influenced how they related to society, its social problems and the poor. 1. Postmillennialism Postmillennialism has its roots in the Enlightenment and its reaction to what was referred to as the ‘dark ages’ and the teachings of the Medieval Church. The basis was scientific progress and an optimistic vision that human beings now had the ability to create a better world. A number of key Christian leaders provided the theological framework for postmillennialism. Joseph Mead (1586-1639), Anglican Biblical scholar believed that “the discoveries of the Enlightenment meant that history did not have to be reversed in a cataclysmic manner. The dark ages could merge gradually into the new world order of the millennium through historical progress.” 319 The great evangelist and revivalist Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) ascribed to this. Edwards “saw great significance in the settlement of the New World (America) and believed that it would usher in the millennium in about the twentieth century”.320 Postmillennialists among themselves differ on how the Gospel through the Church will impact society. The Puritans believed in a revivalist postmillennialism doctrine that society could only be transformed through changing the hearts and minds of people. There was an optimism, very much part of postmillennial thinking, that that they were 319 Morphew, Breakthrough, 260. 320 Ibid, 261. 123 well into Calvin’s third and final stage of history321 and on the verge of extending Christ’s Kingdom to the ends of the earth. 322 In contrast, reconstructionist postmillennialism believes that along with the “grass roots, bottom up approach” of preaching the gospel to change the hearts and minds of people, that Christians and the Church should be involved in changing political and legal institutions in society. This “top down” approach would primarily be done through Christian education. This optimistic vision of the future and of the role of the Church to bring it about had a significant influence in the evolution of the Social Gospel. Christian theologian and Baptist pastor, Walter Rauschenbausch (1861-1918) writes, “Theology has often received its most fruitful impulses when secular life and movements have set it new problems.”323 By applying Christian ethics, which were based on the message of the Gospel, social problems could be tackled. These problems included injustice and discrimination, racial tensions, poverty and slums, child labor, education (both poor quality and the lack of education), crime, access to health care and clean water and most other social problems. 321 Charles L.Chaney, The Birth of Missions in America (Pasedena, CA: William Carey Library,1976), 32- 33; “Calvin postulated a tri-epochal program of time between the coming of the Holy Sprit and the second advent of Christ. The first period was that of the Apostles, during which the Gospel was offered to the whole world. The second epoch was the period of the manifestation of the Antichrist. Calvin understood his own age to be that of the most effective work of Antichrist. This explains why all of Calvin’s theology was written to people in the throes of persecution. His theology was to the Church under-the-cross. The final period was that of the great expansion of the Church. During this epoch the fullness of the Gentiles would come in, the ends of the earth would come to Christ, and the Antichrist would be defeated.” 322 Bosch, Transforming, 313. 323 Walter Rauschenbausch, A Theology for the Social Gospel (New York, NY: The MacMillan Company, 1917), i. He writes further, “If theology stops growing or unable to adjust itself to its modern environment and meet its present tasks, it will die. Many now regard it as dead. The social gospel needs a theology to make it effective; but theology needs the social gospel to vitalize it.” (p.1). “The individualistic gospel has taught us to see the sinfulness of every human heart and has inspired us with faith in the willingness and power of God to save every soul that comes to him. But it has not given us an adequate understanding of the sinfulness of the social order and its share in the sins of all individuals within it. It has not evoked faith in the will and power of God to redeem the permanent institutions of human society from their inherited guilt of oppression and extortion. Both our sense of sin and our faith in salvation have fallen short of the realities under its teaching. The social gospel seeks to bring men under repentance for their collective sins and to create a more sensitive and more modern conscience.” (p. 5) 124 Bishop Leslie Newbigin states that in the period following World War I, one of the most popular biblical texts among missionaries was Jn. 10:10 “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” Newbigin writes, “’abundant life’ was interpreted as the abundance of the good things that modern education, healing, and agriculture would provide for the deprived peoples of the world.”324 Christian missions changed as a result. Director Emeritus of the Overseas Ministries Study Center in New Haven, Connecticut, Gerald Anderson identifies four major shifts in thinking and strategy that occurred by the early 1900s. The first was that other religions were no longer thought to be entirely false. The second was that the work in missions was less focused on preaching and more on a broader range of transformational activities. The third was that the focus was now on salvation for life in the present world. And finally that the focus of missions had shifted from the individual to society.325 The American Presbyterian, James Dennis (1842-1914) the author of the three-volume Christian Missions and Social Progress, wrote in 1906 about “the contribution of Christian mission to social progress.” 326 Its impact cannot be underestimated. Missiologist Eugene Smith describes the result. The missionary movement made a prime contribution to the abolition of slavery; spread better methods of agriculture; established and maintained unnumbered schools; gave medical care to millions; elevated the status of women; created bonds between people of different countries, which war could not sever; trained a significant segment of the leadership of nations now newly independent.327 324 Newbigin, The Open,103. 325 Gerald H. Anderson, The American Protestants in Pursuit of Missions 1886-1986, International Bulletin of Missionary Research, Vol. 12 (1988), 104. 326 Quoted in Bosch, Transforming, 294. 327 Eugene L. Smith, Mandate for Missions (New York, NY: Friendship Press, 1968), 71. 125 Most of the Social Gospel leaders tended to be theologically liberal328 and the Gospel message of “salvation through Christ alone” was often lost in the midst of all the work that was being done. Though the movement peaked in the early 20th century, strands of it resurfaced in the Civil Rights movement in the US in the 1960s and more recently in movements like Christians Against Poverty. Strong influences of the Social Gospel still exist in many of the historical Protestant churches and in their missions departments, as well as in some Christian relief and development NGOs. 2. Dispensationalism One of the strongest influences on Evangelical theology over the past 150 years has been Dispensationalism. From its beginning with John N. Darby (1800-1882) and the Plymouth Brethren movement, till recently it has influenced much of mainstream Evangelical and Pentecostal theology. Because of their strong belief that the Kingdom of God is yet to come and that social conditions and personal morality would decline as the “end times” approached, Dispensationalists feel that nothing could or should be done to change society in the meantime. This thinking was reinforced by II Pet. 3:10, “The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.” Since the present earth will be destroyed when Christ returns, there was no need to try and seek any improvement. Michael Pocock, Department Chair and Senior Professor of World Missions and Intercultural Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, affirms this idea when he writes, “things on earth will get 328 There were exceptions – such as Robert Wilder, John R. Mott, Robert E. Speer and J.H. Oldham who acknowledged “a profound spiritual experience”, which put them at odds with others within the Social Gospel movement. However, they chose to stay within the mainline churches that had become increasingly theologically liberal. Bosch, Transforming, 324. 126 progressively worse and will culminate in a unique time of terrible tribulation.”329 Darby himself wrote, “I believe from Scripture that ruin is without remedy,” and that Christians should expect “a progress of evil.”330 Because of Dispensationalism’s origins as a separatist movement that sought separation from church structures, the attitude of separatism influenced their relationship with broader society and the issues it faced as well.331 Their identity is that they are a heavenly people of God and part of the invisible Church. In sharp contrast to Postmillennialism, Dispensationalists are pessimistic about social progress in society, as they believe that genuine change in society can only come about through the conversion of individuals. Bosch identifies the difference in approach between the two eschatological frameworks as one being ‘a service to the body’ and on a gradual improvement of society towards the millennium versus ‘a service to the soul’ as the world gradually deteriorates before the coming of Christ and the millennium.332 The basic thinking within Dispensationalism is to focus on individual sin rather than structural sin in society. However, there was recognition that conversion did have a social impact. The language used was that individual conversion was the ‘root’ and the social impact was the ‘fruit’.333 The impact of believing that they should separate themselves from a progressively evil society and that they will one day be taken out of this world has had a significant influence on how they relate to this world. Professor of New Testament at Wesley 329 Michael Pocock, “Destiny of the World and the Work of World Missions,” Bibliotheca Sacra Vol. 145, (1988): 438. 330 Quoted in G. Carter, Anglican Evangelicals: Protestant Secessions from Via Media, c. 1800-1850 (Oxford Theological Monographs), (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), 220 and 226. 331 Bosch, Transforming, 318. 332 Ibid, 315. 333 Ibid, 318. 127 Theological Seminary, Craig Hill states the sense of pessimism, fatalism and the abandonment of social responsibility that such a belief fosters. “The hope of impending departure can lead believers to abandon interest in the world and its problems. The expectation of deteriorating conditions prior to the soon-approaching rapture is morally corrosive, encouraging pessimism, fatalism, and the forsaking of political responsibility. Disengagement from the problems of the world is ethically indefensible, but it is all too common among today’s prophecy elite. Their books tell us that nuclear war is inevitable, that the pursuit of peace is pointless, that the planet’s environmental woes are unstoppable, and so on.”334 In their battle against Liberal Theology (which was closely associated with the Social Gospel), the focus of the Dispensationalists was on defending the inspiration and authority of the Bible, the deity of Christ, the resurrection and the uniqueness of Christ. They narrowed their focus on to what they considered were the most important doctrines in the Bible. Addressing social needs were seen as secondary. Dispensationalists saw the influence of humanism in the Social Gospel as if it were a denial of faith.335 This attitude is summarized by Dispensational Bible teacher David L. Burggraff; “Reform was no substitute for regeneration, and even successful reform may be nothing more than a satanic device to lure people away from saving faith in Christ.”336 334 Craig C. Hill, In God's Time: The Bible and the Future (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2002), 208. 335 Al Tizon writes, “The preoccupation with defending orthodoxy against the liberal modernist tide produced what became known by the 1920s as fundamentalism, a movement that eventually came to represent the “militantly conservative wing” of evangelicalism.” Al Tizon, Transformation after Lausanne: Radical Evangelical Mission in Global-Local Perspective (Eugene, OR: Wifp and Stock Publishers, 2008), 23. 336 David L. Burggraff, “Determining Our Place in Our World or Social Responsibility versuus Irresponsibility,” A Dispensationalist Fundamentalist Ponders the Difficult Charge of Social 128 Having said that, there were Dispensationalists who were involved with social reforms between the 1870s and the 1920s. These included A.J. Gordon, Arthur T. Pierson, William Bell Riley, and John Roach Straton, among others. Timothy Webber at Denver Seminary in his survey of American premillennialism summarizes the range of attitudes towards social change. “Some premillennialists condemned all reform efforts as unsuitable for those who expected Christ momentarily; but others believed that until Christ does appear, Christians should engage in certain kinds of reform activity and do whatever possible to slow down the inevitable decline and breakdown of the social order.”337 3. The Great Reversal In the early 1800s there was a spirit of cooperation across the denominations and that there was no clear dividing line between pre-and post millennialists. However by the 1830s a fierce spirit of competition arose among the denominations.338 This culminated in the theological split by the 1920s between the Liberals (postmillennialist) and Fundamentalist (who were pre-dominantly Dispensationalists), which polarized the issues with little middle ground. Burggraff writes, “Fundamentalists came to oppose social reform in the 1920s not primarily because they were theologically predisposed to reject the concept, but because the modernists had endorsed it so completely.”339 The tragedy was that in an effort to save the key Evangelical doctrines regarding salvation, the need Irresponsibility, accessed December 8, 2010, http://bobbixby.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/a- dispensationalist-fundamentalist-ponders-the-difficult-charge-of-social-irresponsibility/. 337 Timothy P. Webber, Living in the Shadow of the Second Coming. 2nd. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1983), 83. 338 Bosch, Transforming, 315. 339 Burggraff, Determining, 2010. 129 for personal morality and the urgency of evangelism, they abandoned the balance of Scripture and a strong tradition of social responsibility. Theologian Carl F. H. Henry who helped define modern Evangelical theology, wrote about what came to be called ‘the great reversal.’ “Whereas once the redemptive gospel was a world-changing message, now it was narrowed to a world resisting message…Fundamentalism in revolting against the Social Gospel seemed also to revolt against the Christian social imperative…It does not challenge the injustices of totalitarianisms, the secularisms of modern education, the evils of racial hatred, the wrongs of current labor-management relations, and the inadequate bases of international dealing.”340 Bosch commenting on the split between the “service to the body” and the “service to the soul” writes that both perspectives on their own were the church’s inadequate responses to the problems of society and the solutions that the Enlightenment proposed.341 This separation of evangelism and disciple making from programs that focus on justice and compassion are reflected in church structures. Mission that focuses on conversion and discipling is expressed mainly in the local church, in its congregational life.342 While programs and initiatives that focus on God’s justice and compassion are mainly carried out by non-local (para) church agencies, or committees and boards that are either ecumenical or at a denominational level. Bishop Newbigin felt that evangelism, as well 340 Quoted in Rodger C. Bassham, Mission Theology 1948-1975: Years of Worldwide Creative Tension, Ecumenical, Evangelical, and Roman Catholic (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 1979), 176. 341 Bosch, Transforming, 315. 342 There are exceptions to that as ministries such as Campus Crusade, the Navigators, Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship, Every Home Crusade and others were non-church based ministries that focused on evangelism and disciple making. 130 as compassion and justice for the poor should be expressions of the reality of Christ in the life of a local congregation. He writes, Christian programs for justice and compassion are severed from their proper root in the liturgical and sacramental life of the congregation, and so loose their character as signs of the presence of Christ and risk becoming crusades fueled by moralism that can become self-righteous. And the life of the worshipping congregation, severed from its proper expression in compassionate service to the secular world around it, risks becoming a self-centered existence serving only the needs and desires of its members.343 IV. Healing the Divide 1. Modern Missions It is often stated that modern missions, starting around the late 1700s, understood the teachings and examples of Christ, of the apostles and of the early Church Father and that right from the beginning the focus of missions was both the verbal proclamation of the gospel, and addressing social and physical needs. While William Carey’s only colleague when he sailed for India in 1793 was a medical man, John Thomas, and the team that the London Missionary Society sent to the Pacific in 1796 included a surgeon,344 in the early years of the missionary movement there wasn’t a clear theological understanding of whether social issues should be addressed. Regardless of this lack of clarity, in 1865, William Booth (1829-1912), a former Methodist minister in England, started working with the ‘undesirables” of society. These included drug and morphine addicts, prostitutes and alcoholics. Industrialization in Britain had created significant social problems and a large portion of the population was 343 Newbigin, The Open, 10-11. 344Andrew Walls, The Missionary Movement in Christian History: Studies in the Transmission of Faith (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 2007), 211. 131 either unemployed or living in very poor and unhealthy conditions. Booth felt that the Church had a responsibility to show the love of Christ to those who were unemployed or living in very poor and unhealthy conditions.345 There was much discussion within the mission agencies and sending churches as to the value of education. This was more than just making a population literate so that they could read the Bible. Education was seen by some as a tool to develop societies and for the poor to find a way out of poverty. Thomas Smith, a Church of Scotland missionary to India, at the 1860 Liverpool Conference on Missions discussed whether a missionary should teach anything else other than the Gospel. His conclusion was that education was “a legitimate method of fulfilling the great obligation of Christian missionaries” because heathenism (as stated by Smith) was embedded in the educational system and what was taught was that there was no distinction between moral good and evil.346 In the Middle East, the first American Protestant missionaries arrived in Lebanon in the early 1820s. They soon discovered that the conversion of a Muslim within the Ottoman Empire was extremely difficult because of a possible death penalty for the convert.347 Over time, since the majority of the converts were from the historical churches in the region and almost none from the Muslim community, questions were raised about the focus of the mission. Rufus Anderson, who was the senior secretary of the Prudential Committee of the ABCFM348 in Boston, after a number of trips to the region, referring to the historical churches in the Near East, wrote, “They need to be reminded of things, 345 Christian History, William Booth, Christianity Today, August 8, 2008, accessed December 9, 2013, http://www.christianitytoday.com//ch/131christians/activists/williambooth.html. 346 Walls, The Missionary, 203. 347 Habib Badr, “American Protestant Missionary Beginnings in Beirut and Istanbul: Politics, Practice and Response.” In New Faiths in Ancient Lands, by Heleen Murre-van den Berg (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 2006), 213. 348 American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM). 132 which, amid ages of political revolution and degradation, they have forgotten. They need to see – as Muslims also need to see – ‘living exemplification of the gospel’ with all its benevolent influences on society, culture and the nation.”349 Anderson was very involved in the debate around mission strategy, the question being “civilization or Christianization”. He was against the ‘civilizing mission’ of overseas missions, which often resulted in the imposition of Western cultural and religious patterns, and favored an approach that focused on the message of the Gospel alone.350 Yet Protestant and Catholic missions established schools and colleges as part of their mandate. There was a similar discussion around medical missions, though the humanitarian imperative made the argument for medical missions much easier. Andrew Walls, the British missiologist writes about a small book entitled Murdered Millions published in 1894, whose author George Dowknott argued that Western Christians would be guilty of murder on a massive scale if they failed to reduce the mortality rates by means of medical missions. Walls summarizes Dowknott’s argument, “There is little point…in speculating on the eternal future of the heathen when their present state is so pitiable.”351 But medical missions were not just about healing sick bodies, but also about providing an opening for the Gospel. This was given prominence at the 1860 Liverpool Conference, when the London Missionary Society appointed William Lockhart as the first genuine medical missionary.352 He was also the first Protestant missionary in China. His work 349 Quoted in Badr, American Protestant Missionary, 224. 350 Ellen Fleischmann, “Evangelization or Education: American Protestant Missionaries, The American Board, and the Girls and Women of Syria (1830-1910),” in New Faiths in Ancient Lands, ed. Heleen Mutre-van den Berg (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 2006), 271. 351 Walls, The Missionary, 213. 352 Though there had been a surgeon on the team that was sent by the LMS to the Pacific, he was not considered a medical missionary. 133 was the beginning of full-fledged medical missions, which was more than previous missionaries dispensing medicines as they preached the Gospel.353 As these issues were addressed, mission strategy then included evangelism, church planting, Bible translation, providing health care and education, setting up orphanages, and doing advocacy. Their advocacy addressed justice issues like Sati (widow burning) and young girls forced into temple prostitution in India, foot binding of children in China, and slavery in Africa, the UK, the US and Canada, among others. 2. The Impact of Liberation Theology This thesis has focused primarily on the discussion over the past two hundred years within modern Protestant missions on the place and primacy of evangelism versus addressing social and economic needs. The issues were not the same within the Catholic Church. Yet by the 1960s, with the evolution of Liberation Theology, the issues of poverty, political power and justice were to question the role of the Catholic Church in society. While Evangelicals are critical of Liberation Theology, it has succeeded in highlighting specific issues that the Church had forgotten. It was to have a profound impact not only on how community development 354 was to be done, but also in influencing some aspects of Evangelical theology and practice. So it is an important milepost in this discussion. Liberation theology started as a movement in Latin America in the 1950s and the 1960s. Gustavo Gutierrez, a Peruvian theologian and Dominican priest, who had spent much of 353 Walls, The Missionary, 213. 354 cf. Chapter 7. 134 his life living and working among the poor and oppressed in Lima, Peru, coined the term in 1971 when he wrote A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics and Salvation. It was intended to be a Christian response to the reality of poverty and the conditions in which the majority of the Latin American lived. In an interview he said, “I am firmly convinced that poverty—this sub-human condition in which the majority of humanity lives today— is more than a social issue. Poverty poses a major challenge to every Christian conscience and therefore to theology as well.”355 Gutierrez’s starting point was not eschatology or the Kingdom of God, but in understanding the realities of his society, especially poverty and oppression, through the framework of his Christian faith. The core of his premise was that poverty and injustice are sins manifested in an unjust social structure. He identified two kinds of poverty – hunger for God (spiritual poverty) and hunger for bread (material poverty). God values the former and hates the latter.356 Liberation theology has been criticized particularly because of its Marxist analysis of society. In the 1950s and 1960s, Marxism had found deep resonance with the poor and marginalized in Latin America. The Catholic Church, because of its dominance in society and its political influence, felt particularly vulnerable. The most severe criticism against it came from within the Catholic Church itself. Cardinal Ratzinger (who later became Pope Benedict XVI), in 1983, published ten observations critically examining Liberation 355 Daniel Hartnett, “Remembering the Poor: An Interview with Gustavo Gutierrez.” America, the National Catholic Weekly. 2003, 3 February, accessed December 14, 2010, http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=2755. 356 Gustavo Gutierrez, A Theology of Liberation. (Maryknoll, N.Y.:Orbis Books, 2009), 171. 135 Theology.357 He remained opposed to its teaching and took disciplinary action against many of the key leaders – including the Brazilian Catholic theologian, Leonardo Boff. Gutierrez explains what he means by a theology of liberation. “…We will have an authentic theology of liberation only when the oppressed themselves can freely raise their voice and express themselves directly and creatively in society and in the heart of the people of God…when they are the protagonists of their own liberation.”358 So in effect, while Liberation Theology saw the poor as victims of oppression, it also saw that they had the ability to create the kind of society that pleases God and work towards it. Gutierrez believed that the church was an institution in the community and bore responsibility to be a prophetic voice, reminding people of God’s standards. He states, “Now we know that poverty is not simply a misfortune; it is an injustice…Christians cannot forgo their responsibility to say a prophetic word about unjust economic conditions.”359 Evangelicals have also struggled with Gutierrez’s concept of God’s “preferential option for the poor.” They are concerned about what this means in reference to salvation. Are the poor saved (blessed) just because they are poor? It is important to hear Gutierrez explain what the term “the preferential option for the poor” means. 357 Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, "Liberation Theology: Preliminary Notes", in The Ratzinger Report. Reprinted in The Essential Pope Benedict XVI, eds. J.F. Thornton and S.B. Varenne (Online version: Harper Collins), 2007. 358 Gutierrez, A Theology of Liberation, 174. 359 Hartnett, “Remembering”, 2003. Gutierrez states, “People today often talk about contextual theologies but, in point of fact, theology has always been contextual…When Augustine wrote ‘The City of God’, he was reflecting on what it meant for him and for his contemporaries to live the Gospel within a specific context of serious historical transformations. Our context today is characterized by a glaring disparity between the rich and the poor. No serious Christian can quietly ignore this situation... Theology does not pretend to have all the technical solutions to poverty, but it reminds us never to forget the poor and also that God is at stake in our response to poverty.” 136 • The term poverty refers to the real poor. This is not a preferential option for the spiritually poor…The spiritually poor are the saints! The poverty to which the option refers is material poverty. Material poverty means premature and unjust death. The poor person is someone who is treated as a non-person, someone who is considered insignificant from an economic, political and cultural point of view…But even though the poor remain insignificant within society, they are never insignificant before God. • God’s love has two dimensions, the universal and the particular…God’s love excludes no one. Nevertheless, God demonstrates a special predilection toward those who have been excluded from the banquet of life. • In English, the word “option” merely connotes a choice between two things. In Spanish, however, it evokes the sense of commitment. The option for the poor is not optional, but is incumbent upon every Christian. It is not something that a Christian can either take or leave…it involves standing in solidarity with the poor, but it also entails a stance against inhumane poverty.360 Evangelicals, especially in Latin America, were forced to evaluate their understanding of how to relate to society because of the impact and influence of Liberation Theology.361 3. The World Council of Churches Other streams within the Church built on the thinking of Liberation Theology and its starting point of the need for relevance of the Christian faith to society and its problems. Jürgen Moltmann, Professor emeritus of systematic theology at the University of Tübingen, reflecting on his involvement in the 1973 Bangkok Assembly of the World Council of Churches themed “Salvation Today”, writes in his autobiography, “We tried to find a comprehensive understanding of salvation and withstood Western emphasis on 360 Ibid. 361 Bruce Fawcett, the President of Crandall University in New Brunswick, illustrates what the “preferential option for the poor” means. He muses, “Suppose that one of your children was severely disabled. While you would love all your children equally, you would have a special concern and love for your disabled child because of his or her inability to function fully in society and because of their dependence on others. This child’s disability and his needs would influence all your decisions and you would even write your will keeping this child in mind. The poor, similarly, are unable to function and participate fully in society as God intends all His children to, which is the reason for God’s “preferential option for the poor.” Fawcett, Bruce. 2010. Interview with the author. Wolfville, NS, Canada. October 25. 137 the salvation of the individual.”362 Section II of the Minutes and Report of the Bangkok Assembly 1973, often referred to as the theology of the Bangkok Assembly, states that salvation was total liberation involving economic justice, political freedom and cultural renewal.363 The World Council of Churches believed that the social, political and economic transformation of the world based on the justice of God was the mission and mandate of the Church. A 1967 World Council of Churches report states, “We have lifted up humanization as the goal of mission because we believe that more than others, it communicates in our period of history the meaning of the messianic goal.”364 4. The Fundamentalist Evangelical Reaction The more fundamentalist evangelical churches during this period remained very focused on evangelism. In preparation for the World Council of Churches Assembly in Uppsala, Sweden in 1968, Donald McGavran, a veteran missionary and one of the founders of the Church Growth Movement, in a special issue of the Church Growth Bulletin reacted 362 Jürgen Moltmann, A Broad Place: An Autobiography (London: SCM Press, 2007), 171. 363 Section II states, “As evil works both in personal life and in exploitative social structures which humiliate mankind, so God’s justice manifests itself both in the justification of the sinner and in social and political justice…we see the struggles for economic justice, political freedom and cultural renewal as elements in the total liberation of the world through the mission of God. This liberation is finally achieved when “death is swallowed up in victory” (1 Cor. 15.55). This comprehensive notion of salvation demands of the whole of the people of God a matching comprehensive approach to their participation in salvation…. Within the comprehensive notion of salvation, we see the saving work in four social dimensions: a. Salvation works in the struggle for economic justice against the exploitation of people by people. b. Salvation works in the struggle for human dignity against political oppression of human beings… c. Salvation works in the struggle for solidarity against the alienation of person from person. d. Salvation works in the struggle of hope against despair in personal life. In the process of salvation, we must relate these four dimensions to each other. There is no economic justice without political freedom, no political freedom without economic justice. There is no social justice without solidarity, no solidarity without social justice. There is no justice, no human dignity, no solidarity without hope, no hope without justice, dignity and solidarity.” Quoted in Moltmann, A Broad,173-174. 364 World Council of Churches. The Church for Others and The Church for the World (Geneva, CH: World Council of Churches, 1967), 78. 138 against the emphasis on social and physical need. His argued for the primacy of the spiritual dimension of salvation over social issues. By “the two billion” I mean “that great number of at least two billion, who either have never heard of Jesus Christ or have no real chance to believe on Him as “Lord and Savior.” These inconceivable multitudes live and die in a famine of the Word of God, more terrible by far than the sporadic physical famines, which occur in unfortunate lands…. By “betray” I mean any course of action, which substitutes ashes for bread, fixes the attention of God’s children with the flesh when they long for the spirit. By “betray” I mean planning courses of action whose sure outcome will be that the two billion will remain in their sins and in their darkness, chained by false and inadequate ideas of God and humanity.365 For McGavran, the confusion lay in understanding the mission and mandate of the Church. He writes, “In some circles, everything is called mission – feeding the hungry, educating the ignorant, healing the sick, building bridges of friendship between nations.”366 For him, “A chief aim of Christian mission is to proclaim Jesus Christ as divine and only Savior and persuade men to become His disciples and responsible members of His Church.”367 This perspective is still very prevalent among many Evangelicals today. Wolfgang Simon, the author of the Starfish Manifesto and church growth consultant, asks: Does Jesus expect that the world will be transformed before or after his return? After. Does he indicate that the character of this world, its soul, its nature, its ethos, can ever be transformed? No. Did he authorize his disciples to transform the world? No. Did he advise his disciples what methods they should use to transform the world? No.368 365 Donald McGavran, “Will Uppsala Betray the Two Billion.” Church Growth Bulletin: Special Uppsala Issue IV, no. 5 (May 1968). 366 Donald McGavran, ed. Eye of the Storm: The Great Debate in Mission (Waco, TX: Word Books, 1972), 65. 367 Ibid, 56. 368 Wolfgang Simon, The Starfish Manifesto (Antioch, CA: Asteroidea Books, 2009), 6875-78, Kindle. 139 His conclusion is that any attempt at social transformation is a waste of time. He writes, “Let’s face it: developed pagans are, yes better pagan – but they are still pagan.”369 It is important to understand the theological basis of what McGavran, Simon and some of the Evangelicals are saying. McGavran wrote, “Salvation is a vertical relationship…The vertical cannot be displaced by the horizontal. Desirable as social ameliorations are, working for them must never be substituted for the Biblical requirements of ‘salvation.’”370 Their understanding of mission is based on the aspect of human beings they consider most important, namely the spiritual. Professor Matthew John of Serampore College in India reacts against this when he writes, “The concern for man’s immortal soul, which is made in the image of God hides the fact that according to the Bible it is man, the whole man – not merely his soul – that is said to be created in the image of God.”371 The discussion still remains very polarized as to whether the mandate and priority of the Church is evangelism or does it also include addressing social and political issues like poverty, injustice and oppression. 5. Lausanne 1974 and Beyond David Bosch, reflecting on this polarization, provides a balance when he writes; “we have to affirm that redemption is never salvation out of this world but always salvation of this world. Salvation in Christ is salvation in the context of human society en route to a 369 Ibid, 6954-56, Kindle. 370 Donald McGavran, "Salvation Today," in The Evangelical Response to Bangkok, ed. Ralph Winter (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 1973), 31. 371 McGavran, Eye,117. 140 whole and healed world.”372 Bosch goes on to say that any interpretation of salvation has to operate within a comprehensive Christological framework, which includes his incarnation, earthly life, death, resurrection, and the second coming of Christ. These taken together constitute the work of Christ as He inaugurated salvation, and is the model for us to emulate in our ministry.373 This was the balance that many Evangelicals were trying to achieve. The process culminated with the International Conference on World Evangelism in Lausanne in 1974. In preparing for the 1974 Lausanne Conference, and then during the conference, a number of evangelical leaders led by John Stott struggled to find the balance between evangelism and addressing social needs. They tried to avoid “schizophrenic positions” and extremes as they sought to understand what salvation and ministry means for the individual and society, body and soul, present and future.374 Aware of the questions being asked by Liberation Theology and the discussions at the World Council of Churches, the main streams of the evangelical community was forced to re-examine their theology. One of the questions they explored was “the relationship of evangelism and social concern, 372 Bosch, Transforming, 399. 373 Christ inaugurated the Kingdom, demonstrated its reality through His life and ministry, and taught us to pray expectantly “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth just as it is in heaven”. N.T. Wright explains the significance of Jesus’ earthly life. It is the Gospels that demonstrate what the Kingdom of God looks like and how we are to relate to it. Wright explains; “The great creeds…which have shaped and expressed the faith of millions of Christians in both Eastern and Western Christianity, simply omit the middle section, the story of Jesus’ actual life and the meaning this story conveys…The canonical gospels give us a Jesus whose public career radically mattered as part of his overall accomplishment, which had to do with the kingdom of God. The creeds give us a Jesus whose miraculous birth and saving death, resurrection, and ascension are all we need to know.” N.T. Wright, How God became King: The forgotten story of the Gospels (New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers, 2011), 19-20. 374 Bosch, Transforming, 399. 141 raised by the rapid growth in awareness of poverty and injustice in the world and the effects of (natural and human-made) disasters.”375 The resulting Lausanne Covenant emphasized evangelism, but placed it within a Christian presence in the world and discipleship. Affirmation 4 “The Nature Of Evangelism” states “…evangelism itself is the proclamation of the historical, biblical Christ as Savior and Lord, with a view to persuading people to come to him personally and so be reconciled to God. In issuing the gospel invitation we have no liberty to conceal the cost of discipleship...The results of evangelism include obedience to Christ, incorporation into his Church and responsible service in the world.”376 There was also recognition of the social responsibility of Christians among many of the Evangelicals. Affirmation 5 “Christian Social Responsibility” states, “We therefore should share his [God’s] concern for justice and reconciliation throughout human society and for the liberation of men and women from every kind of oppression…Although reconciliation with other people is not reconciliation with God, nor is social action evangelism, nor is political liberation salvation, nevertheless we affirm that evangelism and socio-political involvement are both part of our Christian duty. For both are necessary expressions of our doctrines of God and man, our love for our neighbor and our obedience to Jesus Christ...The salvation we claim should be transforming us in the totality of our personal and social responsibilities. Faith without works is dead.”377 375 Tom Houston, The Story of the Lausanne Covenant: Case Study in Cooperation, 2013, accessed July 23, 2013, http://www.lausanne.org/en/gatherings/global-congress/lausanne-1974/story-of-the-covenant.html 376 The Lausanne Movement, The Lausanne Covenant, 2013, accessed July 23, 2013, http://www.lausanne.org/en/documents/lausanne-covenant.html. 377 Ibid. 142 However, in trying to connect evangelism and social responsibility within the mission of the church, the Lausanne Covenant stated the primacy of evangelism. In affirmation 6 “The Church And Evangelism” it states, “In the Church's mission of sacrificial service evangelism is primary. World evangelization requires the whole Church to take the whole gospel to the whole world.”378 While the Covenant explicitly affirmed evangelism as primary, the major breakthrough of 1974 Lausanne Conference was the rediscovery by the wider evangelical community that addressing the social needs of the community is a mandate for the church, as is evangelism. However, Bosch explains the danger of not understanding the relationship between the two. “The moment that one regards mission as consisting of two separate components one has, in principle, conceded that each of the two has a life of its own. One is then by implication saying that it is possible to have evangelism without a social dimension and Christian social involvement without an evangelistic dimension. What is more, if one suggests that one component is primary and the other secondary, one implies that one is essential, the other optional.”379 Nine years later, the 1983 Wheaton Consultation developed a more holistic understanding of mission by developing a Biblical, theological and practical understanding of the term “transformation”. Track III in the Wheaton ’83 Statement says, “Transformation is the change from a condition of human existence contrary to God’s purposes to one in which people are able to enjoy fulness of life in harmony with God.”380 378 Ibid. 379 Bosch, Transforming, 405. 380 Tizon, Transformation, 8-9. 143 6. Micah Declaration 2001 and Integral Mission The 2001 consultation in Oxford sought to explain the relationship between the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20) and the Great Commandment (Matt. 22:37-40). This consultation produced the “Micah Declaration” which states: Integral mission or holistic transformation is the proclamation and demonstration of the Gospel. It is not simply that evangelism and social involvement are to be done alongside each other. Rather, in integral mission our proclamation has social consequences as we call people to love and repentance in all areas of life. And our social involvement has evangelistic consequences as we bear witness to the transforming grace of Jesus Christ. If we ignore the world we betray the Word of God, which sends us out to serve the world. If we ignore the Word of God, we have nothing to bring to the world.381 The Micah Declaration finally provided the right balance between the verbal proclamation of the Gospel and the demonstration of its reality. Neither operates independently and each has significant implications for the other. It finally, theologically, laid to rest the great divide of the past hundred first years. V. Summary While the Old and New Testaments were clear that God was concerned not just with the salvation of individuals, but was equally concerned about compassion and justice in society here on earth, this understanding has come under severe strain within the Church. While the early Church may not have addressed the issues of justice, they were a compassionate community, and this was to have a transforming impact on society. However, the last two hundred years have divided the Church when trying to understand the Church’s relationship with society and the mandate for the Church. These divisions 381 Micah Network, Micah Network Declaration on Integral Mission (Oxford: Micah Network, 2001), 1. 144 have hinged on three theological issues of what is the Gospel, what does righteousness mean, what does the reign/Kingdom of God mean and when will it happen. Various factions of the Church have struggled with these and have found their own answers in the Bible on how to relate to society and its issues. While it is now clear that the verbal proclamation of the Gospel cannot be separated from addressing physical and social needs, Bishop Leslie Newbigin wonders if there is a step beyond simply addressing needs, that of justice. The poor are not satisfied by only having some of their needs met. They demand that the injustices that are at the root of poverty also be addressed. Bishop Newbigin, who had been a veteran missionary in India, reflecting on his experience and the changing nature of mission, writes, The discussion about the role of “services” in the missionary work of the church is now thus replaced by a new discussion. We are no longer thinking about “services” such as have been traditionally offered by the (Christian) rich to the (pagan) poor in the form of schools, hospitals, and agricultural programs. We have now to listen to the missiology formulated within the consciousness of the Christian who is part of the poor world, a missiology centered in the demand for liberation in the name of God’s justice. It is in these terms that we must face in our day the question of the relation between preaching of the gospel and action for God’s justice as part of the church’s mission.382 The theological divide of the last hundred fifty years is being reconciled, resulting in a deeper and clearer understanding of what is the mandate of the Church. Integral mission, which must also include issues of justice, has to lead to transformation. The next chapter will look at theoretical paradigms used to understand and analyze poverty. 382 Newbigin, The Open, 5. 145 Chapter 7 THEORETICAL PARADIGMS TO UNDERSTAND POVERTY This chapter will look at specific theoretical paradigms in development to understand the nature and dynamics of poverty and identify specific issues in the theory and process of community development relevant to analyzing the context of the Shias in Lebanon and the process of change they underwent. Development economics, with its roots in 17th century mercantilism and classical economics, focuses on the process of development in low-income countries through methods that promote structural change for economic growth. It also addresses issues like working conditions, education, health, and the role of the public and private sectors. While acknowledging the influence of purely economic factors in addressing poverty, this chapter will focus on the socioeconomic dimensions of poverty. I. Understanding Poverty Poverty is multidimensional. It cannot be measured solely by income, living conditions, or any other single indicator. The United Nations (UN) provides a comprehensive definition of poverty: It means lack of basic capacity to participate effectively in society. It means not having enough to feed and clothe a family, not having a school or clinic to go to, not having the land on which to grow one’s food or a job to earn one’s living, not having access to credit. It means insecurity, powerlessness and exclusion of individuals, households and communities. It means susceptibility to violence, and it often implies living in marginal or fragile environments, without access to clean 146 water or sanitation.383 1. Emerging Understanding of Poverty It was not until the 20th century that empirical studies using specific measurements and definitions were used to identify those living in poverty. Sociologist Seebohm Rowntree at York University (UK) in 1901 did the first empirical studies of poverty to analyze the nature and the causes of poverty and develop a poverty standard for families.384 In the 1960s others developed the first definitions of relative deprivation and poverty,385 redefining poverty not only as an inability to meet acceptable subsistence and nutritional levels, but also as the inability to maintain reasonable living standards in a particular context.386 It was only in the 1960s that macroeconomic indicators such as Gross National Product (GNP) per head were used to reflect income levels at a national level and as a measure of poverty prevalent in the country. Paulo Freire, groundbreaking Brazilian educator, philosopher, and author of The Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970), connected the concept of oppression with poverty 383 UNESCO, Statement of Commitment for Action to Eradicate Poverty Adopted by Administrative Committee on Coordination, (1998), accessed July 6, 2012, http://www.unesco.org/most/acc4pov.htm. 384 Simon Maxwell, The Meaning and Measurement of Poverty (London: Overseas Development Institute (ODI), 1999), 2. 385 W.G. Runciman at Cambridge and Peter Townsend at the London School of Economics helped bring the idea of relative deprivation into the discussion about poverty. Runciman provided one of the first definitions of relative poverty. His first major publication in 1966, Relative Deprivation and Social Justice: A Study of Attitudes to Social Inequality in Twentieth Century Britain was republished in 1993. Townsend redefined poverty not only as an inability to meet acceptable subsistence and nutritional levels, but also as the inability to maintain reasonable living standards in a particular context. He explained, “Individuals, families and groups in the population can be said to be in poverty when they lack the resources to obtain the types of diet, participate in the activities, and have the living conditions and amenities which are customary, or are at least widely encouraged and approved, in the societies in which they belong.” Peter Townsend, Poverty in the United Kingdom: A Survey Of Household Resources And Standard Of Living (London: Penguin, 1979). This laid the foundation for later discussions that focused on poverty being relative, and not only based on absolute standards. 386 Peter Townsend, Poverty in the United Kingdom: A Survey Of Household Resources And Standard Of Living (London: Penguin, 1979), 31. 147 and identified a lack of awareness, or conscientization, as one of the reasons why people remain in poverty. As poverty and oppression are so destructive, the process by which the poor are liberated from their bondages of poverty is critical. He writes, “Attempting to liberate the oppressed without their reflective participation in the act of liberation is to treat them as objects that must be saved from a burning building.”387 If the process is not handled properly, “The oppressed, instead of striving for liberation, tend themselves to become oppressors.” 388 The concepts of empowerment and awareness building in community development have their earliest roots in Freire’s work. At the same time, Catholic archdioceses in Latin America were struggling under repressive dictatorships and felt that their mission should include addressing the issues of poverty and oppression. They worked with communities to analyze the structural causes of their own poverty, oppression, and exploitation as the starting point for addressing changes within their own community. The theological basis for the work they were doing would come to be known as Liberation Theology.389 These two methodologies of conscientization (and the analysis of poverty) and empowerment were to have a profound impact on how community development was to be done globally, as they contributed to changing the focus of development from macroeconomic issues to addressing the needs of communities and marginalized groups. In the UK, Robert Chambers at the University of Sussex broadened the understanding of poverty to include the issues of powerlessness, marginalization, and isolation as aspects 387 Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed (New York, NY: The Seabury Press, 1970), 52. 388 Ibid, 29-30. 389 See Chapter 6 for a more extensive discussion of this movement. 148 of poverty, in addition to lacking economic resources. Laws in Europe by the 1960s, recognized social exclusion as an aspect of poverty. It was recognized that social exclusion was possible across various democratic and legal systems, markets, welfare state provisions, and rights, resources, and relationships in the community, and would be manifested through poor quality housing, low income, and a lack of access to education and health services.390 John Friedmann, formerly at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and University of British Columbia (UBC), introduced the term “alternative development” to describe participatory and people-centred development, with an emphasis on human development and empowerment, as different from macroeconomic development. He identified eight bases of social power in order for a household to be productive – a critical factor if they were to move out of poverty. These were: financial resources, social networks, appropriate information, surplus time over subsistence requirements, instruments of work and livelihoods, social organization, knowledge and skills, and defensible life space. In Friedmann’s model, the poor are empowered by gaining access to these assets.391 For the economist Amartya Sen income was only valuable if it increased the “capabilities” of a person (the poor) and thereby enabling them to function and become productive members of society.392 By the 1980s there was a growing understanding of vulnerability, specifically of 390 Maxwell, The Meaning, 2. 391 John Friedmann, John, Empowerment: The Politics of Alternate Development (Malden, MA: Blackwell, 1992), 62. 392 Amartya Sen, Development as Freedom (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999). 149 women393, children394 and people with disabilities,395 and its relationship to poverty. Other aspects of vulnerability included shocks to the community (natural and political shocks, conflict, etc.), trends (rural-to-urban migration, demographic changes, etc.), and changes related to seasonality. Similarly, in 1987 the issue of the environment came into the mainstream of development planning after the Brundtland Commission presented and defined the term sustainable development as meeting “… the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” 396 Today poverty is recognized not only at the individual or community level; whole countries (excluding their elite) can be identified as being poor based on internationally used “baskets” of indicators.397 Oxford economist Paul Collier focuses on countries that are poor. Referring to the “bottom billion,” the poorest people in the poorest countries, Collier writes, “The countries at the bottom coexist with the 21st century, but their reality is the 14th century: civil war, plague, ignorance. They are concentrated in Africa and Central Asia, with a scattering elsewhere.”398 He describes them as having low life expectancy, high infant mortality, and long-term malnutrition among children.399 393 The initial concept was Women in Development (WID), which then evolved to a more comprehensive understanding of gender issues and is now known as Gender and Development (GAD). In 1979 the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). 394 The focus on children culminated with the adoption in 1989 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) by the international community. 395 The focus on those with disability culminated in 2006 in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. 396 G.H. Brundtland, Our Common Future: Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987). 397 The most commonly used “basket” is the Human Development Index (HDI), which ranks countries based on a set of indicators. This is discussed later in the chapter. 398 Paul Collier, The Bottom Billion (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007), 3. 399 Ibid, pp. 7-8. 150 2. Analyzing Poverty How is poverty analyzed? The prevalent idea is that poverty needs to be measured using quantifiable measures. As such, easily measurable indicators such as low income and low consumption have often been used to define poverty. Globally accepted poverty lines, such as the percentage or number of the population living on $1 a day400 or living below the national poverty standard, are widely used and are collated at a national level. In 2005 the World Bank changed the poverty line to $1.25 a day to reflect a more accurate calculations of costs and consumptions. Using universally accepted quantifiable indicators of poverty has its advantages. As explained by American entrepreneur and philanthropist Bill Gates, though poverty lines are conceptual, moving above them provides genuine results, “The poverty line is an abstraction, but the advantages of being above it are very concrete. People who escape poverty are no longer just keeping their bodies alive; they are building assets for the future. These assets will purchase a doctor’s care or a school uniform. In the end, you 400 In the late 1980s World Bank economists noticed that a number of countries located in the developing world had established their poverty line at $370 a year - the amount deemed needed for an individual person to live on. Although there was no agreement about the essentials needed to survive, the amount of $370 was common to some countries. Based on this, the Word Bank proposed that this figure become be a global poverty line. Mark Ravallion, one of the economists, who had noticed this pattern, realized that dividing the income of $370, by the total number of days in a year (365) means that people are living on approximately $1/day. However, in order to make this indicator useful for all countries, where exchange rates vary quite significantly, it was necessary to develop a specially adjusted dollar, which they called Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). This determined how much money, in any given country, would be needed to buy a basket of essential items that would cost $1 in the United States. Those who could not afford this basket were considered to be living below the global poverty line. Ruth Alexander, The Rise Of The $1-A- Day Statistics, (March 9, 2012), accessed March 9, 2012, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine- 17312819?print=true. 151 have a self-sufficient family that can invest in the next generation.”401 However there are problems when only using poverty lines in order to determine the extent of poverty in an area. While they provide information about the broad context, they are not always useful in understanding the dynamics of poverty. Additionally, they focus exclusively on economic measures of poverty while excluding all of the other dimensions of poverty. Pioneering work done by the International Labor Organization (ILO) in the 1970s broadened the concept of poverty measured only by income to include a wider set of “basic needs”, such as the lack of access to health, education, and other services. This enabled the development of policies and strategies such as integrated rural development.402 Amartya Sen also moved beyond the economic concept of “a dollar a day” to examine social factors as well. His concept of human capabilities as being fundamental to development influenced the formulation of the UNDP’s Human Development Index (HDI). The HDI completes an annual report that ranks countries in terms of their achievements in development. It includes three dimensions of human well- being, two of which address non-economic dimensions of society. These are: • Long and healthy life: measured by life expectancy at birth • Knowledge and education: measured by expected years of schooling for school-aged children and mean years of schooling for those above age 25, and • Standards of living: measured using the gross national income (GNI) per capita.403 401 Bill, Gates, Bill Gates: International Fund for Agricultural Development Governing Council, (2012, 23- February), accessed March 2, 2012, http://www.gatesfoundation.org/speeches-commentary/Pages/bill- gates-2012-ifad.aspx. 402 Maxwell, The Meaning, p. 2. 403 UNDP. Human Development Index (HDI), (2011), accessed May 25, 2012, http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/hdi/. 152 Historically, one of the weaknesses of the HDI was that the measurements, like poverty lines, provided information only at a national level and informed very little about specific local contexts. In order to tackle this limitation the HDI has since included disaggregated information about specific groups (geographic, ethnic, etc.) within a country, thus ensuring that specific groups are no longer concealed by the country’s overall ranking.404 The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), an international initiative focused on improving basic development indicators in all countries, build on the main principles of the HDI, moving further away from only economic indicators to a more multidimensional approach to poverty.405 While not explicitly a way of measuring poverty, the MDGs identify specific aspects of poverty and provide the international community goals to strive for. Some of the most significant developments in understanding poverty were through the work of Robert Chambers at the University of Sussex. Poverty was not only multidimensional, but he stressed that the realities of poverty need to be defined by the poor themselves and not by outsiders imposing their own frameworks and agendas. Chambers’ contention is that assessing and addressing poverty at the community level should not just be a top-down process implemented by the government, but that people in communities need to be at the centre of the process and involved throughout. According to Chambers, poverty is too often characterized and defined by those living outside of the communities that are being assessed: 404 Ibid. 405 Its eight goals are: Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education; Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women; Goal 4: Reduce child mortality; Goal 5: Improve maternal health; Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability; Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development. 153 The simple definition of the bad condition – poverty – is made, then, not by the poor, from their experience, but by the well off, for their convenience. The need planners and academics have for a single scale of numbers narrows, distorts and simplifies their perceptions. Deprivation and poverty come to be defined, not by the changing and varied wants and needs of the poor, but by the static and standardized wants and needs of professionals. Conceptually, professionals are then caught in their own reductionist poverty trap. Poverty becomes what has been measured.406 Chambers sought to understand poverty as it is perceived by the poor themselves. He stressed that it is important to understand who defines poverty and the reality of the poor, as the perspectives of those outside the community are different from those of the community members and other stakeholders.407 His model of poverty which identifies five inter-related dimensions based on the poor defining their own reality, is as follows: Figure 2. Dimensions of Poverty408 406 Robert Chambers, Whose Reality Counts? Putting the First Last, (London: ITDG Publishing, 1997), 46. 407 Based on his desire for a more people-centred approach, Chambers was key in the development of Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) techniques (now also referred to as Participatory Reflection and Action or Participatory Learning and Action (PLA)), which enables those living in poverty the opportunity to define their own reality and to express their needs. 408 Adapted from Robert Chambers, Rural Development: Putting the Last First, (London: Longman Group, 1983), 110. 154 According to this model, the profile of poverty will vary between communities, as one dimension may be more prevalent than others. In all likelihood, the poor often experience all five dimensions to varying degrees. Each dimension influences the others, resulting in a web of entanglement or a “cluster of disadvantage.”409 3. Types of Poverty Poverty is not visible in just one form, nor do the poor experience it in any one particular way. People’s life circumstances and the context within which they live may push them into or out of poverty. People may also experience different types of poverty and the severity may vary. Typologies help researchers and development professionals to categorize the situations facing the communities they are working with. However, typologies also provide only one perspective on poverty, which is usually the perspective of the researcher based on the data and insights that they have collected. Typologies of poverty can be defined based on: • Severity – extreme, moderate and relative. • Length of time people have been living in poverty - chronic, transitional and generational. • Traditional (chronic) poverty versus event-based poverty (which occurs due to specific events such as conflict, violence, divorce, migration, etc.). Within this continuum, there is the “new urban” poverty perpetuated by migration from rural to urban areas. • Context – normative (global standards), relative and felt. Poverty varies in its severity. Jeffery Sachs at Harvard University, who was instrumental in the development of the MDGs, distinguishes between three degrees of poverty: 409 Ibid, 103-139. 155 extreme (absolute), moderate, and relative poverty. Extreme poverty is a situation in which households are unable to meet their basic needs for food and water, health care and education, and shelter and clothing, which ultimately affect their ability to survive. Those living in extreme poverty are marginalized from mainstream society and are unable to access services and benefits that would enable them to improve their quality of their life and their socioeconomic status. Moderate poverty is when basic needs are met, but just barely; whereas relative poverty is “…a household income level below a given proportion of the average national income.”410 Poverty can also be classified according to the length of time one lives in poverty. Some people may live the majority of their lives in poverty, while others move in and out of poverty at various times. According to this classification, poverty can be categorized as transitory poverty, chronic poverty, generational poverty, and event-based poverty. However, even these categories are not discreet and are not finite classifications. For example, there is a high degree of overlap between chronic poverty (people who are always or usually poor) and generational poverty (families in which poverty is passed on from one generation to the next). Generational poverty is also sometimes referred to as traditional poverty and often encompasses groups that are customarily viewed as being poor, for example, various tribal or ethnic groups or residents of slums.411 Event-based poverty refers to the fact that people may be pushed into poverty through a series of unfortunate events (for example, conflicts, loss of family members, failed harvests, inflation rates, divorce, etc.). 410 Jeffrey Sachs, The End of Poverty (London: Penguin Books, 2005), 20. 411 The perception that tribal groups and residents of slums are poor may not always be accurate. For example, there is significant evidence that many residents of slums may be middle class (economically) but are forced to live in slums because of the unavailability of affordable housing in many urban areas. 156 Chronic poverty usually lasts throughout the lifetime of a person and may also be generational, in that each succeeding generation passes down the circumstances that are creating poverty to the next generation. The lives of people living in chronic poverty are often characterized by insecure and low-paid employment, health problems, and extremely poor living conditions. They are likely to suffer from social discrimination and die preventable deaths. This type of poverty is found in all regions of the world and is particularly prevalent among children, the elderly, and people with disabilities. These groups are least likely to have assets and capacities that they can use to mitigate or improve their situations, and they are often overlooked at the policy and service delivery levels. The Chronic Poverty Research Center notes that this type of poverty is particularly difficult to undo and analysis of the underlying causes is necessary in any response. 412 Figure 3. Categories of the Fluctuating Nature of Poverty413 Mean Score Poverty Line Mean Score Time Time Time Always Poor Fluctuating Poor Never Poor Usually Poor Occasionally Poor Chronically Poor Transitory Poor Non-Poor The chronically poor are made up of two groups: the “always poor” and the “usually 412 The Chronic Poverty Research Centre, The Chronic Poverty Report 2004-05 (Manchester, UK: The Institute for Development Policy & Management, 2005). 413 Adapted from The Chronic Poverty Research Centre, The Chronic Poverty Report 2004-05 (Manchester: The Institute for Development Policy & Management, 2005), 12. 157 poor.” The “always poor” are people who, always fall below accepted poverty lines, whereas the “usually poor” are not always considered poor in comparison with poverty lines. 414 Poverty can also be transitory, whereby individuals, families, and communities slip in and out of poverty. This can be related to external circumstances, such as seasonality (for example, available employment opportunities) or shocks (violence or natural disasters), or due to life events (such as the unemployment, loss of income, etc.). The transitory poor are also made up of two groups. The “fluctuating poor” are usually found somewhere around the poverty line, and due to a variety of factors constantly move in and out of poverty. The “occasionally poor” are found above the poverty line, but have experienced poverty at least once. 415 Poverty can also be assessed by comparing a given context with agreed upon standards, or in comparison to other geographical areas. When using poverty lines, such as a single economic indicator, the HDI, or the MDGs, the assessment of poverty is against a normative standard. These standards are internationally or nationally accepted standards or targets that allow for the assessment of a situation in any given nation.416 However, the assessment of poverty, in order to be useful also needs to be relative. When assessed in relative terms, poverty is not determined against normative standards but is instead compared with communities in surrounding areas, regions, districts, provinces or countries. 414 Ibid, p. 12. 415 Ibid, p. 12. 416 The Sphere Standards for example are internationally recognized standards in different sectors and are used extensively during relief operations to assess the quality of life. 158 Poverty can also be assessed by how it is felt by a particular community. In this context, the community itself defines their reality and identifies what their needs are, rather than needs being identified on the basis of national or international standards, or in comparison with surrounding areas or regions. For there to be a comprehensive understanding of poverty in a particular community, each of these three contextual comparisons of poverty (normative, relative, and felt) should be used. It is not enough to only use international standards and/or measurements at a national or regional level, as macro-level understandings of poverty such as these rarely provide any specific information at a community level. Poverty at a community level should also be understood in comparison to poverty in the surrounding areas and rest of the country. Another critical element is ensuring the involvement of the community members in the process of defining their own living conditions and providing them with the opportunity to determine whether they see themselves as poor. 4. A Rights-Based Approach to Understanding Poverty As thinking in the field of development moved beyond poverty lines and began focusing on a more holistic approach to understanding poverty, the lack of social and political justice was considered one of the key underlying causes of poverty. Jacob Boesen and Tomas Martin at the Danish Institute for Human Rights write, “[A Rights Based Approach (RBA) to development] is able to recognize poverty as injustice and include marginalization, discrimination, and exploitation as central causes of poverty.”417 What was missing in a needs and capacity based analysis of poverty was a universally accepted 417 Jacob Kirkeman Boesen and Tomas Martin, Applying a Rights-Based Approach: An Inspirational Guide For Civil Society (Copenhagen: The Danish Institute for Human Rights, 2007), 9. 159 philosophical framework to understand and address human need. In a rights based approach, instead of being viewed as victims dependent on handouts and charity, people were instead viewed as having the right to meet their basic needs. The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), among numerous other conventions, provide the legal basis for the obligations of the international community (including national governments, international institutions, and civil society). The UDHR is a universally agreed upon set of principles that are accepted across nations, cultures, faiths and religions.418 The basic premise behind the UDHR is that all human beings have rights, regardless of their demographics, situation or context.419 Boesen and Martin clarify the difference between human needs and a right. They state, “…It is central to the premise of RBA that human beings have inalienable rights and a deprivation of needs can often be addressed as a denial of rights. In other words, clean 418 Of all the major world religions, Islam has not fully embraced the UDHR. Instead there were two declarations to try and provide an Islamic perspective on human rights; the Universal Islamic Declaration of Human Rights in 1981 and the Cairo Declaration adopted by the Organization of Islamic States in 1990 try to rectify this by showing that human rights were always a part of Shari’a. This is discussed in more detail elsewhere in this study. Also see William H. Brackney, Human Rights and the World's Religion, Revised and Updated (Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2013). 419 Some of the fundamental rights identified by the UDHR that are directly related to poverty are: • All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. (Article 7) • Everyone has the right to a nationality. (Article 15) • Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment…Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work… (Article 23) • Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and wellbeing of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care, and necessary social services… Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. (Article 25) • Everyone has the right to education. (Article 26) 160 drinking water is not only something you need, it is also something you have a right to have as a human being.”420 However, Paul Farmer, the author of Pathologies of Power reflects, “Rights declarations are…exhortatory and largely unenforceable. And the bad news is that very few enjoy these rights.”421 He further states that the struggles for social and economic rights are the “neglected step children of the human rights movement.”422 Lawyer and human rights activist, Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, writes that the needs are so serious and overwhelming that existence and awareness of laws and human rights are not enough. “In Africa, the realization of human rights is a very serious business indeed. In many cases it is a life or death matter...Knowledge of the contents of the Universal Declaration will hardly advance their condition.”423 Too often human rights advocates have been content with the fact that the Conventions and legal instruments exist. The challenge of the lofty ideals of human rights is to impact the lives of the poor and marginalized. Christian Liberation theologian Jon Sobrino reverses the process by stating that transformation of the lives of the poor should precede universalizing doctrine. He writes, A major characterization of our era is the formulation and doctrine of human rights. And it is of no small merit for our age to have succeeded in conceptualizing and universalizing such rights – to have come to be able to speak of the right to life, to liberty, to dignity, and to so many other blessings accompanying these. But this accomplishment does not yet bring us down to the 420 Boesen and Martin, Applying, 10. 421 Paul Farmer, Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, And The New War On The Poor (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2005), xxv. 422 Ibid, xxiv. 423 Chidi Anselm Odinkalu,."Why more Africans don't use human rights language," in Human Rights Dialogue: Human Rights for All? The Problem of the Human Rights Box, Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs, (Winter 2000): 3. 161 basics. Reality is, after all, antecedent to doctrine...The concrete is antecedent to the universal.”424 So while human rights are of value in understanding dimensions of poverty, in of themselves they do not foster change and transformation. 5. Complexity, Chaos and Poverty Too often the approaches to addressing poverty tend to be simplistic, in that the perception is that by providing basic services or opportunities communities can experience transformation. Some of the more recent insights into the dynamics of poverty come from the field of complexity science. Poverty exists within complex socioeconomic and political systems that are dynamic and change over time. There are an infinite number of variables and factors that affect communities and how communities react to external pressures. Tools used by development professionals425 generally do not take into account that the context is constantly changing, thus making poverty assessments only snapshots in time. Existing models for analyzing social problems do not differentiate between the simple, complicated and complex types of problems. David Snowden, an expert and researcher within the field of knowledge management, developed the Cynefin Framework,426 in order to help the understanding of problems, situations, and systems. He identifies five 424 Jon Sobrino, Spirituality of Liberation: Toward Political Holiness (Maryknoll, N.: Orbis Books, 1988), 105. 425 The standard tools are structured planning tools such Logical Framework Analysis (LFA) and Results Based Management (RBM) and its variations. 426 Cynefin (pronounced kun-ev’in) is a Welsh word roughly translated into English combining the concept of ‘space’ and ‘habitat’ with a sense of multiple pasts – cultural, religious, geographic, tribal, etc. 162 domains within which problems exist.427 In the simple domain there is a single cause for a problem regardless of context. Addressing the cause will solve the problem. One solution will almost always provide the same result. In principle, solutions and results are always predictable, regardless of the context, which allows “best practices” (for example, a recipe) to be identified. In the complicated domain there are multiple “cause and effect” relationships; a number of problems are related to each other, though not necessarily in a linear fashion. If the dynamics of the problem are identified and the context is understood, a solution can be determined. This can then be a template for other similar complicated situations. These solutions are standardized blueprints, (“good practice” as opposed to “best practice”) with fairly rigid protocols and formulas that are easily duplicated in other contexts, with minor adjustments. This domain is ideally suited for addressing issues like water and sanitation, nutrition, and health In complex domains there are numerous variables involved and the context continues to change over time. Patterns within the problems and their underlying causes are not always immediately apparent. The solutions for one context may not be valid in another context, or even in the same context after a period of time. There are no blueprints that can be used to replicate solutions, as each context is different. If the dynamics are understood it may be possible to control the system enough to ensure that specific results and outcome are achieved; however, patterns to the problems might only be obvious in 427 Adapted from Robert Chambers, “Paradigms, Poverty and Adaptive Pluralism,” Working Paper. no. 344, (Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies, 2010 July), 35; and David Snowden, David J., and Mary E. Boone, "A Leader's Framework for Decision Making," in Harvard Business Review, November 2007, accessed January 12, 2013, http://hbr.org/2007/11/a-leaders-framework-for-decision-making/ar/5. 163 retrospect over the longer term. Solutions will be context specific, but the principles that underlie the solution are transferable to other contexts. In chaotic domains, the context and solutions are unpredictable. Due to the complexity of the situation, there are no apparent and visible “cause and effect” relationships within the systems. Unlike in complex contexts it is not possible to exert any level of control in the situation. Snowden suggests that the only way to behave in such a context is to react to the changes and develop “novel” solutions, which are completely context specific. Examples of chaotic domains are situations immediately after major, complex humanitarian disasters where programming must be flexible in order to deal with fast changing variables. Finally, Snowden’s Cynefin Framework also identifies a fifth domain, disorder, in which there is no understanding of causality. This exists in the mathematical sciences and there is debate as to whether it exists in the physical world or in the realm of social sciences. The five domains model is significant as it demonstrates that poverty cannot be understood using only single indicators, “cause and effect” models, or simple solutions. People who are poor live in complex and occasionally chaotic domains; their lives are often uncontrollable and unpredictable. Due to the challenges they face and their constantly changing environment, their practices tend to be adaptive, improvised and emergent, a remarkable capacity, which has allowed them to survive.428 428 Chambers, “Paradigms, Poverty”, 34-35. 164 II. Summary The study of poverty is a relatively recent discipline and the understanding of the dynamics of poverty has evolved over time. Poverty is multidimensional and complex, with multiple causes, which are often context specific. Poverty is also dynamic, in that individuals and communities may move in and out of poverty and experience different levels of severity at different times. Poverty can also be chronic, which can then entrench poverty within communities for generations. In analyzing poverty, not only should the perceptions of the researcher and other stakeholders be considered, but the starting point needs to be how the poor perceive and experience poverty. The disciplines related to the study of poverty are increasingly recognizing that poverty is not merely due to the lack of access to services, but is due to the lack of human rights. This is an acknowledgement of what the Old and New Testaments have said all along, that the cause of poverty is injustice, which in modern terminology is the denial of human rights. In addition, the Biblical Studies identified the different type of poverty that existed, such as those in extreme poverty, those in transitional poverty (dependent on the rains for a good harvest) and those in chronic (but not extreme) poverty. Development theory provides these types of poverty with terminology and a detailed description of their dynamics. So while the study of poverty is a recent discipline, the understanding of the nature and dynamics of poverty are ancient. The next chapter will explore the Islamic conceptions of poverty. 165 Chapter 8 ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVES ON POVERTY The availability of critical studies and analysis on Islamic understandings of the dynamics of poverty is a challenge as there is limited material in this area in English. The available material either explains in great detail Islam’s response to poverty or is from a historical perspective in analyzing the institutional or revolutionary responses to poverty during various periods of Islamic history. However, there are various social theories that have been proposed from within Islam by scholars such as Ibn Khaldun, Ibn Tammiya, Sayyid Qutub, Sayyid Mawdudi, Hasan Al-Banna and Tariq Ramadan. While they used the framework of the Qur’an and the hadith, they drew heavily from contemporary ideologies, theories and philosophies.429 Colin Chapman, who was formerly Professor of Islamic studies at the Near East School of Theology in Beirut cautions, “They didn’t base all their thinking on the Qur’an; they imbibe it from others.”430 In specifically addressing the issues of poverty, Monir Hossain Moni at Asia Pacific Institute for Global Studies, Dhaka, Bangladesh, writes, “The Islamic way of life is a constitutional requirement of any Muslim; yet they look for secular solutions to the socioeconomic dilemma of poverty 429 In reference to Sayyid Qutub the 20th century Egyptian Islamic thinker, “Qutub, as is often the case with other twentieth-century Islamic thinkers, does not hesitate to invoke concepts rooted in the Western tradition. He does not acknowledge the Western provenance of such ideas, reaching into the early Islamic period to argue that they in fact are endemic to Islam, but in fact, many of these concepts derive either from the ancient Greek tradition or otherwise emanate from the period of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution and its aftermath.” John Esposito, ed. The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), 403. 430 Colin Chapman. Interview with the author. Beirut, Lebanon. 5 December 2012. 166 like every other problem.”431 This chapter will seek to explore how Islamic representatives respond to poverty (focusing on the teachings of the Qur’an and the hadith), explore the understanding of human rights within Islam, and finally discuss (very briefly) the social theories of selected Islamic scholars focusing on poverty. The discussion of social theories is not meant to be extensive, but to try and identify some larger concepts of social justice and social change from an Islamic perspective. Many of the insights are from in-depth interviews that were part of this research. I. Islamic Conception of Poverty 1. The Causes of Poverty explained by the Qur’an and hadith Addressing the needs of the poor is a central tenet of Islam, as charitable giving (zakat) is the third of the five pillars of Islam. The Qur’an in 98:4-5 states, “The only Command they were given was to worship Allah, making their religion sincerely His, turning all their attention towards Him, and to establish the Salat and to pay the Zakat: for this alone is the most true and right religion.”432 According to Islam, it then is impossible to attain righteousness without being charitable. “You shall not attain righteousness until you spend out of what you love (in the way of Allah). Allah knows whatever you spend.” (Qur’an 3:92) The basic understanding is that Islam is all encompassing, and addresses all aspects of 431 Monir Hossain Moni, "Islam and Poverty," Encyclopedia of World Poverty, Sage Publications, (2006), accessed 21 August 2013, http://www.credoreference.com/entry/sagewpov/islam_and_poverty . 432 All quotes from the Qur’an in this thesis are from Abdullah Yusuf Ali, trans., The Holy Quran, (Medina: King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex, 1987). 16 7 life that include the social, the political, the physical and the spiritual. This is foundational to the social theory of Islam. Scottish historian, William Montgomery Watt (1909-2006), former Professor at University of Edinburgh, writes that for Mohammad religion was not just an issue of private and individual faith but rather “the total response of his personality to the total situation in which he found himself. He was responding [not only]... to the religious and intellectual aspects of the situation but also the economic, social, and political pressures to which contemporary Mecca was subject.”433 It is from within this framework that poverty is addressed. In order to understand poverty from within Islam, the starting point is to understand that wealth is a blessing from God. The Qur’an in 67:15 states that wealth is part of the gift of creation that God gives. “It is He who made the earth manageable (and amenable) for you, so you may travel through its open lands and enjoy the gifts that He furnishes.” These blessings of God’s gifts come with social responsibilities of stewardship and charity towards the poor. The Qur’an in 57:7 says, “And (for those) who believe and spend (in charity), there is great reward.” The concepts of wealth as a blessing and charity are integrally linked within Islamic thought and teaching. Most of the recent Islamic literature that analyzes the causes of poverty draws heavily from economics and sociology rather than from the Qur’an and the hadith. However, there is teaching in both these sources on some of the causes of poverty. Foundational to understanding why poverty exists is the concept of al fitra. God created the earth and all of life. The Qur’an in 55:10 says “And the earth, He has set it for living 433 Quoted in P.M. Holt, Ann K.S. Lambton, and Bernard Lewis, Cambridge History of Islam, Vol. 1 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970), 30. 168 creatures.” It was created perfect. The concept of al fitra is of perfection and beauty as created by God. The hadith (Sahih al Bukhari, volume 2, book 23, number 441) states, “No child is born except on the fitra and then his parents make him Jewish, Christian or Magian (Zoroastrian)”; the idea being that an individual is created by God perfect (al fitra) but is then influenced by its parents, environment, culture, and social influences, which then corrupt him. According to Islam, poverty was never part of God intentions, but originates from human beings and their social environment.434 The Qur’an in 3:117 states that God does not cause poverty, but that it is the result of the behavior of individuals. “What they spend in the life of this (material) world may be likened to a wind which brings a nipping frost: It strikes and destroys the harvest of men who have wronged their own souls: it is not Allah that hath wronged them, but they wrong themselves.” The influences from the social environment result in four kinds of behavior that cause poverty. The first, according to the Qur’an, is laziness. The term in Arabic is kasal and is used only twice in the Qur’an.435 Highlighting personal responsibility, the Qur’an in 13:11 says, “Surely Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change it themselves.” Laziness is connected with the lack of spiritual discipline. The hadith, in Sahih al Bukhari, Volume 2, Book 21, and Number 243 illustrates this. “Satan puts three knots at the back of the head of any of you if he is asleep. On every knot he reads and exhales the following words, ‘The night is long, so stay asleep.’ When one wakes up and remembers Allah, one knot is undone; and when one performs ablution, the second knot 434 Sheikh Muhammad Abu Zayad. Interview with the author. Saida, Lebanon. 18 July 2012. 435 In the Qur’an 4:142 and 9:54, the laziness described is associated with prayer and the required rituals. 169 is undone, and when one prays the third knot is undone and one gets up energetic with a good heart in the morning; otherwise one gets up lazy and with a mischievous heart.” The second behavior causing poverty is that of squandering whatever wealth one may have. The Qur’an in 17:26-27 states, “And give to the near of kin their right, and to the destitute and the traveller; and squander not wastefully. Surely the squanderers are Satan's brothers...” The squandering may be through extravagant behavior, some of which is forbidden by Islam,436 and may lead to poverty and destitution. The third behavior is economic exploitation and greed. The Qur’an in 16:92 warns against exploiting and taking advantage of others. “You resort to oaths as instruments of mutual deceit so that one people might take greater advantage than another although Allah puts you to the test through this. Surely on the Day of Resurrection He will make clear the truth concerning the matters over which you differed.” Against greed, the Qur’an states, in 47:38, “Look, you are being called upon to expend in Allah’s Way, yet some of you are being niggardly, whereas the one who is niggardly is, in fact, being niggardly only to himself. Allah is Self-Sufficient: it is you who are the needy. If you turn away, Allah will replace you by another people, and they will not be like you.” The Qur’an states in 2:30, “Allah created Man to be the vicegerent of Allah on earth.” If this is the case, then God has given humans more than they need. If inequality exists it is because of greed and the love for dunya (worldly matter), the rich become richer and the poor become poorer.437 436 This includes use of alcohol, dancing, singing, among others. 437 Ibrahim Shamseddine. Interview with the author. 8 August 2012. 170 The final behavior is the lack of initiative. The Qur’an states that a person has no excuse for not taking the initiative to deal with obstacles and problems that prevent him from prospering. When a soul is judged and asked why they were in the condition they were in, making an excuse for not taking the initiative to move out of oppression and poverty is not acceptable. 4:97 states, “they (angels) say: ‘What (condition) were you in?’ They reply: ‘We were weak and oppressed in the earth.’ They say: ‘Was the earth of Allah not spacious enough for you to move yourself away (from evil)?’”438 As will be seen later, this understanding was key in encouraging the Shi’ites of Lebanon to migrate from the impoverished rural areas to southern Beirut, while others emigrated overseas. The Qur’an does not overly analyze the causes of poverty. Instead, the focus is on addressing the needs of the poor and destitute. Wealth is not only given as a blessing to the individual and his family but to ensure that those in need are taken care of. The Qur’an in 24:30 states the social responsibility that comes with the blessing of wealth and states “give them from the wealth of Allah which He has given you.” Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (702-765 A.D.), an early descendant of Mohammad and a prominent Islamic jurist, explains this further. “Allah, the Most Powerful and High, certainly made in the wealth of 438 This insight is from Ibrahim Shamseddine. Interview with the author. Beirut, Lebanon. 8 August 2012. However, the traditional interpretation of this passage concerns those who stay behind among the unbelievers, despite no genuine disability that would have prevented from leaving. “They are satisfied with a life made up of a blend of Islamic and un-Islamic elements, even though they have had the chance to migrate to the Dar al-Islam (where there is Islamic rule) and thus enjoy a full Islamic life. This is the wrong that they committed against themselves. What kept them satisfied with the mixture of Islamic and un- Islamic elements in their life was not any genuine disability but their love of ease and comfort, their excessive attachment to their kith and kin and to their properties and worldly interests. These concerns had exceeded reasonable limits and had even taken precedence over their concern for their religion. Those people who had willingly acquiesced to living under an un-Islamic order would be called to account by God and would be asked: If a certain territory was under the dominance of rebels against God, so that it had become impossible to follow His Law, why did you continue to live there? Why did you not migrate to a land where it was possible to follow the law of God?” Sayyid Abul A’la Mawdudi, Towards Understanding the Koran, translated by Zafar Ishaq Ansari (London: Islamic Foundation UK, 2010), accessed 23 November 2013, http://www.islamicstudies.info/tafheem2.php?sura=4&verse=97&to=100. 171 the rich an adequate share for the poor, if it was not so He would certainly make their share greater. If they are needy, it is because some of the rich refuse to give them their share.”439 Sheikh Muhammad Abu Zayad, the chief judge of the Islamic court in Saida, Lebanon, counters the commonly held belief that wealth is an indication of God’s blessings and that poverty is an indicator of God’s displeasure. He states that this attitude was prevalent during the time of Mohammad, who addresses it in the Qur’an in 89:15-16, “Now, as for man, when his Mighty Lord tries him (by) giving him honor and gifts then he (proudly) says, “My Mighty Lord has honored me.” But when He tries him (by) restricting his livelihood for him, then he says (in despair), “My Lord has put me to shame!” The verses following (17-20) counter this by stating that such an attitude wrongly focuses on wealth; rather the focus should be on charity. Sheikh Mohammad concludes that neither poverty nor wealth is a curse or a blessing. Instead, wealth and poverty are tests in life to see how one will react. He says that it tests the heart of the wealthy that say, “Why should I feed someone God does not feed?” It challenges the attitudes of the poor who blame God for their poverty.440 Ibrahim Shamseddine, a leader in the Shia community in Lebanon and a human rights activist, states that the command to be charitable tests the heart and attitudes of people. “Heaven is not just a place to worship God. People are tested in this life to make them fit for heaven – and zakat is one of the tests.”441 Charitable giving, and specifically zakat, serves both spiritual and practical functions. 439 Quoted in al Kulaini, al-Kafi, Vol.3, 3rd Edition, ed. Muhammad Baqir Kamara'i (Tehran, 1968), 497. Al-Kafi is a collection of the traditions taught by the Prophet and the Imams and handed down to the Muslim (Shia) Community by the disciples of the Imams. It is not a hadith. The name al-Kafi means, "that which is sufficient". The book was intended to be a comprehensive collection of Imami-Shi'i traditions. 440 Sheikh Muhammad Abu Zayad. Interview with the author. Saida, Lebanon. 18 July 2012. 441 Ibrahim Shamseddine. Interview with the author. Beirut, Lebanon. 8 August 2012. 172 Those who give and those who receive zakat are bound together by the sharing of wealth. Fulfilling this duty challenges affluent Muslims to confront and reject the human tendency to be selfish, greedy, and excessively interested in material possessions. Because Islam discourages begging, zakat enables the poor to receive economic support without humiliation. Zakat also reduces the resentment the poor might harbor toward the rich.442 Because stewardship of wealth and charity are moral issues, the Qur’an is explicit about God’s judgment on those who do not abide by this fundamental Islamic value. Allah does not love the arrogant and the boastful, who are niggardly and bid others to be niggardly and conceal the bounty which Allah has bestowed upon them. We have kept in readiness a humiliating chastisement for such deniers (of Allah's bounty). (4:36(b)-37) And let not those who covetously withhold of the gifts which Allah has given them of His Grace, think that it is good for them: nay, it will be the worse for them: soon shall the things which they covetously withheld be tied to their necks like a twisted collar, on the Day of Judgment. (3:180) And there are those who bury gold and silver and do not spend it in the Way of Allah: announce to them a most grievous penalty – On the Day when heat will be produced out of that (wealth) in the fire of Hell, and with it will be branded their foreheads, their flanks, and their backs. – “This is the (treasure) which you buried for yourselves: you then taste the (treasures) you buried!” (9:34-35) While charity is foundational in Islamic morality and social thought, the Qur’an is also clear that justice is a value that God honors and requires of his followers. The Qur’an in 16:90 connects acting justly with doing good. “Surely Allah enjoins the doing of justice and the doing of good (to others)...” However, the Qur’an does not explicitly state that social injustice is a cause of poverty. 442 Ibid. 173 2. Prescribed Responses to Poverty In Islam, piety is expressed not only through correct belief but also through prescribed behavior, which is obligatory of all sincere believers. Belief and behavior are integrally linked. And be regular in prayer and regular in charity: And whatever good you send forth for your souls before you (from this life), you shall find it with Allah. (2:110) Piety lies in believing in God, the Last Day and the angels, the Scriptures and the prophets, and disbursing your wealth out of love for God among your kin and the orphans, the wayfarers and mendicants, freeing the slaves, observing your devotional obligations, and in paying the zakat and fulfilling a pledge you have given… (2:177) Surely the men and women who spend in charity and give a goodly loan to God, will have it doubled for them and will receive a generous reward. (57:18) Your wealth and children are surely meant as trial for you: But God is the great reward. So fear God as much as you can, and listen and obey, and spend in charity for your own good. He who is saved from his own avarice will be successful. If you lend a goodly loan to God, He will double it for you, and forgive you. (64:15-17) Have you seen him who belies the rewards and punishments of the Hereafter? He it is who drives away the orphan and does not urge giving away the food of the poor. (107:1 - 3) Not only are belief and behavior important, but the attitudes of kindness and humility are also critical in all acts of charity. The Qur’an in 2: 262-264 states, Those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah and do not follow up their spending by stressing their benevolence and causing hurt, will find their reward secure with their Lord. They have no cause for fear and grief. To speak a kind word and to forgive people's faults is better than charity followed by hurt. Allah is All Sufficient, All Forbearing. Believers! Do not nullify your acts of charity by stressing your benevolence and causing hurt as does he who spends his wealth only to be seen by men and does not believe in Allah and the Last Day. The example of his spending is that of a rock with a thin coating of earth upon it: 174 when a heavy rain smites it, the earth is washed away, leaving the rock bare; such people derive no gain from their acts of charity. In the teachings of Islam, there are a variety of ways of how an individual believer should respond to poverty and the poor. Charity to the poor is either voluntary or prescribed (required or obligatory). While there are special occasions when charity is obligatory, Sheikh Mohammad states, “If I am a good man I don’t wait for feast times to do good. I am always doing good – it is a part of my daily life.”443 The special occasions are: i. During the month of Ramadan people, including the poor, are invited for the iftar meal.444 There is a traditional saying, “The worst feast is to invite people who are not interested (because they don’t need the food) and not to invite those who are interested (need the food).”445 On occasions like this, the rich and poor sit and eat together, signifying that there is no social distinction between them.446 ii. During the month of Ramadan, special payments are made. The first is the zakat, which is 2.5% of income.447 The second is if a person cannot fast, they make a special payment called fidya. This is not a penalty but is a way of empathizing with the poor and helping them. This is known as sadaqa al-fitr. iii. On the first day after the month of Ramadan, a special gift is given to the poor and is based on the number of people in the giver’s family. In Lebanon, this is $5 per person. So a family of five would give a gift of $25. The objective is that a poor man can also prepare a feast for his family and children. 443 Sheikh Muhammad Abu Zayd. Interview with the author. Saida, Lebanon. 18 July 2012. 444 This is when they break their day long fast in the evening. 445 Sheikh Muhammad Abu Zayd. Interview with the author. Saida, Lebanon. 18 July 2012. 446 This is affirmed by Frenkel and Lev. “Personal involvement, at least for the duration of the charitable act, served as a social leveler between the high-ranking and the needy poor.” Mariam Frenkel and Yaacov Lev, Charity and Giving in Monotheistic Religions (New York, NY: Walter de Gruyter, 2009), 3. 447 There is much debate as to how this amount is calculated. 175 iv. During the feast of Al Adha a sheep is slaughtered and the poor are given a portion of the meat. v. There are also financial penalties for specific wrong behavior. The Qur’an for example says that for some offences a person has to provide food or clothing for 10 people. The principle is to do something good to overcome the evil that they have done.448 vi. For the Shia Muslims, there is an additional payment. This is the Al khums, which means the fifth. It’s an annual tax on yearly profits – the residual amount after operations. It involves everything that one owns but does not use. For products – it 1/5th of market price. This is paid only once a year.449 Piety is also expressed through voluntary charity that is not restricted to specific times nor is it obligatory, but is encouraged at all times. This is known as sadaqa. The broader meaning of the term involves the sharing of happiness through kindness, encouragement or even caring for the environment and animals. Sadaqa also means honest.450 According to Sheikh Mohammad one cannot be an honest believer without helping people.451 Zakat is the third pillar of Islam and is obligatory. It is not collected into a centrally administered communal fund but is an individual decision to give to those in need either directly or through institutions. While some see the payment of zakat as a tax, the Qur’an explain it as a means of purifying one’s wealth in order for God to increase it. The Qur’an states 9:103, “Of their 448 Ibid. Items i-v. 449 Ibrahim Shamseddine. Interview with the author. Beirut, Lebanon. 8 August 2012. 450 The root of the word is sidq, meaning truth. 451 Sheikh Muhammad Abu Zayd. Interview with the author. Saida, Lebanon. 18 July 2012. 176 goods take alms, that so you might purify and sanctify them; and pray on their behalf. Verily, your prayers are a source of security for them: and Allah is One Who hears and knows.” In 30:39 it states, “That which you lay out for increase through the property of (other) people, will have no increase with Allah: but that which you lay out for charity, seeking the Countenance of Allah, (will increase): it is these who will get a recompense multiplied.” In Sahih al Bukhari, volume 2, book 24, number 491, it states, “If one gives in charity what equals one date-fruit from the honestly earned money and Allah accepts only the honestly earned money -- Allah takes it in His right (hand) and then enlarges its reward for that person (who has given it)…” Monir Hossain Moni explains what is meant by ‘purification’. “The predominant principles of Qur’anic economics include “purification,” giving up a portion of wealth as alms, and the “return” of property. Just as Allah (God) distributed his “surplus” as a gift that can never be reciprocated, so were Muslims expected to give freely and unstintingly.”452 However Druze Arab scholar, Suliman Bashear states that the payment of zakat and sadaqah to the poor was perceived as purification for sins.453 There are three understandings of zakat. According to Akbar Muhammad, at the State University of New York, Binghamton, the first is a linguistic understanding and means cleansing or purification of something from dirt or filth. The meaning of the root z.k.y is “to be pure”. 454 It also means growth and increase. The second is a theological understanding and means spiritual purification as a result of giving zakat. Finally, legally 452 Moni, Islam and Poverty. 453 Lev, Charity, 235. 454 Ibid, 235. 177 it means the transfer of ownership of specific property to specific individuals or to individuals under specific conditions.455 Sadaqa is different from zakat. Zakat is given in public, while sadaqa is given in private.456 Yaacov Lev, professor of Islamic medieval history at Bar-Ilan University in Israel writes, “Although the [Qur’an] does not object to public giving of wealth (mal) and charity (sadaqa), secret giving to the poor (fuqara) is perceived as a higher moral deed (Quran 2:262, 263, 271, 274).” 457 However, the Qur’an does not always clearly distinguish between the two.458 According to some Islamic scholars the meaning and intention of both are the same, even if the names differ.459 Two verses from the Qur’an highlight this. Of their goods take alms (sadaqa), that so you might purify and sanctify them; and pray on their behalf. Verily, your prayers are a source of security for them: and Allah is One Who hears and knows. (9:103) Alms (translated sadaqa but meaning zakat) are for the poor and needy, and those employed to administer the (funds).... (9:60) In the early period after the establishment of Islam, the two terms were used interchangeably. It was only in the writings of Abu ‘Ubayd (d. 839) that the term sadaqa is used to mean only voluntary charity.460 Middle East and Islamic scholar, Jorgen Back Simonsen, has a non-religious 455 Akbar Muhammad, “A Note on the Concept of Zakah and Taxation,” in Some Aspects of the Economics of Zakah, ed. M. Raquibuz Zaman (Plainfield, IN: American Trust Publications, 1980), 70. 456 Ibrahim. Shamseddine. Interview with the author. Beirut, Lebanon. 8 August 2012. 457 Yaacov Lev, "Charity and Gift Giving in Medieval Islam," in Charity and Giving in Monotheistic Religions, eds. Miriam Frenkel and Yaacov Lev (London: Walter de Gruyter, 2009), 237. 458 The word zakah occurs in the Qur’an thirty times, and in twenty-seven places it is linked with prayer, while the words sadaqah (5 times) and sadaqat (8 times) occur thirteen times. 459 Muhammad Subhi bin Hasan Hallaq, According to the Qur'an & Sunnah v.1, trans. Sameh Strauch (New York, NY: Darussalam, 2007), 590. 460 Lev, Charity, 239-240. 178 understanding of zakat and sadaqah. According to him, both developed during the lifetime of Mohammad as two separate financial institutions with very different purposes. Zakat was the alms tax paid by the faithful, while sadaqah was the tribute paid by the Bedouins who were allied with Mohammad and the emerging Muslim community.461 While not mentioned in the Qur’an, waqf developed as a financial tool that would have a far-reaching impact in addressing poverty. A waqf is a trust or an endowment that is set up to address a specific need. Johannes Pahlitzsch writes that Islamic literary sources written after the 9th century often portray the transition from the Christian world of late antiquity to the Islamic medieval world as being simply a change of actors, with the Byzantines leaving with their classical culture and the Arabs entering with theirs. He states that the archeological evidence shows that Syria (with some exceptions) remained intact and that that one of the institutions that transitioned from Byzantium of late antiquity to the Islamic medieval world was the pious foundation.462 Public waqfs were set up to run mosques, hospitals, khans (rest houses for travelers), mail systems, water channel and taking care of abandoned animals, among many other needs that were identified. Family waqfs benefit the poorer members of the family. The funds can be set up as a business, whose income is then used to provide for the purposes of the waqf. A sponsor or a designated person usually manages the money or trust fund. On occasion, the person who sets up the waqf can even manage the funds. There are laws that govern how it is set up and managed. A waqf can be “unwafkd” (unregistered), 461 Ibid, 235. 462 Pahlitzsch defines a pious foundation as “the designation of property or the revenue of endowed property to support a definite purpose determined by the founder.” Johannes Pahlitzsch, "Christian Pious Foundations as an Element of Continuity between Late Antiguity and Islam," in Charity and Giving in Monotheistic Religions, eds. Miriam Frenkel and Yaacov Lev (New York, NY: Walter D. Gruyter, 2009), 125-126. 179 except in the case of a waqf set up for a mosque.463 The waqf has since been seen as one the key tools for the social and economic development of communities. 3. The Recipients of Charity The Qur’an in 17:26-27 identifies who are to be the beneficiaries of charity. "And give to the near of kin their right, and to the destitute and the traveller.” In 9:60 it also states, “Alms are for the poor and the needy, and those employed to administer the (funds); for those whose hearts have been (recently) reconciled (to Truth); for those in bondage and in debt; in the cause of Allah; and for the wayfarer: (thus is it) ordained by Allah, and Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom.” There are two basic categories to which the poor belong. The first is the fakir, the poorest of the poor. The second category is the miskin, whose legitimate needs for the basics of life far exceed their ability to earn their living.464 Charity however, starts with one’s own family. This is known as kifalah.465 The hadith forbids the giving of charity to others while someone within one’s own family is in need. Muhammad al Bukhari, one of the major compilers of the hadith states, “The Prophet said, ‘the upper hand is better than the lower hand; and start giving charity first to your dependents.’”466 463 Ibrahim Shamseddine. 2012. Interview with the author. Beirut, Lebanon. August 8. 464 Moni, “Islam and Poverty”. 465 Ibid. 466 Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani, comp. Bulugh Al-Maram: Attainment of the Objective according to Evidence of the Ordinances (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Darussalam Publishers & Distributers, 2002), 202. 180 Abu Dawud Sulayman, the 9th century Persian compiler of one of the third (out of six) major canonical Sunni hadith collections, identifies eight categories of recipients of charity. The hadith (Sunan Abu Dawud book 9, number 1626) states, “He has divided those entitled to them into eight categories, so if you come within those categories, I shall give you what you desire.” The eight categories he identifies based on verse 9:60 in the Qur’an, are the following: i. The poor, fuqara' (singular fakir), are those in extreme poverty and lack the basic necessities with regards to food, drink, clothing, housing, and other essentials. These people are entitled to zakat. ii. The poor, masakin (singular miskin) are people who have something, but not enough to meet their basic need and have anything beyond. Using modern development terminology, these would be people who are around the poverty line but not in extreme poverty. The difference between the masakin and the fuqara’ is that one may not recognize the masakin as being poor. They usually do not beg and it would seem that they have more than enough; yet that may be deceptive. The Qur’an refers to them in 2:273. “It is for the poor, those who are restrained in the way of God, and unable to travel in the land. The unaware would think them rich, due to their dignity. You will recognize them by their features. They do not ask from people insistently. Whatever charity you give, God is aware of it.” The hadith, (Sahih al Bukhari, volume 2, book 24, number 557) states, “The poor Canadian Imam Zia Ullah Khan, who is also the director of Just Media Watch, explains that zakat is usually not given to family members but to those outside the family. Sadaqah, or voluntary charity is for the needs of family members. According to scholars, this prevents a person giving all his zakat to family members, thus ensuring that the wealth stayed within the family. 181 person is not the one who goes round the people and ask them for a mouthful or two (of meals) or a date or two but the poor is that who has not enough (money) to satisfy his needs and whose condition is not known to others, that others may give him something in charity, and who does not beg of people.” iii. The Qur’an in 9:60 identifies those employed to administer the zakat funds by collecting and distributing them, as being eligible to receive payment for the work they do. iv. The Qur’an in 9:60 also identifies the beneficiaries of charity as “those whose hearts have been (recently) reconciled (to Truth).” So zakat can be used to attract unbelievers to Islam and build up those who are weak in their faith. v. Those in bondage that the Qur’an in 9:60 refers to are the slaves and captives of war. Charity may be used to enable slaves to buy their freedom and for captives of war to be redeemed.467 vi. Persons who are in debt, according to the Qur’an in 9:60 should also be the beneficiaries of charity. The Egyptian Islamic scholar Sheikh Sayyid Sabiq, the author of the book Fiqh al-Sunnah, identifies the various reasons why people may be in debt. “...Those who took upon themselves responsibility to discharge a debt; those who guaranteed debts of others and therefore, upon default, the debts have become their obligation; those who mismanaged their finances, those who borrowed money because they had to; or those who were involved in sinful acts 467 Yusuf Ali, ed. "The Meaning of the Noble Qur'an." (p. 120) 2006, accessed 25 August 2013, http://www.pdf-koran.com/Koran.pdf. 182 and then repented, and who had to pay a fine for repentance.”468 A person in debt is allowed to beg, and therefore is entitled to charity. Saudi Islamic scholar, Shaykh Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz, who was the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia (1993-1999), in Fatwa 14/320 quotes from the hadith narrated by Ahmad. He said: “Qabeesah, begging is not permissible but for one of three (classes) of persons: one who has incurred debt, for him begging is permissible till he pays that off, after which he must stop it; a man whose property has been destroyed by a calamity which has smitten him, for him begging is permissible till he gets what will support life, or will provide him with reasonable subsistence; and a person who has been smitten by poverty the genuineness of which is confirmed by three intelligent members from among his people. For him begging is permissible, till he gets what will support him, or will provide him subsistence. Qabeesah, besides these three, (every other reason for) begging is forbidden, and one who engages in it consumes that which is forbidden.”469 vii. “In the cause of Allah” referred to in verse 9:60 of the Qur’an has a wide range of meanings. It includes any work that is for the common good. Qur’anic commentator Yusuf Ali writes about the beneficiaries referred to in this phrase; “those who are struggling and striving in Allah's Cause by teaching or fighting or in duties assigned to them by the righteous Imam, who are thus unable to earn their ordinary living.”470 vii. The last group entitled to charity according to the Qur’an 9:60 is the wayfarer or 468 As-Sayyd Sā biq, Fiqh Al-Sunnah, Vol. 3 (Indianapolis, IN: American Trust Publications, 1985), 68. 469 Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah bin Baz, English Translation of Majmoo’ al-Fatawa of Sh. Ibn Baz, 2nd edition, (Riyadh: The General Presidency for the Departments of Scientific Research and Ifta, 2012), 255. 470 Ali, The Meaning, 120. 183 stranger.471 This is not just a demonstration of hospitality, but an act of helping the traveller or stranger who is stranded for one reason or the other and has no means of support.472 II. Human Rights and Obligation in Islam The human rights framework, which over the past sixty years has been so fundamental in defining the value of an individual and the rights of everyone, including the poor to live with dignity, has been challenged by various Islamic scholars as being a Western religious and philosophical construct that is not congruent with the basic principles and ideals of Islam. Islam has a very different philosophical and theological basis for responding to poverty than the secular world.473 Sheikh Mohammad states, “Islam does not believe in human rights. Instead we believe we have an obligation to the poor.”474 He used the word ‘duty’ (waasib, a necessity).475 Sheikh Mohammad’s comment reflects not only the deep divide between the concept of universal values and ethnocentrism, but also between the Western value of individualism and the value of the group (or family) in more traditional societies, and between secular and religious worldviews. In Western society the individual has rights to ensure his welfare. In traditional societies the group has an obligation to the care for the individual. 471 Different English translations of the Qur’an use the following term besides ‘wayfarer” – those who become needy on a journey (Muhammad Sarwar), the stranded traveller (Sahih International), a traveller who is cut off from everything (Mohsin Khan), stranger (Yusuf Ali), and the traveller (Arberry). 472 According to Ibrahim Shamseddine that it was not uncommon for a business to have lost everything (for whatever reason) and thus be stranded. Zakat would help such a person get home rather than become a beggar. Ibrahim Shamseddine. Interview with the author. Beirut, Lebanon. 8 August 2012. 473 Cf. William H. Brackney, Human Rights and the World's Religion, Revised and Updated (Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2013), 139-140. 474 Sheikh Muhammad Abu Zayad. Interview with the author. 12 July 2012. 475 Sheikh Mohammad refers to Egyptian Islamic scholar Mohammad Amara who responded to the 1948 Universal Declaration in a publication Human Rights and Islam: Necessity not Rights. Sheikh Muhammad Abu Zayad. 2013. Interview with the author. 15 June 2013. 184 In more traditional societies, the community recognizes the reality of the poor and vulnerable in society and knows it has an obligation to them. This is a moral obligation that is often rooted in the tenets of one’s faith or worldview. So if poverty exists it is because the community has failed in its obligations. The Islamic perspective of obligation and duty is rooted in its origins among the Bedouin tribes of the desert. Abu Zayd ‘Abd al-Rahman Ibn Muhammad Ibn Khaldun al-Hadhrami (known as Ibn Khaldun476), the 14th century North African historian wrote, “Only tribes held together by group feelings can live in the desert…”477 since the group ensured the survival and well-being of the individual. Yet this obligation was always limited in practice to the immediate group, family or clan and very rarely beyond it.478 So how does the Qur’an address the concept of human rights and social justice? Mustansir Mir, Professor of Islamic Studies at Youngstown State University, writes, “The Qur’an offers no explicit definition of either “justice” or “rights,” yet these are by no means unknown concepts in the scripture. It is recognized that human beings have an innate understanding of fairness, and the Qur’anic imperative to establish a just basis for action therefore involves a constant reminding or refreshing of the memory, dhikr...There must be reciprocity between rights and duties, between humans as recipients and as agents of fair dealing; a key term in the Qur’anic vocabulary of justice is that of the 476 Ibn Khaldun is acknowledged as the father of the social sciences. 477 Quoted in Ernest Gellner, Muslim Society, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981), x. 478 Bruce Malina writing about collectivistic societies states, “Should a group member fall ill, the goal of an individual’s healing is group well-being. Focus is on the ingroup, cooperation with ingroup members, maintenance of ascribed status, and group-centered values.” Bruce J. Malina, "Collectivism in Mediterranean Culture," Understanding the Social Wolrd Of The New Testament, edited by Richard E. DeMaris Dietmar Neufeld (London: Routledge, 2010), 23. 185 mizan, the “balance”.”479 1. Traditional Islamic Resistance to Human Rights Why is there resistance from traditional Islamic scholars to human rights? Abdulaziz Sachedina, Professor and chair of Islamic studies at George Mason University, writes that the origins of this resistance were during the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. While there had been extensive consultation to ensure that the proposed rights and their underlying morality reflected universal values – including those of the major religions, the representatives from participating Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Syria were secular educated Muslims who had almost no training in the key Islamic texts and thinking with regards to human rights in order to be able to articulate the “universal impulse of Islamic doctrines”. In fact, Jamil Baroody, the Saudi representative on the drafting committee was a Lebanese Christian. There was no effort to engage traditional Islamic scholars on the universality of the value of the individual regardless of religion and of some of the obligations under Islamic law.480 As a result most traditional Islamic jurists never accepted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as valid or relevant. However, the Universal Islamic Declaration of Human Rights in 1981 and the Cairo Declaration adopted by the Organization of Islamic 479 Mustansir Mir, "Twelve Verses from the Qur'an," in Justice and Rights: Christian and Muslim Perspectives, ed. Michael Ipgrave (Washington D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2009), 27-28. 480 Abdulaziz Sachedina, Islam and the Challenge of Human Rights (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), 10-11. 186 States in 1990 sought to rectify this481 by showing that human rights were always a part of Shari’a.482 Besides the marginalization of serious Islamic scholarly input during the drafting of the 1948 Declaration, Sachedina states that the major emphasis of the Islamic critique of the Universal Declaration “is its secularism and its implied hostility to divergent philosophical or religious ideas.”483 He adds that Islamic scholars react to the attitude inherent in the Universal Declaration of total dismissal of anything deemed religious, as if religion was an impediment to the development of a human rights regime. It is not that the traditional Islamic scholars dismiss the concept of human rights. They acknowledge that human beings have rights, though many of them see the Universal Declaration as “morally imperialistic and culturally ethnocentric.”484 The question at the centre of the debate is, who has the authority to bestow rights, and to whom is the ultimate accountability. Sheikh Mohammad states that if it is human beings and human institutions, then the rights can be changed, ignored or abrogated. However, if 481 According to Sheikh Mohammad there is 70% agreement between the 1948 Universal Declaration and the two Islamic declarations. Sheikh Muhammad Abu Zayad. Interview with the author. 15 June 2013. 482 There are two issues that traditional Islamic scholars disagree with the 1948 Declaration. These are the rights of non-Muslim and women in Shari’a. While the Shari’a defines the rights of the Muslims, it identifies non-Muslims as second-class citizens. There is much discussion as to whether the two Islamic human rights declarations guarantee the rights of all or only of Muslims. The challenge within Islam has been to broaden the application of human rights beyond the Muslim community and to have an appreciation of the value and worth of all individuals regardless of faith. The second concern about both declarations is that it declares the status of women to be subservient to men. From an Islamic perspective, this is meant to provide protection for women and not be a subjugation of women. On the Cairo Declaration also see Brackney, Human Rights and the World’s Major Religions, 207; 432-438. 483 Sachedina, Islam, 6. 484 Ibid, 6. Sheikh Mohammad adds that the Universal Declaration was discussed and developed in the late 1940s when most Arab countries were still under colonial rule and were not allowed their own voice in international discussions. Sachedina affirms this perspective when he writes, “The exclusion of Muslim traditionalist representation in the human rights deliberations at this early stage could have been a political decision, since most Muslim countries were dominated by Western colonial authorities who had a negative view of Muslim seminarians, whose opposition to colonial political and cultural domination could have simply derailed the secular and anti-traditional tone of the human rights deliberations.” Sachedina, Islam, 20. 187 the final accountability is to God, then He is the source of the rights (as revealed in the Qur’an), and they can never be negated. He adds, that the word “right” implies that it is something that humans demand. In relationship to God, humans do not demand, but rather they enjoy the privileges He bestows.485 Colin Chapman summarizes the difference by saying, “the Islamic approach is theocentric, while the Western approach is anthropocentric.”486 He then clarifies the connection between obligation and human rights. He writes that from an Islamic perspective human beings are God’s viceregents (khalifa) on earth (Qur’an 2: 30) and that they exist to serve God. He then distinguishes between huquq-Allah, the rights of God, which are the demands God makes on human beings and which are their obligations to God, and huqug-al’ibad or huquq-unnas, which are the rights of human beings. Chapman concludes, “Human beings cannot begin to think about their rights until they have accepted their duties towards God.”487 a. Qur’anic Basis for Universal Morality Sachedina refers to Johannes Morsink’s The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Origins, Drafting, and Intent (1999) and Michael Ignatieff’s Human Rights as Politics and Idolatry (2003),488 where both authors reflecting back on the fifty years since the 1948 declaration, ask the question whether there is a single moral foundation for human 485 Sheikh Muhammad Abu Zayad. Interview with the author. 18 July 2012. The implication is that the privileges are limited to those who are believers. 486 Colin Chapman, Islam and the West: Conflict, Co-Existence Or Conversion? (Milton Keynes, UK: Paternoster Press, 1998), 118. 487 Chapman, Islam and the West, 119. 488 Michael Ignatieff, Human Rights as Politics and Idolatry (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2003). 188 rights that spans cultures and religions.489 Rather than justifying Islam’s ethnocentrism and specific moral foundation, Sachedina instead argues that there are a growing number of prominent traditional scholars, among them Muhammad al-Ghazali, Yusuf al- Qaradawi, Ayatollah Jawadi Amoli, and ‘Allama Muhammad Taqi Ja‘fari Tabrizi, among other traditionalist Sunnı and Shi‘ite scholars who are articulating views that support the spirit of human rights language, as well as the inherence of individual rights.490 If there is a Qur’anic basis for universal morality, then there is common ground between Islam and a human rights regime. The Qur’an balances an ethnocentric focus, when it addresses a particular faith community through the address “O believers” (3:102), with a universal focus, when it uses the address “O humankind” (49:1). From an Islamic theological point of view, Sachedina argues that there is little discussion about natural law or natural right within most (not all) Islamic theological schools,491 because the law is understood as given and defined through revelation, rather than also through conscience and reasoning. This tension between orthodoxy, whose ultimate source of truth is the Qur’an, and philosophic inquiry that believes in the primacy of reason, is a very deep divide within Islamic thought.492 However, there is a Qur’anic notion of universal morality. Firstly, Sachedina states that 489 Sachedina, Islam, 8. 490 Ibid, 22. 491 There are two theological schools within Islam that allow for considerable use of reason and logic in understanding and developing law. Mu’tazilah is an Islamic school of theology based on reason, logic and rational thought that emerged from the 8th to the 10th centuries in Basra and Baghdad in present day Iraq. The Ja’fari School within Shi‘a Islam utilizes ijtihad (independent reasoning) and reasoned argumentation to identify the laws of Islam. Besides the Twelvers (in Shi‘a Islam), this school of jurisprudence is also utilized by the Ismailis and the Zaydis, groups that broke away from Shi‘a Islam. 492 Fida Mohammad,"Ibn Khaldun's Theory of Social Change: A Comparison Between Hegel, Marx And Durkheim," The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 15, no. 2 (Summer 1998): 29. It was the rare scholar such as Ibn Khaldun (14th century), who tried to accommodate both views and his philosophy shows the tension between revelation and reason. 189 moral cognition is God given through “the very creation of human nature (fitra), the receptacle of human reason.”493 Sayyid Qutub, the Egyptian Islamic theorist and a leading figure in the 20th century Sunni reform movement explains further that human nature as created by God (fitra) is the place of divine guidance of humanity.494 From a Qur’anic perspective, fitra is universal and is the epistemological basis for natural law and rights. Secondly, he states that the theological-ethical implication of the Qur’an’s creation narrative that focuses attention on a human society consisting of diverse human communities sharing the same parentage is a universal “innate moral sensibility”.495 Thirdly, Sachedina states that with the appointment of humanity as God’s deputy (khalifa) (Qur’an 2:30; 33:73), they are to exercise authority with justice. Sachedina argues, “Since only human beings took up the moral challenge [to assume the Trust for creation], it is only human beings who are endowed with intuitive reason to judge the rightness or wrongness of their action…”496 This intuitive reason to judge in order to set up a just society is universal. b. The Basis for Ethical Necessity and Obligation The concept of obligation to the poor (that Sheikh Mohammad referred to) or ethical necessity, which is so fundamental to Islamic morality, is action that is based on moral norms that arise both from human nature (in its original created state – fitra) which is the source of natural law, as well as from revelation. Sachedina describes the difference 493 Sachedina, Islam, 38. 494 Ibid, 93-94. 495 Ibid, 46-47. 496 Ibid, 48. 190 between these two sources of morality. He writes, “action based on a moral sense of duty, according to the Qur’an, is part of the divinely ordained eternal tradition (sunnat allah), which is the law of nature, and which is a permanent object of reflection (Qur’an 33:62, 48:23, 17:77); whereas a revelation-based duty is taught by the prophets to their followers in fulfillment of God’s will for human prosperity.”497 Since the former is based on ethical and social norms that are universal, they would be very much in line with the secular formulations of human rights. However, Susan Holman, a researcher on health and human rights at Harvard School of Public Health, cautions that there is a methodological challenge of looking at pre-modern texts and societies through concepts such as universal human rights, which were unknown at the time. She writes, “In considering how such texts might be relevant to modern religious responses to poverty and issues of human rights, justice and mercy today, we must naturally be sensitive to avoid imposing inappropriate modern constructs on historical texts from another time and culture, even if they related to something as timeless as human need and the ideologies of ownership, distribution and justice.”498 So while there is a philosophical connection between human rights and some schools of Islamic thought (based on an understanding of universal morality), is there a connection with the traditional concept of obligation (as described by Sheikh Mohammad)? In both the Islamic and Jewish traditions, the Arabic and Hebrew words transliterated as sadaqa and tzedakah are generic terms for charity and the giving of alms. They also mean 497 Ibid, 89. 498 Susan R. Holman, "Healing the World with Righteousness? The Language Of Social Justice In Early Christian Homilies," in Charity and Giving in Monotheistic Religions, eds. Mariam Frenkel and Yaacov Lev (New York, NY: Walter de Gruyter, 2009), 108. 191 “righteousness”. 499 Mark Cohen, Professor of Near Eastern studies at Princeton University, states that in the Bible (Old Testament), the term sedaqa/tzedakah is often paired with the term mishpat (in the sense of social justice). He writes, “For the giver it is a duty (misva) commanded by God; for the needy, it is an entitlement.”500 These Biblical concepts influenced early Islamic thought. Holman states that by the time of the Islamic conquests of the 7th and 8th centuries, a number of early Christian texts on poverty relief were being translated and used beyond their original context.501 Holman, then concludes that the inseparable double meaning of sadaqa and tzedakah to mean both charity (an act done to help the needy) and righteousness (a state of being before God – of moral correctness), together encompass the idea of social justice in the Jewish and Islamic traditions of late antiquity.502 From an Islamic perspective, the concept of human rights is inadequate in of itself to address the needs of the poor. While the poor are entitled to help (they have rights), it is the individual’s obligation (which is synonymous with righteousness) that will alleviate poverty. c. The Concept of Obligation and Moral Development The concept of obligation, an action that one is required to morally or legally take, as a basis for charity, is often seen as legalistic, and there is a sense that it negates empathy, 499 Ibid, 89. Ephrat Habas (Rubin) defines righteousness as “simply the right thing to do.” Ibid, 90. This has been discussed in detail in Chapter 6 of this thesis. 500 Mark Cohen, Poverty and Charity in the Jewish Community of Medieval Egypt (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2005), 5-6. Gildas Hamel in 1990 had refered to “the donor’s obligation and the poor’s right.” Gildas Hamel, Poverty and Charity in Roman Palestine: First Three Centuries CE (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1990), 216. 501 Holman, Healing, 91. 502 Holman, Healing, 89. 192 compassion and responsibility. The observation is rooted in Lawrence Kohlberg’s theory of moral development. Kohlberg, an American psychologist who was influenced by Jean Piaget’s model of human development, was the first person to propose a theory of moral development. His model theorizes six stages of moral development, divided into three levels he referred to as pre-conventional morality, conventional morality, and post- conventional morality. In using this model503 to understand the level of moral development, individuals who operate under social, moral and religious obligation as identified in Islam would be at Stage 4 (maintaining the social order) of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development. Stage 4, which is within Level II Conventional Morality, ensures that laws are obeyed, authority respected, individuals perform their duties and social order is maintained. Any moral decisions are made from the perspective of what is good for society as a whole. In the Bedouin and tribal context from which Islam emerged, the ultimate criteria for a moral decision was what is good for the community, as this was fundamental to its survival. In Stage 5 (social contract and individual rights), which is part of post conventional morality, the question moves beyond maintaining social order, to what makes a good society? The two critical pieces that make for a good society are the basic rights of the individual (such as life and liberty) that need to be protected, and a social contract that individuals freely enter into to make society function. It is only at Stage 6 (universal principles) that there is an understanding that the principles of justice, where there is 503 Lawrence Kohlberg, "Moral Stages and Moralization: The Cognitive-Development Approach" in Moral Development and Behavior: Theory, Research, And Social Issues, ed. T. Lickona (New York, NY: Holt, Reinhart & Winston, 1976), 31-35. 193 equal respect for all, are universal. It is this that makes for a “good society” in western minds. One critique of Islamic morality is that it is a social contract that is mandated and imposed in order to maintain social order rather than being based on individuals having the ability to determine what is right and good based on universal principles of justice, and then choosing to contribute for the well being of society. Using Kohlberg’s model, the implication is that morality within Islam is only partially developed and is only at the conventional level. Because its focus is on the well being of society, the individual is not allowed to develop to its fullest potential. One of the critiques of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development is that it is culturally biased, in that the highest stages at the post-conventional morality level are based on individualistic moral reasoning, which many feel is a westernized ideal.504 Traditional societies, such as Islamic ones, value social cohesion and the social good over individualism.505 So the highest level of morality is determined by what is good for the ingroup to which the individual belongs. Fida Mohammad at Eastern New Mexico University, writing about Ibn Khaldun’s observation of group consciousness (assabiyah) as being a key element for social 504 Cecelia Wainryb, "Moral Development in Culture: Diversity, Tolerance and Justice," in Handbook of Moral Development, edited by M.Killen and J. Smetana (Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2006), 211-240. 505 Bruce Malina writes about societies that that individualists and others that are collectivists. He identifies individualist societies where “individualism is characterized by internal control and identity as well as internal responsibility and worth.” On the other, he writes, “collectivism may be described as the belief that groups in which a person is embedded are each and singly an end in themselves, and as such single persons in the group ought to realize distinctive group values notwithstanding the weight of one’s personal drive in the direction of self satisfaction. In collectivistic cultures most people’s social behavior is largely determined by group goals that require the pursuit of achievements, which improve the position of the group. The defining attributes of collectivistic cultures are family integrity, solidarity, and keeping the primary ingroup in “good health”.” Malina, Collectivism in Mediterranean Culture, 21-22 . 194 stability, identifies two aspects of individualism and their very different impact on society. “Disintegration of collective consciousness creates anomie (moral deregulation), and anomie will produce moral individualism which is the hallmark of organic solidarity. Loss of assabiyah will also create moral and economic individualism, but will end up in the destruction of a civilization.”506 Within Islam, morality is expressed through prescribed behavior based on obedience to revelation (the Qur’an) and not through moral reasoning by the individual. The guiding principle for the behavior of the Muslim is al `amal assalih or virtuous deeds, which covers all behavior and not just outward acts of worship. For the Muslim, the highest level of moral development (righteousness) is the worship of God, obedience to his laws, and fulfilling one’s obligations towards society. The Qur’an in 2:177 states, It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces towards east or west; but it is righteousness - to believe in Allah and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers; to spend of your substance, out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer, and practice regular charity; to fulfill the contracts which ye have made; and to be firm and patient, in pain (or suffering) and adversity, and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of truth, the Allah-fearing. III. Social Change and Islam Having looked at the Qur’anic mandate for charity, a core concern of this thesis is how does Islamic thought address social change and transformation? The fundamental question in how Islam addresses poverty is whether there is within Islamic thought the concept of social justice leading to social transformation. Is there social mobility and are 506 Mohammad, Ibn Khaldun, 34. 195 individuals and communities able to move out of poverty? It is abundantly clear that the Qur’an requires the Muslim to address the immediate needs of the poor through zakat and sadaqa, and the ongoing needs through financial institutions like the waqf. Having seen the multidimensionality of poverty (earlier in this thesis) and that some of the dimensions include political and social marginalization, resulting in powerlessness, isolation and vulnerability of the poor,507 does Islam have a concept of addressing the causes of social injustice? 1. Mohammad the Social Reformer The origins of Islam are rooted in Mohammad’s reaction against idolatry and specific social problems. The British-American oriental scholar Bernard Lewis writes about the significance of Mohammad’s achievements, of which social reform was a major part. He had achieved a great deal. To the pagan peoples of western Arabia he had brought a new religion, which, with its monotheism and its ethical doctrines, stood on an incomparably higher level than the paganism it replaced. He had provided that religion with a revelation, which was to become in the centuries to follow the guide to thought and count of countless millions of Believers. But he had done more than that; he had established a community and a well organized and armed state, the power and prestige of which made it a dominant factor in Arabia.508 To understand Mohammad’s social reforms, they must be analyzed in the social, political and religious context of 7th century Arabia rather than critiqued through a 21st century rights based framework. Mohammad preached extensively against what he perceived as the evils of his day.509 He condemned Arab pagan practices such as exploitation of the 507 See Chapter 7 of this thesis on the UN’s definition of poverty and Robert Chambers’ model. 508 Bernard Lewis, Arabs in History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993), 45. 509 The Constitution of Medina, which most scholars agree was written shortly after his flight from 196 poor, female infanticide,510 the inferior status of women,511 false contracts, slavery and theft.512 John Esposito, Professor of Islamic Studies at Georgetown University writes that each person was now not accountable to customary tribal laws and customs but to an overriding divine law. This shook the foundations of Arabian society at the time.513 William Montgomery Watt wrote that Mohammad significantly improved the social security of the individual by taking the best from the morality of the nomads and introducing it to settled communities. This was through a new family structure and a social security system. In addition, prisoners of war, who had not been executed, were now no longer expected to beg. 514 It was now the responsibility of the Islamic government to provide food and clothing regardless of their religion. If the prisoner was in the custody of an individual, it was the responsibility of that person to provide.515 Slaves now had a quasi-legal status and the condition of the slaves was a vast improvement over what it was in antiquity, in the Roman world, and in Byzantium.516 Mecca to Medina, would probably be dated around 622 A.D. It laid the framework for an Islamic state – and a vision for a new society. Among the various issues it addressed, it included the protection of the community (ummah), religious freedom, status and security for women, and a system for granting protection of the individual, all issues that were considered radical in their day. Brian S. Turner, Islam (Oxford: Routledge, 2003), 77-78. 510 Mohammad elevated the status of women by condemning female infanticide, thus valuing girls and women. Qur’an 81:1 "When the sun shall be darkened, when the stars shall be thrown down, when the mountains shall be set moving, when the pregnant camels shall be neglected, when the savage beasts shall be mustered, when the seas shall be set boiling, when the souls shall be coupled, when the buried infant shall be asked for what sin she was slain, when the scrolls shall be unrolled..." 511 Scholars are mixed about whether status of women was actually improved. The most positive perspective is that in the surrounding pagan communities women had almost no rights. Under Sharia, women now had some rights. 512 John Esposito, Islam: The Straight Path (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010), 79. 513 John Esposito, Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), 30. 514 It was the custom that prisoners of war were usually left out in the desert and most would die. Those who survived came into the city to beg. Interview with Ustad Ibrahim. 515 W. Montgomery Watt, Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1961), 229. 516 Bernard Lewis, Race and Slavery in the Middle East: An Historical Enquiry (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992), 3-15. Bernard Lewis writes that two major changes took place with regards to slaves. “One of 197 Addressing poverty was an integral part of the new society that Mohammad envisaged. Scholar of Islamic studies and Professor at the University of Michigan, Michael Bonner, states that in the blueprint for a new order in society, the poor would be treated more fairly than in the surrounding pagan cultures. This “economy of poverty” was very much part of Islamic practice and thought till about the 13th and 14th centuries. According to Bonner, addressing poverty was conceptualized very differently than in Christianity. At its core was the concept of property and wealth that circulated and was purified, in part through charity.517 This illustrated a very distinct Islamic way of conceptualizing charity and generosity (in that it purified one’s wealth) in comparison with what Bonner calls “the Christian notion of perennial reciprocity between rich and poor and the ideal of charity as an expression of community love.”518 While not directly addressing the issues of poverty or the quality of life, Mohammad realizing the importance of water in a desert and arid area, encouraged the digging of wells and access of water for public use. In the empires that followed, the restoration of old wells, and the digging of new wells and canals, were critical civil projects that most Muslim rulers implemented.519 2. Qur’anic Understanding of Social Change and Development While the origins of Islam are rooted in social and religious reform, many in the West view Islam as being socially rigid and not allowing for social mobility. James Barton, the these was the presumption of freedom; the other, the ban on the enslavement of free persons except in strictly defined circumstances." (Lewis, p. 5) 517 See earlier in this chapter on the concept of zakat and sadaqa purifying wealth. 518 Michael Bonner, "Poverty and Economics in the Qur'an", Journal of Interdisciplinary History, xxxv: 3 (Winter, 2005): 391–406. 519 Abdus Salam Nadvi, The Ways of the Sahabah, trans. Muhammad Yunus Qureshi (Karachi, PK: Darul Ishaat, 2000), 403-408. 198 Senior Foreign Secretary of the American Board of Commission for Foreign Mission (ABCFM), writing in 1925 stated that Islam is “inflexible, unprogressive, stationary, incapable of adapting itself to new conditions…It repudiates all change, all development.”520 It would seem that the attitudes towards Islam have not changed much since. In addressing poverty, basic principles of development are the empowerment of individuals and communities to socially and economically move out of poverty. Does Islamic doctrine and practice allow for this? Based on the principles of the Constitution of Medina, Islam is very egalitarian with the establishment of the ummah (the community). Even though the equality within the ummah was limited to only free adult Muslim males, it was a significant advance on the Greco-Roman and Persian societies of the time, which were based on aristocratic privilege. It rejected hierarchy and every member of the ummah had an equal say. The basic social distinction in society was between those inside the faith (the Muslim) and those outside (the unbeliever – the kafir). In present day Iran, after the Islamic revolution of 1979,521 there is another level of social distinction, which is not based on allegiance to a creed. They distinguish between the haughty (mustakbir), those who profess Islam but do not accept the teachings and discipline of the revolution, and the humbled (mustad’af), those who are deprived and downtrodden and would include non-Muslims who are oppressed.522 So how do the Qur’an and Islam understand social transformation? 520 James Barton, “The Impact and Influence of Western Civilization on the Islamic World,” in The Moslem World of Today, ed. John R. Molt (New York, NY: George H. Doran Co., 1925), 3. 521 It is critical to note that the theology and philosophy espoused by the leaders of the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, often referred to as Wilayet y Faqih, does not reflect the mainstreams of Shi’ite theology and thinking. 522 Lewis, Islamic Revolution. 199 The Islamic terms for relief and development are irahtha (relief), which means lifesaving, helping those in danger and providing help that will save the person’s life, and tanmiyya (development), which has the sense of making a place better, to make it grow, to plant something and then growing it and multiplying it. Both concepts are part of traditional Islamic culture and thought and not something that has been incorporated into Islam from Western culture and philosophy.523 While the immediate needs of the poor are addressed through zakat and sadaqa, the concept of development (sustainable change) is more nuanced in the way it is articulated in the Qur’an. The Qur’an 11:61 states, “O my people! Worship Allah. You have no other god but Him. It is He Who has produced you from the earth and settled you therein: then ask forgiveness of Him, and turn to Him (in repentance): for my Lord is (always) near, ready to answer.” The idea of being settled is to develop the land from barrenness. By settling human beings, God was asking them to build and construct (istamawah). One was to live in the land and “not let things go bad”. The idea is that human beings are to use what God has given them here, and by putting it to good use, to seek the hereafter.524 Development in Islamic thought is very holistic, as it is a balance between a focus on the spiritual (worshiping God) and a focus on the material (development of this earth). The two are integrally connected. The Qur’an in 55:46 states, “But for such as fear the time when they will stand before (the Judgment Seat of) their Lord, there will be two Gardens”. The two gardens are life here and life in the hereafter. The concept of a garden 523 Sheikh Muhammad Abu Zayad. Interview with the author. Saida, Lebanon. 12 July 2012. 524 Ibid. 200 is actually that of paradise (jinna). So, human beings are to make life here a paradise, just as it is in the hereafter.525 Unfortunately, the human tendency is to focus on the spiritual (God) and to neglect life here or to focus on developing the earth and life here and forgetting God.526 The Qur’an in 28:77 states, “But seek, with the (wealth) which Allah has bestowed on thee, the Home of the Hereafter, nor forget thy portion in this world: but do thou good, as Allah has been good to thee...” It is God who gives the wealth to develop the earth and thus enabling human beings to seek life in the hereafter. So development is the process of transforming the earth with all its potential to being just like paradise in the hereafter. God created the earth as perfect (fitra), and it needs to be restored to that condition. The problems arise when human beings interfere with or disobey the divine plan of how life should be lived (as revealed in the Qur’an). The problems are because of the wrong practice of religion.527 The hadith (Sahih al Bukhari Volume 3, Book 44, Number 673) illustrates that addressing poverty is everyone’s responsibility. “The metaphor of someone who stops at the limits of Allah and someone who transgresses them is that of some people who draw lots on a boat. Some of them get the upper deck and some of them the lower. When those in the lower deck want to get water, they have to pass by those above them. Then they say, ‘If we were to make a hole in our deck, we would not have to bother those above us.’ If they were to let them do what they wanted, all of them would perish. If they seize hold 525 Ibid. 526 Ibid. Sheikh Mohammad commented, “Don’t be an atheist, in that you don’t believe in God, and don’t be a Hindu, in that everything is god.” 527 Ibid. 201 of their hands and stop them, they will be saved and all of them will be saved.” If the needs of the poor and desperate are not addressed, then it will destroy all of society.528 There are two agents of development in a community. Sheikh Mohammad refers to two passages in the Qur’an (12:55 and 28:26) where it describes that the individual involved in transformation needs to have the knowledge required, the necessary physical strength, as well as ethics and morals. The Qur’an also states that an Islamic government is required to ensure that the population had food, security and justice – as these are the key elements for social stability and transformation.529 The Qur’an in 106: 4 states, “Who provides them with food against hunger, and with security against fear (of danger).” And in 4: 58, “And when you judge between man and man, that you judge with justice.” 3. Islamic Thought on Social Justice and Social Change The comprehensive nature of Islam that encompassed all areas of life, inevitably led to discussions about the nature of Islamic society. The context determined the focus of the discussion. In areas where Muslims were the majority or a dominating faction, the discourse was on the establishment of an Islamic state with its accompanying laws (Sharia). In places where Muslims were a minority, the discussion was on identity and rights in a pluralistic society. The question was around how should Muslim relate to non- Islamic cultures, and what level of assimilation was acceptable without losing their identity and their rights to practice their faith and way of life. 528 Ibid. 529 Ibid. 202 In this latter context, the understanding of social justice had less to do with the poor in society; rather the focus was on justice for the Muslims, many of whom were marginalized from the mainstreams of society and discriminated against. However, in Muslim dominated societies, where there was a drive for the establishment of an Islamic state, the assumption was that only an Islamic state could ensure social justice, because the ummah (the Islamic community) ensured that there was equality, and one of the five pillars of Islam (the payment of zakat) ensured that the poor were taken care of. So on the whole there has been little discussion historically on justice for the poor. The concept of social justice within Islam only emerged in the 20th century when Islamic jurists used the phrase al ‘adalah al-ijtimaiyah (social justice). For medieval writers such as Bakr al-Turtushi530 (1059-1127), Najm al-Din al-Tufi531 (d. 1316) Ibn Taymiyah (1263-1328), and Ibn Khaldun (1336-1406) the focus was on the justice and injustice of rulers and the requirement that the state ensure maslahah532 (the general interest) of the Muslims by pursuing justice. The Qur’anic view of justice is “divine justice”, which is highly abstract and idealized with little regard to social reality.533 The struggle for Islamic social theorists like Sayyid Qutub was to reconcile a theocentric concept of justice, which was also ethnocentric, with a justice that demanded considerations of equity that included all persons within the community and went beyond the Muslim communities. 530 A famous Islamic jurist from Tortosa, in the northern region of al-Aandalus. 531 The medieval Egyptian Islamic scholar known for his Muslim exegesis and commentary on the Bible. 532 It is a concept in traditional Islamic law, which prohibits or permits something based on whether it benefits the public welfare and the common good. 533 Esposito, The Oxford Encyclopedia, 403-404. 203 While the early centuries after the establishment of Islam in the 7th century focused on compiling and interpreting the sayings of Mohammad, the first critical analyses of society and the meaning of an Islamic state were between the 12th to 14th centuries. Ibn Khaldun wrote extensively of his observation on social change. One of the key concepts he introduced was that of assabiyah, which refers to group solidarity or groups consciousness. Assabiyah was what binds society, family, tribe, religion and nation. It gives people a sense of belonging and ensures stability of institutions in the community. It is the driving force behind all social change.534 For Ibn Khaldun, the development of civilization was a continuum with tribal life and communities (badawah) with a lower level of social organization on one end, and settled urban life and communities (hadarah) with a more complex level of social organization on the other end. As nomadic tribal communities moved into urban areas and settled, there was a lessening of assabiyah or group consciousness and cohesiveness.535 This had implications for the care of the vulnerable in society, as the group (tribe) no longer felt the need to ensure the protection and care of all for its wellbeing and survival. However, as settled communities emerged as states, it then became the responsibility of the Islamic state or ruler to ensure the well-being of all and care for the poor and vulnerable.536 While some have criticized Ibn Khaldun’s cyclical version of history, which leaves little room for human agency and sees the population as passive elements in the midst of pre- determined forces that shape history, for Ibn Khaldun human beings have the capacity to 534 Mohammad, Ibn Khaldun, 36-37. 535 Ibid, 37. 536 Ibid. 37-38. Ibn Khaldun discusses extensively the factors that strengthen and weaken assabiyah. As moral and economic corruption increases among the leadership and elite, it leads to greed, high taxation and injustice, thus pushing the majority of the population toward destitution and poverty. 204 organize their relationships with others and together create a common good.537 It is communities that have the ability to bring about change. This ability is foundational to social change and transformation. A contemporary of Ibn Khaldun, though predating him by a few decades, Taqi Al-Din Ahmad Ibn Taymiyah is one of the most influential and sometimes controversial of the early Islamic social thinkers, whose influence is still felt today among radical Islamic groups, the Wahhabi movement, and in states such as Saudi Arabia. Living in Damascus during the turbulence of the Mongol invasions, much of what he wrote focused on what it meant to be a Muslim in the midst of invaders who claimed to be Muslims, but who Ibn Taymiyah through his legal and theological definitions determined were kafirs (unbelievers) because they did not practice Islam in its totality and purity. Central to Ibn Taymiyah’s Hanbali538 doctrine was the supremacy of the Qur’an and the prophetic tradition as ultimate authorities. Social change then involved going back to the early, what he perceived as pure, understanding of Islam. An Islamic state that practiced this type of Islam was the ideal society, but one, which due to his antipathy towards ahl al-kitab (the people of the book), excluded Jews and Christians.539 Though he never addressed the issue of poverty, an Islamic state would enforce the five pillars of Islam and would use the zakat as a form of taxation for the social good. Sayyid Abu al-Ala Mawdudi (1903-1979), was a South Asian Islamic ideologue and politician, whose Islamic revivalist thinking has had a significant impact across the 537 Ibid, 30. 538 Hanbali is one of the five schools of Sunni Islam jurisprudence, which are Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i, Hanbali, and Zahiri. 539 Esposito, The Oxford Encyclopedia, 165-166. 205 Islamic world. Living in the context of the pluralistic world of South Asia during its struggle for independence, Sayyid Mawdudi tried to define Muslim identity in a turbulent context. He felt that the decline of Muslim power and influence was due to the corruption and pollution of Islam. So the only way to save the Islamic faith and community was through the restoration of Islamic institutions and practices, and to cleanse itself of the unsavory cultural influences that had drained its power. The revival of Islam that Sayyid Mawdudi espoused was very communal in a pluralistic context. It focused on the rights of Muslims and proposed a program to promote and safeguard them, while demanding that all cultural, social and political ties with the majority Hindu community be cut in order to purify the Islamic community.540 If social change in the larger society was to take place, it was not through mobilizing the masses to overthrow the existing order, but to take over the centres of existing power in order to institute wide spread reforms from the top down. For Sayyid Mawdudi, Islamic revolution was to unfold from within existing state structures rather than through their destruction.541 Sayyid Qutub Ibrahim Husayn Shadhili (1906-1966), an Islamic thinker and one of Egypt’s most influential activists of the 20th century, who along with the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood Hasan al-Banna’, shaped a radical Islamic social theory drawing extensively from Ibn Taymiyah. As Ibn Taymiyah’s thinking was shaped by the Mongol invasion, Sayyid Qutub personified the movements that opposed Western thought, values and culture, as well as leaders of Islamic societies who they perceived as disregarding the laws of Allah. Sayyid Qutub believed in the ummah’s (the community of believers) acceptance of the trust given to it by Allah to master the world and benefit from its 540 Ibid, 73. 541 Ibid, 75. 206 resources.542 However, the benefit of this mastery was to ensure obedience to the laws of Allah (the hakimiyah).543 Like Ibn Taymiyah, Sayyid Qutub’s social theory envisaged a return to the Islamic principles and rules for life and society, which could only ensure social justice and wellbeing. Hasan al-Banna’ (1906-1949), a contemporary of Sayyid Qutub in Egypt, and as the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood was one of the most influential social and political thinkers of the 20th century in the Islamic world. There were four concepts that dominated al-Banna’s thinking. These were nation, state, social justice and society, along with “Islamic” as a qualifier.544 The response to what he saw as Western intrusion into the Islamic world was the establishment of the Muslim Brotherhood. It believed in Islam being a comprehensive self contained system of life, and thus had no need for additional thoughts or philosophies. His understanding of social justice was the equality of Muslims everywhere. He believed that Islam knows no geographical frontiers, nor ‘racial or civic differentiations’. He would state, “The faithful are brothers.”545 For al-Banna’ an Islamic society was a society where there was social justice. But this was not just through what he called righteous thinking and good works alone, but also through institutions, the intervention of the state, and taxes on wealth and income. In his Letter on Our Problems in the Light of the Islamic System, he writes, “Islam consecrates the zakat entirely to social expenses. This is used to 542 The Qur’an states in 2:30, “Allah created Man to be the vicegerent of Allah on earth.” 543 Esposito, The Oxford Encyclopedia, 402. 544 Oliver Carre, "Hasan al Banna’," The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World, ed. John Esposito (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), 197. 545 Quoted in Carre, “Hasan al-Banna”, 198. 207 help the insolvent and destitute, which all the best sentiments in the world could not do.”546 Tariq Ramadan, one of the most prominent contemporary Western Islamic thinkers and the grandson of Hasan al-Banna’, tries to address the challenge Islam faces when confronted with modernity. He writes from a context in Europe where Islam is a growing minority that has not been assimilated into the mainstreams of society. He states that explicit within Islamic teaching is the dimension of community and to practice Islam is to participate in the social order and that “there cannot be a religious conscience without a social ethic.”547 He then states that within the Islamic conception of human beings, human liberty by its very nature implies certain obligations. He sees this as universal and does not limit it to Muslims. These obligations or individual duties are translated into fundamental rights. These include the right to life, family, housing, education, work, justice and solidarity.548 Ramadan is, however, very critical of simplistic (and what he states as crude) responses to social problems. He states that the institution of zakat implied a “full and ethical concept of social organization, and human relationship.”549 It was making a statement of how society should be. However, it is not enough to believe that poverty will be resolved by the imposition of zakat and a just economic system will be established by not charging interest. He writes, “There is no place for such an attitude and “God’s tradition” (sunnat 546 Quoted in Carre, “Hasan al-Banna”, 198. 547 Tariq Ramadan, Islam, the West and the Challenges of Modernity (Leicester, UK: The Islamic Foundation, 2001), 39. 548 Ibid, 40-43. It is interesting to note here that the rights that he has listed are among the most fundamental challenges that Muslims in Europe face. Yet his critique is targeted as much at Islamic societies as it is to Western ones. (p. 44). 549 Ibid, 140. 208 Allah) throughout the history of humanity shows us that things are more complicated than this, and that the success of a human project is guaranteed, in the light of faith, to whoever knows how to develop the characteristics of his human nature.”550 The second critique Ramadan has provided is that often Islamic leadership put on a “façade of Islam” on problems of contemporary society with a formality and rigidity which does not allow communities to go back to “cause of the fracture” and thus do not have the ability to find solutions. He writes, “We intervene in a more coercive manner so as to “apply Islam”.”551 Ramadan believes that Islam can be dynamic and responsive to the needs of society and not be a faith that is locked in time. He reminds Muslims, “Taking the context into account has always been essential to the practice of fiqh552 because jurists needed to provide concrete answers when faced with new social or cultural situations or with new scientific and technical challenges.”553 For Ramadan, Islam remains a vital religion that can be responsive to human need and has something to say about social values, and but needs radical reform and transformation and not a return to a social model that is no longer applicable in a pluralistic and technological world.554 550 Ibid, 45. 551 Ibid, 46. Ramadan writes, “Formalism here kills the essence of the message, which it pretends to defend. It is indeed this betrayal that we find in the discourses of many a head of state and governments that tell us that they want to apply Islamic Sharia, and who in order to maintain themselves are equipped with an arsenal of the most repressive laws against their people.” (p. 46) 552 Fiqh is Islamic jurisprudence; an expansion of the code of conduct taught in the Qur’an, supplemented by tradition (sunnah), and implemented by rulings and interpretations of Islamic jurists. 553 Tariq Ramadan, Radical Reform: Islamic Ethics and Liberation (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), 30. 554 Ramadan concludes, “The transformation proposed involves multiple requirements: a new outlook on texts and human and social contexts, mobilizing knowledge and skills, and rebalancing legitimacy and authority in the production of norms and ethics. It clearly amounts to refusing immobilism, formalism, blind ambition (of all kinds) or fatalism.” Ramadan, Radical Reform, 317. 209 IV. Summary Islam, being a comprehensive system that encompasses all aspects of life, addresses social issues such as poverty and care for the poor. It is enshrined in the five pillars of Islam and giving to the poor is a religious obligation as much as it is a social one. Traditional Islam has struggled with what it perceives as the Western concept of human rights. It believes its focus on the obligation of the group and the community to take care of the poor is of higher moral value than charity that is based on the right of the poor to access the basics of life, or of individuals who through reasoning understand the intrinsic value of each individual. However, the deeper question is whether Islam has a concept of social justice that enables the poor to move beyond being merely recipients of charity. The Qur’anic understanding of development is to improve the world and society with the resources that are available, because man has been made God’s viceregent here on earth. However, the concept of social change among most traditional Islamic scholars is that only by a return to laws of God (as revealed in the Qur’an) and these being enforced by the authority of an Islamic state will there be justice and social issues (such as poverty) be addressed. However, contemporary Islamic thinkers such as Tariq Ramadan challenge this perspective. While being rooted in the meaning and message of the Qur’an he feels that Islam needs to confront modern society and address social problems with the latest thinking and technology available. Imam Musa Sadr the influential Shi'ite leader and the founder of the Movement of the Dispossessed in Lebanon in the 1970s warned against 210 idealizing the past at the expense of any novel approach to contemporary issues. He writes, “Social and political systems are the products of our making…there is no trace in Islam of such a thought that the social system is God-given.”555 There is significant overlap and differences between the Judeo-Christian concepts of charity, compassion, and social justice as seen in the Old and New Testaments with that in Islam. The overlap and differences include: • The community has a responsibility for the poor and vulnerable in their midst. This responsibility is not limited to those in authority or to specific community institutions, but is the responsibility of every individual. In Judaism, Christianity and Islam, this is seen as a religious obligation, as much as a social responsibility. • While Judeo-Christian Biblical values have evolved into the worth of individuals who have rights to the basics of life, traditional Islam does not acknowledge human rights as the basis for assisting the poor, but see the obligation of the community to care for their poor as having a higher moral value than a human rights regime. • The Old and New Testaments are very clear that charity and compassion is for any one in need, including those from outside the community. The practice within Islam is that charity is predominantly for those who belong to the Muslim community. • All three religions have an understanding of social justice. In traditional Islam, this is accomplished by going back in time and instituting sharia under the authority of an Islamic government, and thus social justice would be limited to Muslims. However, more progressive Islamic thinkers, as well as many Shi‘a theologians don’t agree with this and look forward to a society where there is social justice for all. In Judeo-Christian theology, it is the reign of God that will bring about social justice. Islamic social theory is very clear about addressing the needs of the poor, but there is a very wide range of thinking of how social justice in society can be achieved. With this 555 Seyed Javad Miri, Reflections on the Philosophy of Imam Musa Sadr (Bloomington, IN: Xlibris Corporation, 2007), 77. 211 understanding of the Islamic conceptions of poverty, the next chapter will seek to understand how the Shi'ite community in Lebanon moved out of the margins of society and out of poverty. 212 Chapter 9 MOVING FROM THE MARGINS: The Empowerment of the Shi‘ites of Lebanon Thus far, this thesis has provided a framework to discuss the Shi‘ites of Lebanon and their move out of poverty and from the margins of society. This chapter will first profile the Shi‘ites of Lebanon, their history, their identity and the background to their social and political mobilization. The second section will identify the specific factors that led to their empowerment and influenced their ability to move out of the margins of Lebanese society. These will provide the lessons for how community development could be accomplished in the Middle East. The interviews on which this thesis is based have provided the key insights, which were then expanded upon using secondary sources. I. History of the Shi‘ites in Lebanon 1. Origins of Shi‘ite Islam Shi‘ite Islam constitutes between 10-15% of all Muslim, and Shi‘ites are the majority in Iran, Iraq and Azerbaijan. There are also significant Shi‘ite populations in Afghanistan, Kuwait, Pakistan, India, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Syria and Lebanon, the majority of whom adhere to Imami or Twelver Shi‘ism.556 556 Hillel Fradkin, “The Paradoxes of Shiism,” Current trends in Islamist Ideology (Hudson Institute) 8 (2009):13 213 The origins of Shi‘ite Islam and its distinctive views are rooted in the struggle for succession and leadership of the Muslim community in the immediate aftermath of the Prophet Muhammad’s death in 632 A.D. Muhammad’s role was both religious as well as political as he and the community did not distinguish between the two557 with Islam being a comprehensive belief system, a way of life and a way to organize society. The dispute over succession that followed produced profound theological differences. The struggle revolved around whether succession was to be on the basis of the bloodline of the Prophet or on the basis of those who were perceived to be qualified to be leaders of the community. The leaders of the community (ummah) chose the Prophet’s close companion, Abu Bakr to become the first Caliph.558 While most Muslims at the time accepted this choice, some supported the candidacy of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Prophet’s cousin and son-in-law (married to his daughter Fatima). While Ali had played a significant role during the Prophet’s lifetime, he did not have the seniority within the Arabian tribal culture of the time, and as a result was bypassed. This was unacceptable to Ali’s followers who considered Abu Bakr and the two succeeding Caliphs – Umar and Utham – to be illegitimate. Some of Ali’s followers orchestrated the murder of the third Caliph, Utham in 656 A.D. and named Ali as (the fourth) Caliph. Ali himself was assassinated in 661 A.D. His surviving son Hussein was killed near Karbala (in present day Iraq) in a battle against the Sunni Caliph of Damascus in 680 A.D.559 557 Ibid, 15 558 Arabic word for successor 559 Ali’s older son (and Hussein’s older brother), Hassan had died earlier. 214 The epic battle in Karbala was to become central in Shi‘ite consciousness and became foundational in Shi‘ite ritual and identity. Those who had supported Ali later became known as Shi‘a a word originating from the term “shi‘atu Ali”, meaning “supporters” or “helpers” of Ali.560 2. Origins of the Shi‘ites in Lebanon Lebanon has a unique and early connection to the events in Karbala. After the death of Hussein, his sister Sayyeda Zainab and his daughters were taken captive and brought to the city of Baalbek in the Bekaa (valley) of Lebanon.561 It was in Baalbek that Hussein’s older daughter Khola died and was buried. A beautiful mosque with Persian motifs and colors562 marks the site of the tomb of the Prophet’s great granddaughter today.563 There are three theories as to the origins of the Shi‘ite community in Lebanon. According to British-Lebanese historian Albert Harouni (1915-1993) the oral tradition of the Shi‘ite scholars of South Lebanon states that Abu Dharr, a Companion of the Prophet and a strong supporter of Ali’s claim to the caliphate founded the community. After traveling from Medina to Damascus, Abu Dharr was exiled to the rural districts of Bilad ash-sham (Syria). According to the oral tradition Abu Dharr was instrumental in spreading the Shi‘ite faith. Early 20th century scholars such as Phillip Hitti (1886-1978) and Henri Lammens (1862-1937) claim that the origins of the Shi‘ite community in Lebanon are Persian. The more recent studies postulate that the roots of the community are descended 560 There were others who respected and accepted the legitimacy of Ali’s caliphate but opposed political succession based on the bloodline to the Prophet. This group, who constituted the majority of the Muslims, came to be known as Sunni meaning “followers of [the Prophet’s] customs [sunna]”. 561 They carried with them the head of the martyred Hussein, which was then later taken to Damascus and buried alongside the tomb of John the Baptist. 562 Persian motifs and turquoise blue signify the Shi'ite origins of shrines, monuments and mosques. 563 Oral history and tradition in Baalbek. 215 from the Yemenite tribes that migrated to the area around the 10th century. According to Rula Abisaab at the Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University, South Arabian (Yemenite) tribes such as the Twelver Shi‘a Banu (Hamdan), were present in Jabal ‘Amil during the early centuries of Islam, as the term ‘Amil was itself a name of a Yemenite tribe.564 The Shi‘ites have historically lived in the areas of south Lebanon known as Jabal ‘Amil (between the Awwali River to the north and Galilee to the south), and in the Bekaa (valley), especially around the towns of Hermel and Baalbek. The Shi‘ites in the south were part of feudal systems where they worked in the fields of landowning families (zuma), who then arbitrated their disputes and provided them protection. Those in the Bekaa were not beholden to the few landowning families. They instead were more nomadic and their society was defined as a series of clans. Some of these were more powerful than others and were accorded allegiance accordingly. Ibrahim Shamseddine explains that the allegiance to the zumas and powerful clans was because of the historical weakness of the Lebanese state and the patronage and protection that they provided.565 3. Social Mobilization and Political Institutions of the Shi‘ites in Lebanon The emergence of the Shi‘ites as the power brokers in Lebanon is a remarkable story, especially considering the fact that before the 1960s they were among the most marginalized and poorest communities in the country. The 19th century traveler, writer 564 Roger Shanahan, The Shi'a of Lebanon: Clans, Parties and Cleric (New York, NY: I.B.Tauris & Co. Ltd., 2005), 13. 565 Ibrahim Shamseddine. Interview with author. Beirut, Lebanon. 8 August 2012. 216 and Scottish diplomat David Urquhart (1805-1877) while traveling through Mount Lebanon described the marginalized and destitute Shi‘ites living in squalor. He writes, They were all in rags, except some of the Sheiks, and are all mendicants. They will come and stand round the cooking, which goes on in the open air, and if one is asked to go and get some eggs, he will shrug his shoulders, and when told he will be paid for his trouble, he answers, “there is none”. If another is asked to sell a sheep or fowl, he answers, “it is not mine”. The filth is revolting. It would seem as if they took a particular pride in exhibiting their rebellion against the law, originally proclaimed from Horeb and afterwards from Mecca, both in regard to their persons and cleanliness of their villages.566 A century later, not much had changed. In 1971 the average annual family income of a Shi'ite family was $1,510 compared to the national average of $2,082. On average the Lebanese Christian earned 58% more that the Shi'ite.567 50% of the Shi‘ites had had no schooling compared to the national average of 30%. Only 6.6% of the Shi'ites had had secondary schooling compared with 15% of the Sunnis and 17% of the Christians. There were fewer professionals (technical, managerial, clerical) among the Shi‘ites who would normally identify their profession as farming, peddling or labour. In 1974, southern Lebanon, which was predominantly Shi'ite and had 20% of the national population, received only 0.7% of the State’s budget.568 Lebanese researcher Hasan Sharif writes in 1974 that the situation had only marginally improved. The south had the fewest paved roads per person or per acre. Running water is still missing in all the villages and towns although water pipes were extended to many areas in the early sixties. Electricity networks were erected at about the same time, but they are inoperative most of the time. Sewage facilities are available only in the large towns and cities. Outside the larger centers telephone 566 David Urquhart, The Lebanon: Mt. Souria, A History And A Diary, Vol.1 (London: Thomas Cautley Newby, 1860), 223. 567 Jonathan V. Marshall, The Lebanese Connection: Corruption, Civil War And The International Drug Traffic (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2012), 253, Kindle. 568 Richard Augustus Norton, Amal and the Shi'a: Struggle for the Soul of Lebanon, (Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1987), 17-18. 217 service is completely absent except for a single manual cabin, which is usually out of order. Doctors visit the villages once a week and sometimes only once a month. Clinics are maintained only in large villages, and do not function regularly. Hospitals and pharmacies are found only in the larger population centers. Elementary school is usually run in an old unhealthy house provided by the village. Intermediate schools were introduced in the mid-sixties.569 According to the 1932 census570 the Shi‘ites numbered 155,000 out of a total population of 793,000. This was 19.5% of all those resident in Lebanon at the time, or 16.0% if the emigrant population (as of 1932) was included.571 While no recent census data exists, the Shi‘ites today are acknowledged as the largest religious and ethnic community in Lebanon in terms of numbers.572 The major population movements among the Shi‘ites started in the 1800s after the collapse of the silkworm industry when many left for the Ivory Coast looking for work, and in 1903 to Sierra Leone because of poor agricultural harvests. Then in the late 1950s tens of thousands of Shi‘ites abandoned their traditional farming villages and moved to the southern suburbs of Beirut of Nabaa, Bourj el Barajneh and ‘Ayn Rummanah.573 Beirut’s population tripled between 1952 and 1964 partly because of this influx. This exodus was triggered by land shortage, a steady decline in agricultural revenue and the relative prosperity of the urban areas. In 1961 less than 0.5% of peasants owned between 50 and 100 hectares of land.574 The policies of the Lebanese Governments under Presidents Bechara El-Khoury (1946-52) and Camille Chamoun (1952-58) left the South, the Bekaa (valley) and Akkar (in north Lebanon) undeveloped because these areas seemed irrelevant to the high growth sectors of tourism 569 Quoted in Norton, Amal, 18 570There has been no census in Lebanon since then due to the tenuous nature of the confessional system in the country. 571 Shanahan, The Shi‘a, 31 572 Ibrahim Shamseddine. Interview with author. Beirut, Lebanon. 8 August 2012. 573 Ibid 574 H.E. Chehabi (ed.), Distant Relations: Iran and Lebanon in the Last 500 years (London: I.B.Tauris Publishers, 2006), 239. 218 and commercial banking.575 The South along with the Bekaa (valley) and Akkar as a result suffered the combined effects of underdevelopment, population growth, unemployment and high rates of illiteracy.576 Augustus Norton at Boston University, who has written extensively about the Shi‘as of Lebanon, writes, “The Shi‘is’ political emergence is the result of a two-step process. The first step, the “why” of the process, may be simply described as the social and economic uprooting of the community…The second step, the “how” of the process, may be called the political mobilization of the Shi‘a.”577 While there were many factors that contributed to their development, the person who was the visible focal point was Imam Musa Sadr (though not necessarily the only leader responsible for the empowerment of the Shi‘ite community in Lebanon. Others included Muhammed Husain Fadlallah [1935-2010] and Muhammad Shamseddine578 [1936-2001]). Musa Sadr was born in the Iranian religious centre of Qom in 1928 into a family of Lebanese origin.579 In 1959 he was invited to return to his “homeland” and become the leader of the Shi‘ite community in Tyre. Within a decade he presided over the setting up of the Higher Shi‘ite Islamic Council, 580 which was the first of many steps that 575 Ibid, 239 576 For a detailed analysis of poverty in Lebanon see Rupen Das and Julie Davidson, Profiles of Poverty: The Human Face Of Poverty In Lebanon (Beirut: Dar Manhal al Hayat, 2011) 577 Norton, Amal, 19 578 His name is sometimes also written as Shams al Din. He is the father of Ibrahim Shamseddine, who was interviewed for this thesis. 579 Seyed Javad Miri, Reflections on the Philosophy of Imam Musa Sadr (Bloomington, IN: Xlibris Corporation, 2007), 11. 580 This brought together all the different Shi‘ite groups under one umbrella and gave them a common platform and voice. Saddredine Sadr. Interview with the author. Beirut, Lebanon. 11 October 2012. 219 “liberated” the Shi‘ite community from the domination of the more powerful Sunni community in the country.581 There were several episodes of peasant protests and labor unrest in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Finally in 1974 Imam Musa Sadr established the Movement of the Deprived (also referred to as the disinherited or the dispossessed), known in Arabic as Harakat al- Mahrumin. The focus was to better the economic and social conditions of the Shi‘ites. To do this he established schools and medical clinics throughout southern Lebanon. It was not a political party but was a mass protest movement aimed at forcing the government to address the lack of services for the Shi‘ites.582 However, Harakat al-Mahrumin did not have time to develop social traction, as the Lebanese civil war started in 1975 and Musa Sadr disappeared in 1978 during a trip to Libya.583 It did not develop as full-fledged social movement as a result.584 Norton’s assessment of Musa Sadr’s legacy is that the Imam brought to Lebanon “the ability to stand above a fragmented and victimized community and see it as a whole…He succeeded in giving many Shi‘is an inclusive communal identity. Furthermore he reminded his followers that their deprivation was not to be fatalistically accepted…As he once observed, “Whenever the poor involve themselves in a social revolution it is confirmation that injustice is not predestined”.”585 581 Helena Cobban, "The Discovery of the Lebanese Shi'ite," The Third World Quarterly, 10, No. 2 (April 1988): 1049. 582 Shanahan, The Shi‘a, 107. 583 The latest evidence emerging from Libya after the fall of Gaddafi is that Musa Sadr and his two traveling companions were executed on the orders of Gaddafi. Saddredine Sadr. Interview with author. Beirut, Lebanon. 8 August 2012. 584 See the discussions on social movements later in this chapter. 585 Norton, Amal, 40 220 There are a number of Shi‘ite political institutions in the country. Amal586 (Afwaj al- Muqawama al-Lubnaniyya) originally referred to the militia that was raised in 1975 as an adjunct to the Movement of the Dispossessed.587 However it was soon to subsume the Movement of the Dispossessed both as a military and political organization. Three events were to bring Amal to the forefront of the Lebanese political scene. The first was the disappearance of Imam Musa Sadr in August 1978, which became a major focus and rallying point for the Shi‘ite community. The second was the Israeli invasions of 1978 and 1982. The third event was the establishment of a Shi‘ite Islamic state in Iran with the overthrow of the Shah of Iran by Khomeini in February 1979.588 Amal as a political party is active within the formal organs of the Government with its leader Nabil Berri being the Speaker of the Parliament. Hezbollah589 had existed simply as an idea in the writings of Muhammed Husain Fadlallah.590 In the closing paragraphs of his major political work Al-Islam wa Mantiq al Quwwa (Islam and the Logic of Force) in May 1976, Fadlallah expressed the hope that his work would establish the basis for the formation of an organization like Hezbollah.591 There is little known about the early history of Hezbollah. Initially it was more of an umbrella organization for radical Islamist groups such as Islamic Amal and the Da’wa 586The word means “hope”. 587 Shanahan, The Shi‘a, 107. 588 Marius Deeb, "Shia Movements in Lebanon: Their formation, ideology, social basis, and links with Iran and Syria," Third World Quarterly 10, No. 2 (April 1988): 685. 589The word means “party of God”. Ibrahim Shamseddine states that “Hezbollah” refers to a Qur’anic term and therefore no political group or party can claim that name today. He only refers to them as “Hezb”. Ibrahim Shamseddine. 2013. Interview with the author. Beirut, Lebanon. June 24. 590 Grand Ayatollah Muhammed Husain Fadlallah was one of the most prominent Shi‘ite leaders of Lebanon and the founder of a number of religious institutions in the country. 591 Deeb, “Shi'ite Movements”, 692. Fadlallah, though known as the spiritual founder of Hezbollah, always maintained his distance from the organization, even though Western powers constantly linked him to Hezbollah and its activities. 221 party. 592 According to present head of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s founding committee comprised of nine delegates – three each from Amal, the Da’wa and the independent ‘ulama.593 Hezbollah was initially based in the Bekaa and after the Israeli withdrawal from Beirut in 1983 established themselves in the southern suburbs of Beirut and in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah has been elected to and remains within the Lebanese Parliament. Besides its political wing, Hezbollah also maintains a humanitarian wing and a military wing. While Hezbollah remains a dominant force within the Shi‘ite community, according to Ibrahim Shamseddine, they probably have the allegiance of only about 40% of the Shi‘ites in Lebanon.594 Besides Amal (under the leadership of Nabil Berri), other key independent Shi‘as are, Ibrahim Shamseddine, Khalil al Khalil, Ahmad Chehab, Saddredine Sadr (and the extended Sadr family), Ahmad As‘ad (leader of the Hizb al- Kaf’at and founder of the Lebanese Option Group), among others.595 II. Factors in the Empowerment of the Shi‘ite of Lebanon With the emergence of the Shi‘ites on the Lebanese political scene, there has been much discussion about their empowerment. Whenever this issue is raised in conversation, the 592 Shanahan, The Shi‘a, 113. 593 Ibid, 113. 594 Ibrahim Shamseddine. 2013. Interview with author, Beirut, Lebanon. 24 June 2013. 595 Philip Smyth, “The "Independent Shi'a" of Lebanon: What Wikileaks tells us about the American efforts to find an alternative to Hizballah,” Global Research in International Affairs Center, 22 December 2011, accessed December 31, 2011, http://www.gloria-center.org/2011/12/the-"independent-shi'a"-of-lebanon- what-wikileaks-tells-us-about-the-American-efforts-to-find-an-alternative-to-hizballah/. Other Shi‘ite and Shi‘ite aligned groups are Islamic Jihad, Islamic Amal, the Islamic Movement, the Faithful Resistance, the Revolutionary Justice Organization, the Oppressed of the Earth Organization, the Husayn Suicide Squads, and Party of God Collectively. Not all of them are still in existence. A. Nizar Hamzeh, "Islamism in Lebanon: A Guide To The Groups," Middle East Quarterly, (September 1997): 47. 222 typical response from most Lebanese is that the drug trade, access to weapons and the militarization of the Shi‘ites enabled them to emerge as the power brokers in Lebanon.596 While there is truth in that, the reality is much more complex. During the Civil War, hashish and then poppies were cultivated in the Bekaa (valley) and became a major source of opium within the international drug trade.597 Though the cultivation was mainly in the Christian and Sunni dominated areas, there were also Shi‘ite groups involved as cultivators, operators of heroin laboratories, and as middlemen.598 Every major religious ethnic group involved in the Civil War benefited from the trade. By the 1980s it was estimated that about $500 million annually went into the local economy.599 Historian and independent scholar Jonathan Marshall connects the funds from the drug trade with the militarization of the various factions during the Civil War.600 The second factor that was vital in providing resources to the Shi‘ites that enabled their empowerment was the remittances from the Lebanese Shi‘ite diaspora.601 While there is no exact estimate of the size of the Lebanese diaspora (of all sects), it is estimated to be around 12 million (Lebanon’s population is 4.1 million) and is spread out in West Africa (consisting predominately of Shi‘ites and to a smaller extent Christian), Brazil, Mexico, the US, Canada and Australia, and to a lesser extent Europe and the rest of Latin America. Paul Tabar of the Institute of Migration Studies at the Lebanese Arab University writes, “The class transformation of this [Shi‘a] community over the last 60 596 All the Shi’ites that were interviewed for this research also acknowledged this. 597 Marshall, The Lebanese, 1717, Kindle. 598 Ibid, 2111 and 2305, Kindle. 599 Ibid, 1990, Kindle. 600 Ibid, 1685, Kindle. 601 Ibrahim Shamseddine identified migration and emigration along with education as the two factors that enabled the Shi‘ites of Lebanon to move out of poverty. Ibrahim Shamseddine. Interview with the author. Beirut, Lebanon. 8 August 2012. 223 years, from a predominantly agrarian community to a community immersed in capitalist economic activities, cannot be understood if the impact of Shi‘ite migration is not considered.”602 The annual remittance from the Lebanese diaspora as a whole in 1970 was $250 million603 and had risen to $8.4 billion in 2010.604 The impact of this is seen clearly across the country in new schools and colleges, hospitals, clinics, roads, religious buildings (churches and mosques) and community centres,605 besides private residences. While the economic and political factors were important, there were also social factors that were vital to the transformation of the Shi‘ite community. While most of the major groups in Lebanon during the Civil War were involved in the drug trade and all have benefitted from remittances from the diaspora across the world, specific social factors within the Shi‘ite community had enabled it to move out of the margins of society. 1. Sense of Community and Care for Their Own Islam because of its root in nomadic tribal culture, is very insular and protective of its own community. As was discussed above in Chapter 8, this was a survival mechanism for the tribe, in that the tribe took care of its own destitute and vulnerable. In the midst of all the sectarian conflicts of the past two centuries in the region, this value has gotten even more deeply entrenched as each community built “walls” around themselves to protect their community in the midst of the civil wars and sectarian strife. 602 Paul Tabar, Lebanon: A Country of Emigration and Immigration (Beirut: LAU Press, 2010), 17. 603 Ibid, 22 604 Migration Policy Institute, Remittances Profile: Lebanon (Washington D.C.: Migration Policy Institute, 2011). 605 Tabar, Lebanon, 17-18. 224 The result of this attitude was that the various religious and ethnic communities in the region are not only insular but are also inward looking to the point of excluding anyone in need outside their community. This was similar to the attitudes of ancient Israel and the surrounding cultures until the Law forced Israel to acknowledge and meet the needs of those outside their community, especially those who were foreigners in their midst (cf. Chapter 3). As was discussed previously in Chapter 8, charitable giving is an integral part of Islamic spirituality. While the Qur’an does not specifically so state, in practice the charitable giving by Muslims in the region is almost exclusively limited to the destitute and vulnerable Muslims in the community.606 The positive aspect of this value is that there is a concern for the welfare of their community. It was this positive aspect that was vital in the transformation of the Shi'ite community in Lebanon. The funds used for charity and development were not just the remittances but were also from the zakat, the waqf and the al khums (given by the Shi‘as only). While emigrants from all the communities (Christian, Shi‘a, Sunni and Druze) sent back remittances, the Shi‘ites, more than any other community, set up foundations, orphanages, school, clinics and hospitals to address the needs of their community.607 Examples of these are the Imam Musa Sadr Foundation, which runs clinic, schools, special education centres and vocational training for girls and women, and the 606 This is based on the writer’s experience in Lebanon as he interacted with Islamic NGOs, community associations and mosques that were involved in addressing social issues. A commonly heard comment is that the Christians have many donors in the West who provide funding for them, so there is no need for Muslims to assist them. The author’s own experience is that during the relief work to assist the Syrian refugees in Lebanon and the displaced within Syria through local churches, many Muslim families would express surprise that Christians were wanting to help those who did not belong to their own community. 607 Ibrahim Shamseddine. Interview with the author. Beirut, Lebanon. 8 August 2012. The Christians had been doing that historically. The Sunni were slower in setting up institutions that benefitted their communities. Part of the reason for this is that there are various ethnic groups that are Sunni, and therefore there isn’t the sense of communal cohesiveness and identity as found among the various Christian and Shi‘ite communities. 225 Association of Charity and Culture headed by Ibrahim Shamseddine. Untill recently, very little if any of the funding for community development was provided by international donor agencies or international NGOs. Historically the Shi‘ite community itself – both in Lebanon and in the diaspora, provided all the funds needed for the welfare of the community. The lesson from the Shi‘ites of Lebanon and the basic principle is that community itself is responsible for its own development and transformation. Unlike Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) which limits the extent of development in a community to the resources available within the geographical limits of the community, the Shi‘ites leveraged their relationship with those who had migrated to the urban areas of Lebanon, as well as those who had emigrated overseas, to access the resources needed for development. These were channeled back through community institutions like the charitable foundations to provide services, build infrastructure, and improve the quality of life. They were not dependent on international donor agencies for funding but identified resources within their own community globally. For Christian missions involved in integral mission, there are two lessons. When doing community development as part of the witness of the Church, rather than immediately bringing in funds and resources into the community, every effort must be made to help the community identify the resources to which they have access, both internally and externally. Secondly, for the Christian community to reach beyond its own communal 226 boundaries and help another community is a very powerful sign of a very different value system, which in fact is a demonstration of the reality of the Kingdom of God.608 2. Provision of Social Service When Ibrahim Shamseddine was asked what factors enabled the Shi‘ite community to move out of the margins of society, he identified that access to education as the most important. He gave the example of farmers who migrated from the rural areas of south Lebanon to the suburbs of Beirut. These farmers would sell their ancestral properties in the village, work at menial jobs and live in very modest accommodations in order to send their children (at least one son) to a good school. This story was repeated thousands of times. Within a generation the fortunes of the family would have changed.609 One of the unique things within the larger Islamic society in Lebanon that the Shi‘ites did was to send their daughters to school.610 Saddredine Sadr reflecting on the legacy of his father (Imam Musa Sadr) added that the provision of schools and clinics in areas of south Lebanon and the Bekaa (valley), areas which the government had historically neglected, were important in ensuring better health and future opportunities through education.611 608 See footnote 51. 609 Ibrahim Shamseddine. Interview with the author. Beirut, Lebanon. 8 August 2012. 610 Ibid. The Christians had done this too but the Sunni community was much more conservative. 611 Saddredine Sadr. Interview with author. Beirut, Lebanon. 11 October 2012. In the interview with Hussein and Nadeen, they mentioned the impact of education on the family. It was not unusual for Shi‘a families to send their children to Christian schools until the Shi‘ite leadership set up their own schools in the late 1960s and the 1970s. Hussein and Nadeen. Interview with author. Beirut, Lebanon. 10 December 2012. 227 The education that Ibrahim Shamseddine and Saddredine Sadr were referring to was not just access to primary education as stipulated in the Millennium Development Goals.612 It was access to primary, secondary and tertiary education. They had seen the impact of the schools, colleges and universities that the Christian missionaries had established and how they had transformed the Christian communities in the country (cf. Chapter 6). International and national NGOs today focus on only ensuring access to primary education and often stop at that. They also do not invest in establishing educational institutions. They have somehow missed the scope of education necessary for community transformation, which the early Christian missionaries, as well as the Lebanese Shi‘ite leadership understood. Ensuring a community’s access to basic services such as health care, education, water and sanitation is often seen as being the responsibility of governments, as these are the rights of all people as theoretically outlined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Yet in many developing contexts, like Lebanon, it cannot be assumed that the government is financially capable or willing to provide the required services, especially to communities that are socially or politically marginalized. In Lebanon, as in many other countries, due to historical and political reasons, certain communities are marginalized and denied access to basic social service. The problem is the enforcement of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. When governments are not able or willing to provide services, the private sector is often a major provider of services; but the user-fees for accessing their services tend to put them beyond the reach of people living in poverty. The Shi‘ites rather than using a pay for 612 The educational focus of the MDG is to ensure universal access to primary education. Cf. Chapter 7. 228 services model, or being dependent on international donors, raised their own resources to establish and pay for the services. The lesson from the Shi‘ites of Lebanon is that without enabling a community to access basic services, especially education right through secondary school and tertiary education, communities cannot move out of the margins of society. Christian missions historically had understood this. Yet missions over the past many decades have argued that with the proliferation of private schools, this is not longer critical or needed. What they have failed to understand is that families from poor and marginalized communities are still not able to access educational services for their children. 3. An understanding of Poverty, Marginalization and Social Change Ibrahim Shamseddine described how poor his family was when they lived in Iraq, where his father Muhammad Shamseddine was studying, and how they were dependent on charity or the food that people threw away. His father never forgot it and when he returned to Lebanon he realized that the conditions in the villages in Lebanon were just like they were in 7th century Arabia during the time of Mohammad.613 Key Shi‘ite leaders in Lebanon in the mid-1900s understood the nature and causes of the poverty in their communities. They did not see poverty as merely the lack of basic services in the Shi‘ite communities but a result of historical neglect by the central government and marginalization by the other dominant ethnic and religious groups in the country. It was this neglect and marginalization that made them powerless and voiceless, as described by Robert Chambers in his model of poverty. (cf. Chapter 7). 613 Ibrahim Shamseddine. Interview with author. Beirut, Lebanon. 8 August 2012. 229 Using the criteria on which the typologies of poverty are based, the poverty of Shi‘ites in Lebanon could be described as follows. • Severity: While there were pockets of extreme poverty in south Lebanon and the Bekaa (valley) as described in David Urquhart travelogue, the majority of the poverty was moderate (where basic needs are met, but just barely) relative to the standard of living in the rest of the country. • Length of time people have been living in poverty: The poverty of the Shi‘ites was chronic and generational and not event based. However, as families migrated to the urban areas, they became part of the urban poor for at least a generation.614 Poverty among the Shi‘ites was also understood to be complicated, and sometimes complex when violence and conflict affected the area. There were multiple causes for their poverty and sometimes the pattern of the causes was not readily apparent. This is significant because this meant that simple interventions such as setting up schools, clinics and other basic services was not enough in moving them out of poverty. The complexity of causes required a more comprehensive approach to addressing the problems and issues. Imam Musa Sadr and the other Shi‘ite leaders intuitively understood Amartya Sen’s concept of the development of capacities. It was not just an issue of increasing the income of the Shi‘ite communities but increasing their capacity, thereby enabling them to function and become productive members of society. While they advocated for and sought the government’s investment into the long neglected Shi‘ite areas of the country through the building of roads, schools and clinics, they understood that the paradigm had to be balanced by a focus on people. There had to be investment into human 614 However, the author in a separate research describes how the communities in south Lebanon, the majority of whom were Shi‘ites would temporarily tip into poverty (event based poverty) in the aftermath of the various conflicts (mainly with Israel) that would impact the areas. Das and Davidson, Profiles of Poverty. 230 development, the development of capacities, where there was a focus on education to the highest level possible, on vocational training, empowerment of girls and women, and in regaining a strong sense of their communal identity.615 The Shi‘ites in Lebanon were probably more open to social change than other Islamic communities. Because of the fact that they were a minority community that had been suppressed and ignored, they had learnt to survive by being open to other religions616 and ideas, and learning from them. They learnt to relate to and build bridges with other communities. It was through this that they adopted ideas of social change. This was in sharp contrast to the Sunni communities in Lebanon, who at that time were the second largest. Because of their number and political power they tended to dominate the political agendas and did not invest in human resources in the same way the Shi‘ite community had begun to do.617 While Imam Musa Sadr launched the Movement of the Dispossessed, Harakat al- Mahrumin, which was instrumental in mobilizing the Shi‘ites and giving them a sense of identity, they also established institutions such as foundations (based on the principles of waqf) to ensure that funding and resources were focused on developing the capacity of the Shi‘ite communities. These foundations were not just centres of charity as the mosques tended to be, but were to be an investment into a community.618 615 Ibrahim Shamseddine. Interview with author. Beirut, Lebanon. 8 August 2012. Saddredine Sadr. Interview with author. Beirut, Lebanon. 11 October 2012. Even Hussein and Nadeen in their interview mentioned how critical the investment into education and vocational programs was for the leadership of the Shi‘ite community. Hussein and Nadeen. Interview with author. Beirut, Lebanon. 10 December 2012. 616 Many Shi‘a homes will have pictures of Mary and Jesus. 617 Hussein and Nadeen. Interview with author. Beirut, Lebanon. 10 December 2012. 618 Ibrahim Shamseddine. Interview with author. Beirut, Lebanon. 8 August 2012. Saddredine Sadr. Interview with author. Beirut, Lebanon. 11 October 2012. 231 The lesson from the Shi‘ites of Lebanon is that when addressing poverty, there has to be a thorough understanding of the nature and type of poverty in the community and its causes. It is not enough to merely do a needs assessment, but the history of the community needs to be understood as to why it faces the problems it does today. This is rarely done in community development. 4. The Development of a Social Movement With the advent of the Arab Spring, there has been much discussion on the effectiveness and impact of social movements to transform society. Historically, social movements such as workers’ unions, women’s suffrage, and the American civil rights movement have had a profound impact in improving the quality of lives of not only communities, but also society as a whole. While social movements have been a major catalyst for social change, community development practitioners have rarely viewed or embraced social movements as a strategy for development. 619 Part of the reason is that they appeared to occur spontaneously, and little was understood about their dynamics including how they started, how they evolved, and the forces that gave them momentum. It was felt that social movements could not be planned using structured planning methodologies like those used for project design and implementation, which have objectives and results indicators.620 619 For a detailed discussion of this see Rupen Das, Julie Davidson, Heather McGuffin, Doing Development: Theories and Practice for Social Change (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishing, to be published in 2014). 620 The most commonly used structured planning tools used by development practioners are Results Based Management (RBM) and Logical Framework Analysis (LFA). 232 There has been considerable work done on understanding social movements in the Islamic world. Quintan Wiktorowicz, Professor at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, uses Social Movement Theory (SMT) to understand Islamic activism. He writes, “Whereas the majority of studies on Islamic activism tend to assume that a particular set of grievances, translated into religious idioms and symbols engenders mobilization, various generations of social movement theory and concomitant debates have demonstrated that other factors are inextricably linked to mobilization processes, including resources mobilization, framing resonance, and shifts in opportunity structures.”621 There are a surprising number of social movements throughout the Middle East and North Africa region. In Islamic Activism: A Social Movement Theory Approach, Wiktorowicz brings together the analysis of the GIA in Algeria, Hamas in Palestine, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, and the Islah Party in Yemen, among many others. The one movement he does not identify is Imam Musa Sadr’s Movement of the Dispossessed, Harakat al-Mahrumin. As mentioned earlier, this movement did not have time to evolve with all the characteristics of a social movement because it was overtaken by the start of the Lebanese Civil War and the disappearance of Musa Sadr. However, the movement (even in its formative stages) became a focal point for the mobilization of the Shi‘ites and was vital in defining their identity and giving them a voice. While resources were mobilized and social services were provided to the community, it was Harakat al- Mahrumin that was the beginning of the Shi‘ites’ emerging as a political force.622 621 Quintan Wikotrowicz, Islamic Activism: A Social Movement Theory Approach (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2004), 4. 622 Saddredine Sadr. Interview with author. Beirut, Lebanon. 11 October 2012. Interestingly, Ibrahim Shamseddine never mentioned Musa Sadr and Harakat al-Mahrumin when asked about the various factors that influenced the empowerment of the Shi‘ites. 233 The study of social movements is interdisciplinary and comprises a range of theoretical perspectives, which makes consensus difficult. Definitions that can be useful because they are also multidisciplinary include the two following examples: i. “Social movements can be viewed as collective enterprises seeking to establish a new order of life. They have their inception in a condition of unrest, and derive their motive power on one hand from dissatisfaction with the current form of life, and on the other hand, from wishes and hopes for a new system of living. The career of a social movement depicts the emergence of a new order of life.”623 ii. “Social movements can be thought of as organized yet informal social entities that are engaged in extra-institutional conflict that is oriented towards a goal. These goals can either be aimed at a specific and narrow policy or be more broadly aimed at cultural change.”624 Some the key elements of social movements highlighted by these definitions are that they are based on collective action, they seek change and have clear objectives, and they work outside existing institutions. In addition, it should be noted that social movements usually aim to ensure that populations are able to claim their human rights. In analyzing social movements it is important to clarify that there are also other types of collective behavior. Political parties usually initiate political movements, formally or informally, with the specific political objective of obtaining and retaining power. Religious movements tend to be extra-institutional in the way they are organized, though 623 Nick Crossley, Making Sense of Social Movements (Buckingham, UK: Open University Press, 2002), 3. 624 Jonathan Christiansen, Four Stages of Social Movements (Ipswich, MA: EBSCO Publishing, 2009), 2. 234 they may be associated with institutions (for example, renewal movements within Islam and Christianity); or they may be a grassroots movement centred on a charismatic figure, a new theology, or a new spiritual emphasis. Figure 4. Three types of collective action There is much overlap between these three types of collective action. For example, religious movements could have a high degree of overlap with social movements in that both want to see specific changes in society,625 or political movements might co-opt social or religious movements. The empowerment of the Shi‘ites of Lebanon started as a social movement with a strong religious element (because of their Shi‘a Muslim identity) and then emerged into a political movement through groups such as Amal, Hezbollah and others. 625 A religious movement that is practically and socially active usually translates into a social reform movement with religious dimensions. 235 Social movements have four phases in their evolution and development. These are emergence, coalescence, bureaucratization and decline.626 In the case of Imam Musa Sadr’s Harakat al-Mahrumin, the movement was very much in the emergence phase and was moving into coalescence when events in the country and the disappearance of Imam Musa Sadr overtook it. Social movements are not only planned and organized at a community-wide level. Marginalized communities both in urban and rural areas are dynamic places where individuals and families struggle with problems and find partial solutions. While they do not solve the larger problems of the community, they incrementally improve their individual conditions. Sociologist Asef Bayat at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, calls this process social non-movements, which he defines as “collective action of noncollective actors; they embody shared practices of large numbers of ordinary people whose fragmented but similar activities trigger much social change, even though these practices are rarely guided by an ideology or recognizable leaderships and organization.”627 This is seen, for example, when thousands of people in rural areas 626 Christiansen, Four Stage, 2-4. 1) Emergence – This is the period of time when the beginnings of a movement are evident. Ideas for collective action are forming out of people’s discontent, objectives are being defined and clarified, members are being recruited, and resources are being collected. The movement at this stage may be very informal and not yet have clear structures or organization. The ideas, issues and objectives give the movement momentum. 2) Coalescence – This is the stage when the discontent is more clearly defined and the elements mentioned above provide the emerging movement with structure. There is clear leadership, an organizational structure, access to resources, and more clarity of the goals and strategies. 3) Bureaucratization – At this stage the movement has matured and there are systems and procedures in place that enable the movement to be effective. The movement has had some success in raising awareness and it has greater political power than in previous stages. Staff with training and expertise is now relied upon to carry out the day-to-day operations and ensure progress toward the movement’s goals. Trade unions are an example of social movement at this stage. 4) Decline – The final stage is decline, but this is not always due to failure. Social movements may decline for a number of reasons, including: success (the goals are achieved), failure (organizational or strategic), co-optation (by the movement’s targets or other powerful interests), repression (by the authorities or other external agents), or establishment within mainstream society (which means there is no longer a need for the movement). 627 Asef Bayat, Life as Politics: How Ordinary People Change The Middle East (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2010), 14. 236 individually choose to move to the urban areas, each seeking a better life in the city; over a period of time it would appear to be a collective action, but it is done by individuals and is not necessarily a planned phenomenon. Another example is individual families in slums who tap into water and electricity connections illegally, or extend their dwelling marginally onto public land illegally, which may cumulatively force the government to take action and regularize services in that area. Each of these is a nonmovement. Bayat concludes, “These masses of largely atomized individuals, by such parallel practices of everyday encroachments, have virtually transformed the large cities of ... many developing countries, generating a substantial outdoor economy, new communities, and arenas of self-development in the urban landscapes.”628 In social non-movements, the action of each individual or family is subtle, but cumulatively they not only affect the immediate context, but can have significant impact in the social, ideological and legal realms.629 The migration and emigration of the Shi‘ites out of the rural areas of south Lebanon to the suburbs of Beirut and overseas was a social non-movement which was to have a significant impact on the empowerment of the Shi‘ites. It is clear that social movements such as Harakat al-Mahrumin, which became a focal point for Shi‘ite identity and action, and social non-movements, such as the gradual massive migration of the Shi‘ites from the rural to the urban areas, were critical in enabling the Shi‘ites of Lebanon to move from the margins of society. The lesson from the Shi‘ites of Lebanon is that it is not enough to provide basic social services to enable a community to move out of poverty. There has also to be planned and spontaneous 628 Ibid, 15. 629 Ibid, 17 237 collective action to address injustice and marginalization. This has the additional advantage of providing the poor an identity and empowering them. 5. Appealing to their Cultural Unconscious One of the key elements of Social Movement Theory is the cultural framing of the message of what the movement is about. The cultural framing reflects the values, worldview and ideology of the individual. It draws on stories, language, identity and cultural symbols in order to attract and motivate recruits. It taps into the history and cultural unconscious630 of the disenfranchised group and articulates the ideology for the movement. The cultural framing by the group is in the context of what it identifies as the problem and the structural changes required. The articulated ideology is in response to the perceived problem. Sociologists David Snow at the University of Arizona and Robert Benford at the University of Nebraska identify three core tasks of cultural framing by social movements:631 i. Construct the frames that diagnose the problem that needs to be addressed. This would include attributing responsibility and targeting blame. ii. Offer solutions to the problem, which include strategies and tactics that would mitigate the injustice. iii. Provide a rationale to motivate support and collective action. This cultural framing is very evident in the speeches of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah. He taps into sentiments deep in the cultural and historical consciousness of the Shi‘ites in order to consolidate Hezbollah’s influence and control of the community. 630 A concept developed by the Neo-Freudian psychoanalyst, Carl Jung. 631 Referred to in Quintan Wikotrowicz, Islamic Activism: A Social Movement Theory Approach (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2004), 16 238 Nasrallah in a speech on the eve of Arbaeen632 in December 2011 reminded the audience of the major lessons learned from Ashura in 680 A.D. when Imam Hussein was martyred; lessons that were relevant to their struggle today. Referring to Ali bin Hussein (Imam Hussein’s son) and Sayyeda Zainab (Imam Hussein’s sister) when they were taken to Umayyad Caliph Yazid’s castle after being captured, Nasrallah said “We take one sentence from the speech Ali bin Hussein said before Yazid and one sentence from Sayyeda Zainab’s speech and make them our slogan, stance and position…We repeat these stances and say: “Do you threaten us [with] death? We are the sons of Hussein, Zayn al Abidin. Allah’s prophet, household, and friends; we are the sons of [the battles of] Badr, Khaybar, Hunain, and Karbala; so death for us is a norm and Allah honors us with martyrdom”.” 633 The sense of resistance and grievance are very deep in the consciousness of the Shi‘ite community across the world. This provides the fertile ground to identify the injustices and challenges they face today. These provide the motivation to resist and to struggle for change. Neo-Freudian psychoanalyst Carl Jung’s work on identity and its relationship to culture is a framework that can be used to try and understand cultural framing. Joseph Henderson (1903-2007), often referred to as the dean of American Jungian analysts, writes that cultural unconscious is the historical memory that is between the collective unconscious and the manifested cultural patterns.634 He goes on to say that the cultural unconscious 632 Arbaeen is a Shi‘a religious observance on the 40th day after Ashura. Ashura commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Hussein in the battle of Karbala. 633 Sara Taha Moughneieh, Sayyed Nasrallah on Arbaeen: Our certainty of this Right Path is increasing. 17 January 2012, accessed 18 January 2012, http://www.almanar.com.lb/english/adetails.php?eid=41956&frid=23&cid=23&fromval=1&seccati d=14. 634 Joseph L. Henderson, “The Cultural Unconscious,” Quadrant: Journal of the C. G. Jung Foundation for Analytical Psychology 21, No. 2 (1988): 7-16. 239 draws from archetypes,635 which then form both myth and ritual. Verena Kast, Professor of psychology at the University of Zurich speaking on these issues says, “The stories we tell, the ideas we share, the remembering together, the planning together, all gives us the experience of a “We-identity”.”636 It is this cultural unconscious, the reinforcement of the we-identity, that was so critical in the empowerment of the Lebanese Shi‘a. So what are some key elements of Shi‘ite cultural unconsciousness that are still being drawn on in Lebanon? First, there is the understanding that leadership of the Shi‘ites is God-ordained.637 The implication is that clerical leadership has a critical role to play within society, not only with regards to spiritual guidance and an understanding of the religious sciences. The respect granted to the clerics is regardless of whether they adhere to the politically quietist group or the politically radical group. This same level of respect is not granted to clerical leadership in the Sunni communities. Because of this, clerics in Shi‘ite communities such as Imam Musa Sadr, Ayatollah Muhammad Fadlallah and Imam Muhammad Shamseddine were influential in providing political leadership and spearheading initiatives for social change. In the recent history of Lebanon, there have been very few Sunni clerics who have risen to the same level of prominence or been as 635 For Jung, archetypes were ancient and archaic images that draw from the collective unconscious. 636 Verena Kast, “The Cultural Unconscious and the Roots of Identity,” Keynote Address, 1st European Conference. Vilnius, June 25-27, 2009, 1-26. 1 637 This has very deep roots in Shi'ite history and theology. For a detailed discussion of this, see the final paper Shi'ite Theology and Worldview by Rupen Das for the Doctoral Directed Study (DDS) course supervised by Dr. Martin Accad. 240 influential. It is also interesting to note that secular Shi‘ite political parties have never found significant traction in Lebanon.638 The second element in Shi‘ite cultural unconscious is the sense of grievance and injustice. This is very deeply rooted within the community and is a trend throughout Shi‘ite history starting with the succession battles after the death of Muhammad through to the events at Karbala and beyond.639 In countries like Iran where the Shi‘ites are the majority, the sense is that the world is against them and that they are being treated unfairly. In the Arab countries (and in Lebanon) where they are a minority, there is a feeling and the experience of marginalization and exclusion. Political leaders such as Hassan Nasrallah and Imam Musa Sadr, repeatedly draw on this sense of grievance and injustice to galvanize the Shi‘ites. Because of this understanding of injustices against them and the perception of being robbed of what is rightfully theirs, they see themselves as heroic (the martyrdom language), and righteous (God would honour their sacrifices). Their rituals like Ashura, 638 The exception would be Harakat Amal; but here the perception is that the party is more centered on the domineering personality of Nabih Berri rather than a philosophy, ideology or theology. 639 A deep undercurrent in Shi‘ite beliefs, practices and rituals is a sense of injustice and grievance. This did not start with the events at Karbala, as some assume. After Mohammed’s death, Ali’s unique claim to the caliphate did not achieve political success. The event of the Saqifa is seen as the beginning of the injustices that were imposed on Ali, his family and followers. The Saqifa (portico), an old assembly hall of the Banu Saida, a branch of the Khazraj tribe of Medina, was where people used to discuss and resolve their crucial problems. It was there, right after the death of Muhammad that one group forced the acceptance of Abu Bakr as the sole leader of the community inspite of some voices being raised in support of Ali’s claim to the caliphate. As a result Saqifa is now synonymous with the first split within the Muslim community of faith. Following the Saqifa there were frequent attempts by the followers of Ali to overthrow the three early caliphs, whom they considered as illegitimate. All of the attempts ended in failure until the murder of Utham in 656 AD and the installation of Ali as the fourth Caliph. These continued experiences of defeat aggravated and deeply ingrained a sense of injustice because of the denial of the caliphate to Ali, which the Shi‘ites felt was rightfully his. These were the beginnings of the sense of grievance and a longing for a redress of injustices perpetuated against them. The Shi‘ites began to see themselves as victims. Further events culminated with the revolts staged by the Shiat Ali (the party of Ali) and the battle of Karbala in 680 A.D. when Hussein (Ali’s son and heir) was killed while being denied his basic rights under the accepted rules of war at the time. Hillel Fradkin, “The Paradoxes of Shiism,” Current Trends in Islamist Ideology, (Hudson Institute) 8 (2009): 5-25. 241 give expression to this sense of grief and the need for atonement. The archetype of Hussein and his resistance against perceived evil (and the annual visual representation through drama), becomes the template for resistance against evil and injustice today. It is not surprising to hear the language of “resistance” used by many Shi‘ites so widely in Lebanon today. The lesson from the Shi‘ites of Lebanon is that the desire and motivation for change and transformation cannot be imposed from outside using human rights language and goals. These do not resonate with them, as it is not part of their historical longings. The community’s cultural unconscious with its sense of grievance and dreams provide the material from which emerges their resistance against marginalization and a desire to fight for what is theirs. 6. A Vision of the Future The Shi‘ites, because of their historical sense of grievance due to their perceived sense of marginalization and injustice, have a vision of what the world could be like. Unlike conservative Sunni Muslims who believe that the only way for there to be social justice would be to return to fitra, the way God created society and the world as described in the Qur’an, the Shi‘ites look forward. Hillel Fradkin, Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute writes that their study of the holy texts and scriptures, and their practices and rituals not only dwell on the injustices of the past and present, but also look to the future. It provides them their hope to “fill the earth with justice and equity as it is now filled with injustice 242 and corruption” as they look forward to the Mahdi’s return for the redemption and perfection of the world.640 However, the challenge within Shi‘a Islam has been how to bring about social change so that there would be a just society. There are two very different visions of relating to society and authority in order to bring about change. One is a utopian vision, which has tended to be politically radical in that its ambition is to “fill the earth with justice and equity” because of the sense of injustice and failure that they had experienced. This remains one of the mottos of Shi‘ism even today. However, the repeated failures in the revolts against the Umayyads (in the 7th and 8th centuries) led others to a different vision, to defer the accomplishment of justice to a future date when the Mahdi would return.641 Interestingly, Jaafar as-Sadiq, the 6th Imam and probably the most important Shi‘ite figure of the 8th century, rejected both the course of revolt and the doctrine of the Hidden Imam, but was the chief proponent of the quietist approach. A consequence of Jaafar as- Sadik’s teaching was that a living and visible person was the “regnant” or reigning Imam, even if his rule was incomplete. So in effect he treaded the middle ground between revolt and waiting for the return of the Mahdi – a political quietist approach.642 It is the political quietist approach of Jaafar as-Sadiq that has emerged to be the model for Shi‘ite activism. While it is politically quietist, it is socially active. Ibrahim Shamseddine, 640 Fradkin, The Paradoxes, 13 641 Those who believe in the Mahdi (the Hidden Imam) and await his return are known as Twelver Shi’ism. It is the most prevalent form of Shi’ism today, is pervasive mostly in Iran, Lebanon and Bahrain. They believe in a line of twelve infallible imams descended from Ali and in that they had been divinely appointed from birth. They also believe that the twelfth and last of these imams “disappeared” in the 941 AD and that this “hidden imam” is expected to return one day to restore peace and judge the world. This hidden imam is known as the Mahdi and in the centuries since there have been period of the resurgence of political Mahdism, echoes of which have been heard in the last few decades in Iran and southern Iraq. 642 Fradkin, The Paradoxes, 21 243 a leading voice among the independent Shi‘as of Lebanon, does not believe in the Iranian concept of Vilayet-e-Faqih (the rule of the Jurists) in Lebanon and the establishment of an Islamic state.643 He continues in the tradition of Imam Muhammad Fadlallah and Imam Musa Sadr who believed in a pluralistic Lebanese state,644 one where the Shi‘ites of Lebanon would be equal citizens and have a political voice along with others.645 Seyed Javad Miri, Professor at Chita State University in Siberia-Russia, writes how Imam Musa Sadr moved beyond the traditional role of the conservative religious authorities, who he felt were “mostly out of step with grand scale changes that human societies have gone through.” 646 Like contemporary Islamic thinker Tariq Ramadan, Imam Musa Sadr believed in engaging with social issues from an Islamic perspective.647 Shi‘ite leadership 643 Ibrahim Shamseddine. Interview with author. Beirut, Lebanon. 24 June 2013. He said that there is no concept of an Islamic government in the Qur’an. The Qur’an addresses the individual and the Islamic community and how it should be governed and not beyond it. According to him, an Islamic government was a tool that evolved based on a need for governance over a wider area. Only Shi‘ite jurisprudence has dealt with the Rule of the Jurist (Vilayet-e-Faqih). The idea is that the Imam should be in charge of the entire public affairs of the Muslims, and in this respect the ruling Jurist will not be unlike the Prophet Mohammed and the Shi’ite Imams after him in having authority in all aspects and areas of society. The concept of Vilayet-e-Faqih has seen a revival since the Islamic revolution in Iran and there is much discussion as to how relevant it is in other countries where Shi‘ites have a significant power base, but may not be a majority. In Lebanon, there is a deep fear among the non-Shi‘ite communities that Hezbollah would like to establish the Rule of the Jurist in the country. 644 Musa Sadr was known for his efforts at building bridges between the various religious groups and is famous for having preached in various churches. Saddredine Sadr. Interview with author. Beirut, Lebanon. 11 October 2012. 645 While Hezbollah has often been accused of seeking to establish a Shi‘a Islam dominated Lebanese state, it has rather sought political alliances from other religious ethnic groups to achieve political power. It’s unstated objective, as that of other Shi‘ite political groups and militias is to protect the place and power of the Shi‘ite community within Lebanon. Ibrahim Shamseddine. Interview with author. Beirut, Lebanon. 24 June 2013. In addition, Hassan Nasrallah in the interview with Al-Watan Al-Arabi, stated, “We have never proposed the idea of imposing an Islamic Republic on Lebanon by force, and will not do it in future.” Nicholas Noe, ed., Voice of Hezbollah: The Statements of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, (London: Verso, 2007), 90. It was the Lebanese Shi‘ite scholar Muhammad Shamseddine (Ibrahim Shamseddine’s father) who articulated a model to provide an Arab alternative to the Vilayet-e-Faiqh. Being part of a historically marginalized community in Lebanon which was experiencing revival and renewal through Imam Musa Sadr’s Movement of the Deprived, Shamseddine hoped to safeguard the Arab Shi‘ite communities by both questioning the soundness of Vilayet-e-Faqih as an authoritative principle while also emphasizing the continuing validity of the integration of Shi‘ite communities within their own respective societies as an achievable political goal without losing their communal identity. 646 Miri, Reflections, 15. 647 Ibid, 15 244 provided a clear vision of why changes were necessary and what the changes would look like.648 The lesson from the Shi‘ites of Lebanon is that for a community to be motivated to move out of the margins of society and out of poverty, they need a clear vision articulated by its leadership of what a just and equitable society would look like. Chapter 3 and 4 identified the visions of the Kingdom of God as being central in the Church addressing poverty. The Old Testament in Is. 65:17-25 paints a word picture of what the Kingdom of God would look like. Jesus, at the inaugurations of His ministry in what has come to be known as the Nazareth Manifesto in Lk. 4: 18-19, declared that His Kingdom would be a place where the poor would hear the Good News, where there would be freedom for the prisoners, where the oppressed would go free, and where the blind would be able to see again. III. And So…Lessons for Community Development and Missions in the Middle East When development professionals design projects for sustainable change, they address the following factors. In essence these are principles of good community development where development is understood as sustainable change.649 1. The scope of change that the project would address: It is important to have some idea of how big or small the change will be and what aspects of the community it will 648 This is in sharp contrast to the Sunni perspective. When Sheikh Mohammad was asked in the interview as to how did he balance the idea of Islam being a holistic religion which also included politics and the issue of governance, his response was that while he believed in the need for an Islamic state in Lebanon, the reality was that it was not possible because of the pluralistic nature of Lebanese society and politics. 649 This is adapted from Rupen Das, Julie Davidson, Heather McGuffin, Doing Development: Theories and Practice for Social Change (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishing, to be published in 2014) 245 affect. As the program is implemented, the nature and specific extent of the change will become more evident. 2. Local involvement, participation and ownership: For change to be relevant and sustainable the local population needs to be participating from the outset and the community must desire the change. While people and organizations outside the community may facilitate this process, it should be “owned” by the community in order to make sure that the changes are sustainable. 3. Building on local solutions, expertise and technology: Before attempting to address problems in a community, it should be determined whether potential solutions already exist within the local context. Available local solutions can be identified during the assessment phase by assessing the community’s capacities, expertise, and access to technology. Social change that is based on local solutions is often far more effective than change that is the result of externally imposed solutions. 4. Program design: The program design must be specific, in that any activity must address the specific problem(s) identified. There must be a demonstrable cause and effect link between the planned activity and the proposed solution. The discussion about sustainability needs to also start early, when the program is being designed. This includes examining the existing capacity and level of expertise within the community, and considering the continuation of the activities after the project ends or other possible options that would maintain the results and changes. 5. Local government policies: During the design of programs, it is critical to be aware of the policies of the local government when looking at sustainability issues. Activities 246 and the sustainability of the changes in the long term might be dependent on government support or subsidies. 6. Funding: Many programs fail to achieve sustainability because of a lack of attention during the design phase to funding, not only during the project but also beyond it. 7. Risks and threats: Risks and threats are any events that could undermine the existence of the project and the changes that are planned. Risks and threats can be financial, political, environmental, social or technological. Any discussion on implementing a project and sustainability would not be complete without addressing the longer-term risks and threats to the planned activities and desired changes. 8. Training and capacity building is fundamental to sustainable community development in that it enables the community to continue with the process of change. 9. Responsibility for change and sustainability: As a program is approaching its end, an individual, group or institution in the community should become responsible for following up with the results and ensuring that necessary resources are available to sustain the positive change. 10. The duration of the project: The length of time chosen for a project’s duration can help or hinder its success. This is especially true when projects involve shifting entrenched attitudes, perspectives and habits. Experience indicates that longer projects have a higher chance of achieving sustainable change. While these remain the basic principles of good community development, this research highlighted factors that go beyond merely improving the quality of life of a community to 247 actually empowering them and moving them from the margins of society and marginalization to becoming productive citizens. The principles of good community development are technical considerations that ensure good project design with the assumption that they will result in social change. Normally, the goals of development are economic development or enabling individuals to attain their human rights as articulated by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. What are missing in the discussion are the human and social strategies that empower and motivate the community for social change. Many development projects while well designed fail because these were never factored in. It is these human and social strategies that this research on the Shi‘ite community in Lebanon has highlighted. 1. A sense of community and care of their own. This is a value that is hardly ever mentioned in the discussions of community development. While there is some overlap between the idea of local involvement, participation and ownership, it is more than that. It is not just the community having ownership over a project or a strategy of change; it is a value where the community has a sense of responsibility for the issues and problems they face, especially the care for the poor and vulnerable. This value is foundational to any development work that is done. 2. Provision of social services. While all good development practice ensures that communities have access to basic services, this research highlighted that education is fundamental to empowerment of a community. However, unlike one of the Millennium Development Goals where the focus of the international community is 248 ensuring universal access to primary education, the Shi‘ites of Lebanon who had seen the impact of the Christian missionary educational institutions, believed that education had to include secondary and tertiary levels if the community was to be empowered. 3. An understanding of poverty, marginalization and social change. Poverty is complex and cannot be addressed piecemeal sector by sector, such as ensuring access to water and sanitation, health services, education, proper shelter, ensuring food security and so on. While these are important, the Shi‘ite leadership intuitively understood Robert Chambers’ model where poverty was about marginalization, voicelessness and powerlessness. Unless these issues are also addressed, no matter how much access they have to the basic social services, they would remain in the margins of society and in poverty. 4. Development of a social movement and non-movement. Social change is not just about transforming individual lives and that of a family. Whole communities need to be mobilized to want change. Marginalized communities are not just poor but are excluded from civil and political discourse. Unless these are addressed, then any improvement in the quality of life cannot be sustained. Marginalized communities need a sense of identity, and a focus and momentum for change, and a social movement provides these. 5. Appealing to their cultural unconscious. The motivation for change cannot be imposed from outside the community. They usually will not be able to relate to values and paradigms that are foreign to them (such as human right). Identifying their 249 dreams for the community and their desire to redress historical injustices are powerful motivators for change. 6. A vision for the future. This is closely related to #5, as visions for the future flow out of their dreams and their desire to right the wrongs done to them. Successful social change initiatives have always presented a clear vision of the future.650 In community development this is rarely done The most commonly used strategy to introduce socioeconomic initiatives into a community is through the use of projects. The model of a project cycle as used by development practioners is as follows: Figure 5. The Project Cycle 650 Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech on 28 August 1963 is a classic example of this. “I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the beat of injustice, sweltering in the heat of oppressions, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and 'justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have dream… one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers…” Martin Luther King, "" I Have a Dream..."," 1963, accessed 13 November 2013, www.archives.gov/press/exhibits/dream- speech.pdf. 250 The process starts with conducting a needs assessment and ends with evaluating the project and determining whether the project should end or be redesigned and continue. The model arising out of this research (presented in the appendix) incorporates the principles of sustainable community development with the lessons from the Shi‘ite community of how to move out of the margins of society. The model does not start with assessment of needs and capacities of the community, as is the standard practice in community development. Rather it starts with exploring and understanding the historical grievances and dreams of the community that are embedded in their cultural unconscious. It is important to understand the socio-political reasons as to why the community is marginalized and is in poverty. This then is harnessed as their motivation for change. Based on this, a clear vision of what the future could look like needs to be articulated repeatedly by the leadership. The second step is to conduct a participatory assessment of needs of the community. The third step is to explore the values and resources of the community with regards to the following: • How do they care for the poor and vulnerable? What values, mechanisms and institutions already exist in the community? • What resources do they have within the community and what resources can they access from those who have migrated out of the community? It is also important to develop institutions within the community through which the funds and resources can be handled. The fourth step is to ensure that the community has access to basic social services. However, the emphasis should be on access to education at the primary, secondary and 251 tertiary levels. Only at this point should the initiatives for change be identified and projects be designed using good project-design principles. Finally the community needs to be able to socially and politically move into the mainstreams of society and be part of the civic and political discourses. Social movements are an effective strategy to accomplish this. In addition the community can be taught the principles of non-movements, where individuals and families take incremental steps, which together over time bring about significant change. Incorporating the human and social dimensions into the change process of community development increases the possibility of a community being able to move out of the margins of society and experience transformation. IV. Summary This chapter identified the six factors that helped the empowerment of the Shi'ite community to move out of poverty. The principles of good community development do not usually include addressing the motivation of the community for change and rarely include advocacy at the community level as part of project design. Yet these were an integral part of what the Shi‘ite leadership in Lebanon did to enable the community to move out of the margins of society. The strategy of the mission of God through the Church is to announce the Good News that the Kingdom of God is here (the Great Commission – evangelism and disciple making) and to demonstrate the reality of that Kingdom (the Great Commandment). The Great Commandment is not just about demonstrating the love of God through charity, but 252 also enabling the community to experience transformation so that they would not continue to experience the evils of injustice, marginalization and poverty. The Nazareth Manifesto (Lk. 4:18-19) clearly identified that compassion was at the core of Jesus’ ministry and what He did. Out of that came the advocacy for justice and the proclamation of the Good News that the Kingdom of God had now come and will one day come in all its fullness (cf. Ken Bailey’s analysis in Chapter 4 above). In the standard practice of community development, if any advocacy for justice is planned, it is usually not incorporated into the design of the project, but is often an activity separate from project and the process of change. The lesson from the Shi‘ites of Lebanon is that the issue of justice is an integral part of any attempt to move a community from the margins of society. This is probably closer to the Biblical model as seen in the Old and New Testaments, and in the history of missions. Imam Musa Sadr identifies justice resulting in freedom for the community as being fundamental before any sustainable development can take place. He writes, “Freedom is the best modality to express human possibilities, and only through it the social forces could be turned into creative human resources…Nobody can serve humanity in a society where there is no freedom…no one can actualize the divine potentialities in an oppressive society.”651 The human and social dimensions of achieving justice and freedom are the lessons from the Shi‘ite community in Lebanon for Christian missions in the Middle East involved in integral mission. 651 Miri, Reflections, 33. 253 Chapter 10 CONCLUSION The aim of this thesis project is to respond to the question, “What can be learnt from the efforts and strategies of the Shi‘ite community in Lebanon to move out of centuries of marginalization and poverty?” It is hoped that the response to this question will enable the Churches and Christian missions in the region involved in integral mission to be more effective as they seek to complement the verbal proclamation of the Gospel with demonstrating the reality of the Kingdom of God through its acts of compassion and efforts toward social justice. There were two questions that needed to be addressed initially. What does poverty look like in the region, and secondly whether there are models of communities moving out of poverty? The first question was answered through an extensive study by the author of poor communities in Lebanon to understand the causes and dynamics of poverty. To answer the second question the research for this thesis started with carefully reviewing Islamic conceptions of poverty. This provided the background to analyze how the Shi‘as of Lebanon moved from the margins of society and from poverty to becoming power brokers in Lebanon. To date, their empowerment has only been analyzed through a political lens. However, understanding the social dynamics of the process could provide valuable lessons for the Churches and the strategy of integral mission in how to enable communities to become empowered to move out of poverty in the context of the Middle East. 254 The Biblical study of the Old and New Testaments, an understanding of the practice of the early Church with regards to charity, and a review of the theological issues involved highlighted specific aspects of poverty and the response of the people of God to the poor. A social-scientific and historical approach to the study of poverty in the Bible, helped explain the social, economical and political contexts that created and entrenched poverty in the societies of the Old and New Testaments and explained much of the teaching on the issues of poverty, care of the poor and of justice. While there are a number of causes for poverty, the main cause identified in both the Old and New Testaments is injustice perpetuated by the wealthy and the elite of society. While charity to meet the immediate needs of the poor and vulnerable is encouraged in both the Testaments, the writings of the Prophets indicate that the issue of poverty cannot be resolved without addressing the issue of injustices that the poor face. The second aspect that was very evident from the review was that the responsibility for the poor and vulnerable in their midst belong to the whole community of the people of God. This was different from the cultures around them, where this responsibility was usually that of the king. A few of the wealthy elite were also known for their generosity. These cultures usually took care of their own. They rarely felt any responsibility for those who did not belong to their community. The Biblical teaching in both the Testaments and the practice of the early Church all indicate that compassion and charity is not to be limited to only to those who belong to one’s own community but is for anyone in need. Using Croatian theologian at Yale University Divinity School, Miroslav Volf’s concept 255 of exclusion and embrace, the people of God were not to exclude anyone but rather embrace even those who did not belong to their community.652 The third aspect identified through this review was that charity and care for the poor and vulnerable is an integral part of one’s faith and spirituality. It is impossible to follow the living God through Jesus Christ without demonstrating compassion for the vulnerable in society. Jas. 1:27, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world,” summarizes the teaching of Scripture on this. Righteousness is therefore fulfilling one’s obligation to the poor and vulnerable, as well as to God. Fourthly, early church history indicates that the people of God need to respond to social needs and issues in context. God is perceived and understood differently by people in various contexts. This is relevant not only for different cultures, but also for different socio-economic groups. The poor perceive God in the Bible differently. Therefore theology also needs to be contextual. In reviewing some of the theoretical paradigms to analyze poverty, it was clear that poverty is no longer understood as merely the lack of material or financial assets but also as marginalization, voicelessness, and powerlessness. Poverty is analyzed by its severity, on whether it is chronic/generational or transitory, whether it is event based, and as to its level of complexity. In responding to poverty, development initiatives should not just 652 Miroslav Volf, Exclusion and Embrace: A theological exploration of identity, otherneness, and reconciliation, (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1996) 256 focus on developing infrastructure only but on people and their capacity. Any initiative to address poverty has to develop the capacity of the community and not just meet immediate needs. Fundamental to all of this is the understanding that poverty is complex with multiple causes, and cannot be addressed with simple and simplistic solutions and strategies. Resulting Conclusions from the above is as follows: i. Cause of poverty: The primary cause of poverty is injustice. ii. The nature of poverty: Poverty is not just an economic issue. It is complex and its dynamics need to be understood. Most poverty is chronic; even those experiencing transitional poverty remain vulnerable. Its social dimensions of marginalization, voicelessness and powerlessness have a profound impact on the community. iii. Responsibility of the poor: Care for the poor and marginalized has always been a fundamental part of the Christian faith and is the responsibility of the whole Church. iv. Extent of the responsibility: Responsibility for the poor and vulnerable is not limited to one’s own community but to anyone in need, regardless of race, religion, gender or ethnicity. v. The focus in addressing poverty: In addressing the needs of the poor, the focus is not just meeting immediate needs through charity but on the establishment of the rule of God. Development theory refers to sustainable transformation as the goal of addressing poverty. There needs to be a clear vision of what the future would look like. From a Christian perspective, it is the reign of God; from a development perspective it is ensuring that the rights of every individual are protected. 257 vi. Responses to poverty: There is no standard template of how to respond to poverty. Responses to poverty are context specific, as do the theological underpinnings (contextual theology). In the Islamic conceptions of poverty, the causes of poverty are primarily behavioral – laziness, squandering their wealth, exploitation and greed. Unlike the Biblical understanding of the causes of poverty, the Qur’an does not perceive social injustice as a cause of poverty, though some later scholars do refer to it. Secondly, the nature of poverty is never fully analyzed within Islam. As stated in Chapter 8, the Qur’an and the hadith do not provide all the answers on this issue, and Islamic development practioners depend on secular analysis of the context drawn from the social sciences. Similar to the teaching of the Old and New Testaments, charity is at the core of the Islamic faith and practice. One’s spirituality is expressed through charity and the Qur’an prescribes zakat, sadaqa and waqf as the appropriate means of responding to poverty. While the Qur’an explicitly states that the poor and vulnerable within the Muslim community are the responsibility of the community, it is not clear whether those outside the Muslim community should also be cared for. Islamic practice throughout history has focused predominantly on assisting the poor and vulnerable within the Muslim community. The challenge within Islam is the understanding of how transformation takes place. The tension is between tradition and change. There is no concept within traditional Islamic thought of social mobility and transformation. The question is whether Islam has a concept of social justice that enables the poor to move beyond being merely recipients 258 of charity. The Qur’anic understanding of development is to improve the world and society with the resources that are available, because man has been made God’s viceregent here on earth. However, the concept of social change among most traditional Islamic scholars is that only by a return to laws of God (as revealed in the Qur’an) and they being enforced by the authority of an Islamic state, will there be justice and social issues (such as poverty) addressed. However, some contemporary Islamic thinkers challenge this perspective. While being rooted in the meaning and message of the Qur’an they feel that Islam needs to confront modern society and address social problems with the latest thinking and technology available. They warn against idealizing the past at the expense of any novel approach to contemporary issues. It is this struggle between tradition and change that is at the heart of any social vision that Muslims have for the future. It is with these conceptions of poverty, transformation and social change that the journey of the Shi‘ite community in Lebanon out of being marginalized was analyzed. The Shi‘a community in Lebanon under the leadership of Imam Musa Sadr and others did not resort to tradition but were willing to embrace change as the means towards social justice for their community. The human and social strategies that they employed to achieve this are as follows. i. Enhancing the sense of community and care for their own. ii. Provision of social services, especially education all the way up to the tertiary level. iii. An understanding of poverty, marginalization and social change. 259 iv. Mobilization of the community through social movement and non-movements. v. Motivating them by appealing to their cultural unconscious. vi. Providing a clear vision for the future. The lessons for the Church and Christian missions in the Middle East are as follows. In the standard practice of community development advocacy for justice is usually not incorporated into the project design. Advocacy is usually something that is done separately from the project itself. One of the lessons from the Shi‘ites of Lebanon is that the issue of justice is an integral part of any attempt to move a community from the margins of society. This is probably closer to the Biblical model of addressing poverty as seen in the Old and New Testaments, and in the history of missions. The second lesson from the Shi‘ites of Lebanon is that addressing poverty is more than ensuring that the community had access to health services, education, and income generation initiatives. Incorporating the human and social dimensions identified above into the change process of community development increases the possibility of a community being able to move out of the margins of society and experiencing transformation. The model arising out of this research (presented in the appendix) incorporates the principles of sustainable community development with the lessons from the Shi‘ite community of how to move out of the margins of society. The process is not just the improvement of the quality of life but of empowerment and seeking justice. 260 i. Explore and understand the historical grievances and dreams of the community that are embedded in their cultural unconscious. These are the socio-political reasons as to why the community is marginalized and is in poverty. This provides a vision for the future, as well as being the fount of their motivation for change. ii. Conduct a participatory assessment of needs of the community. iii. Explore the values and resources of the community as to how they care for the poor and vulnerable, what values, mechanisms and institutions already exist in the community, and what resources they have within the community and what resources they can access from those who have migrated out of the community. iv. Ensure that the community has access to basic social services, especially education at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels. It is only at this point that the initiatives for change should be identified and projects designed using good project design principles. v. The community needs to be able to socially and politically move into the mainstreams of society and be part of the civic and political discourses. Social movements are an effective strategy to accomplish this and for seeking justice. So What Does This All Mean? This research and thesis is not just about a more effective methodology for community development. It is about integral mission, the proclamation of the King and His Kingdom. The danger of focusing only on the Kingdom of God is that Christianity is reduced to a set of ethical teachings, which is no different than any other religion. Focusing only on the King deprives human beings from experiencing the richness of life and blessings that God intends for all of His creation. Professor Ronald Sider has stated, “The ethical 261 teachings of Jesus are not the core of the Christian faith. At the centre of the Christian faith is an I-Thou encounter with the living God and experiencing forgiveness of sins and empowering to live a transformed life.”653 But are transformed communities possible in a sinful world on this side of eternity? Enabling communities to experience transformation is an integral part of the mission of God. It is a sign of what the Kingdom of God is like. Sider describes the resurrection as the key to understanding why striving for transformation and justice on this side of eternity is important. There is continuity and discontinuity between our work now and the coming Kingdom, just as there was between Jesus of Nazareth and the risen Christ. Jesus of Nazareth was raised from the dead. There is discontinuity between the social justice we create now and the final Kingdom. But there is continuity. This groaning creation will be restored. The Tree of Life is for the healing of the nations, purged from sin and evil. Working for peace and justice is not based on naive thinking that there will be transformation – but with an understanding of where history is going. The word transformation is still valid for changes in the here and now. There will be times when sin and evil will reign while at other times there will be season of peace and justice.654 Integral mission is a means to an end. The goal is the Kingdom of God – the reign of God here on earth. While the strategies for the Great Commission are fairly clear, there is less clarity on how the Great Commandment should be accomplished. The Great Commandment is not just about demonstrating the love of God through charity, but it is also about enabling communities to experience transformation so that they would not continue to experience the evils of injustice, marginalization and poverty. Into this aspect this thesis has sought to provide insight into. 653 Ron Sider. Lecture, Acadia Divinity College, Acadia University, Wolfville, NS. May, 27, 2013. 654 Ibid. 262 Appendix 1 CONSENT FORM A. My name is Rupen Das and I’m the Program Director of the Masters program at the Institute for Middle East Studies in Mansourieh. B. This study is being conducted to try and understand how the Shia community in Lebanon moved out of poverty. In order to do that, I am interviewing in-depth a number of key leaders and thinker to understand their perspectives on the events that happened. I will also focus on what the Qur’an and Islam have to say about poverty and helping the poor. I am also looking at all the literature, speeches of key leaders and other material that is available to understand the issues involved. C. I am doing my Doctor of Ministry (DMin) at Acadia University and this research is part of my doctoral thesis. D. The main benefit of this research is that it will focus on something positive that has happened to the Shia community in Lebanon. This is an untold story and something that needs to be documented and told. As far as I can see there are no risks involved. E. This interview will last between an hour to an hour and a half. If it is possible I would like to interview again to discuss these issues further. F. You are under no obligation to participate in the interview and are welcome to terminate the conversation at any point. G. If after the interview you decide that you would not like to have the interview to be used, you can ask for the material to be removed up to the point of the submission of the dissertation. H. Check the appropriate statement: ____ I agree for my name to be used in the dissertation and if the dissertation or any part of it were to be ever published. A copy of the research dissertation will be in the public domain at the National Archives. ____ I do not agree for my name to be used in the dissertation and if the dissertation or any part of it were to be ever published If your name is used, then every effort will be made for you to verify what you have said, especially if you are being quoted. I. If the information with your name is used in any other publication beyond the thesis, permission will be gotten from you. 263 J. Incase there are issues or questions, the Acadia Research Ethics Board Chair can be contacted at: Dr. Stephen Maitzen Email (best method of contact): [email protected] Telephone: 902.585.1407 Facsimile: 902.585.1096 Mailing address Research Ethics Board 214 Horton Hall Acadia University Wolfville, Nova Scotia Canada B4P 2R6 K. By agreeing to be interviewed you have not waived any rights to legal recourse in the event of research-related harm Signature of Interviewee: ______Date: ______ Rupen Das Date: ______ 264 Appendix 2 APPROVAL FROM THE RESEARCH ETHIC BOARD 265 Appendix 3 THE MODEL FOR EMPOWERING COMMUNITIES OUT OF POVERTY The model for empowering a community to move out of the margins of society and out poverty builds on the principles of good community development and includes the social and cultural dimensions of the community in order to plan for the changes that are necessary. I. Basic Assumptions 1. Development is often understood as an activity that needs to be done or a strategy that needs to be implemented. There is a certain simplicity in saying one is able to “do development.” It has the confidence of countless youth who want to change the world. The expression is an easy and useful tag for this type of work. However it can give the misleading impression that development is something that an individual or organization “does” to a community or target population. In reality, development is not so much an act by a person or organization as it is a complex process that involves many different individuals, groups and institutions, policies ranging from community to international levels, and an extremely wide range of resources. Development requires intangibles such as a willingness and commitment to change, as well as tangibles such as political allies and mechanisms that enable change to actually occur. The work of any institution, group or individual only contributes to the overall process of development. That said, socioeconomic change usually requires an intentional decision and action by individuals and groups. Sometimes this takes place at a national level 266 where policies determine the focus and direction of change. Other times there is organized and planned collective action through development projects or social movements. There can also be an informal process known as nonmovements, which sociologist Asef Bayat describes as the process of large numbers of ordinary people whose “fragmented but similar activities trigger much social change.”655 In each case the individuals and groups are “doing” something focused on change. This is at the core of any development process. 2. There is a misperception held by some that development is about doing activities. In these cases community development tends to start at the wrong place. The following occurs too often: A person, organization or community sees a need, wants to respond to it, and begins by planning activities straight away and raising funds for the activities. They may believe they already know what should be done to alleviate the problem in the community, perhaps because they have done similar projects elsewhere in the past. When they report on the results of the project after its completion, they might state that 200 people received assistance, 50 women were trained, 10 wells were dug, or that a school was built. This may sound helpful at the time, but important preliminary steps were missed and there is no way of knowing if sustainable, long-term change has taken place. Development is about change. Community development is about social and economic change in the lives of individuals and families. It addresses problems that prevent communities from enjoying the quality of life that they could have. Instead of 655 Asef Bayat, Life as Politics: How Ordinary People Change the Middle East (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2010). 267 focusing mainly on activities, development involves a process of thinking about the nature and dynamics of a problem in a community, identifying possible solutions, and then implementing a strategy (including activities) to bring about the desired change. It means being intentional about change. Before leaping into planning activities, preliminary steps need to be taken that increase the likelihood of the project’s appropriateness, effectiveness and success. The first step is to develop a thorough understanding of the causes and consequences of the problem, and to identify the strengths (capacities) and weaknesses of the community. This should be done in a participatory manner in which the community and other stakeholders are involved in identifying the problem and understanding its dynamics. Only when this preliminary work is completed should the process move ahead to identifying strategies and then implementing activities to bring about the desired change. 3. Community involvement is a crucial factor for the long-term success of development projects. Unfortunately it is not uncommon to see an outsider to the community (an individual, Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), government department, private contractor, or other) working intentionally toward change while the community remains passive. This development work could consist of providing services, raising awareness, building capacities, or any number of other activities. In such a case, a fundamental question to ask is: Did the community itself want these changes? In order for a change to take root in a community and have a long-term effect, it is critical that the community have ownership over the process of change. While 268 people and institutions from outside the community may at times be the most appropriate players to initiate or facilitate change, they should tap into the hopes, concerns and aspirations of the community and involve its members in the change process. This way the change and development is not only meaningful but also far more likely to be sustainable II. Proposed Model The proposed model is a process of thinking and planning to ensure change. It may not be completely linear as many of the steps can happen simultaneously, or it may also be iterative as one may return to a previous step at some point. 1. Step One: The Cultural Unconscious – Dreams and Grievances It is important to understand the socio-political reasons as to why the community is marginalized and is in poverty. The model does not start with assessment of needs and capacities of the community, as is the standard practice in community development. Rather it starts with exploring and understanding the historical grievances and dreams of the community that are embedded in their cultural unconscious. It is important to understand the socio-political reasons as to why the community is marginalized and is in poverty. This then is harnessed as their motivation for change. Based on this, a clear vision of what the future could look like needs to be articulated repeatedly by the leadership. Using focus groups and key informant interviews identify the following: 269 • Develop a history of the community and identify key events that have shaped the community as it is today. This would include social, political, cultural events. It may include conflicts, disputes, times of discrimination and marginalization. It may also include events such as natural disasters. • Explore how these key events are perceived today. How have they shaped the community’s perception of themselves? How have they shaped how others perceive them? • How do they feel about these perceptions? Do they feel victimized; is there a sense of resignation? What are their dreams of what their community could be like? Summarize these and ensure that the community owns the way the grievances and/or the dreams have been articulated. Does the community as a result of this conscientization process believe that changes can take place? 2. Step Two: Assessments of Needs The second step is to conduct a participatory assessment of needs of the community. The template below is intended as a practical tool that can be modified.656 Questions and subjects can be added or removed from the chart according to the particular requirements of an assessment in a community. The purpose of doing an assessment is to know what problems exist in the community and to understand what poverty and other social problems look like. Following are the steps of a community assessment: i. Identify the specific area of community where the assessment will be done. 656 Julie Davidson developed this assessment template in collaboration with the author and Heather McGuffin. 270 ii. Identify a team of people who will do the assessment and train them how to do it. iii. Interview individuals and families in the specified area or community to gather the information. iv. Analyze the information that has been collected. (The next section will discuss how to do this in a systematic way.) Community Assessment Chart Description/Information Gathered 1. General Information Define the area of the community that is being studied for this assessment What are the boundaries of the community? Do different people have different perceptions of the boundaries? Population Breakdown by age and gender as much as possible. How has the size and breakdown of the population changed over time? Describe the population/s living in the community Look at nationalities, ethnicity, religion, etc. How have these factors changed overtime? Location Where is it located in the country? What municipality, city, or region is it a part of? Describe the area. Are there prominent physical or natural characteristics, landmarks or features? What are the effects of the climate, environment, and geography on the area? Organizations and institutions What organizations and institutions are present in the community? What impacts do they have? How do these affect the daily lives of community members? Do they treat all community members equally? Who are the decision makers in these organizations and institutions? Summary: 1) What are specific issues, problems, and needs that arise based on the information you gathered in section 1? 1a) What are the most important issues, problems, and needs? Why are they more important? 271 1b) What issues, problems, and needs are secondary? 2) Do any of these issues, problems, or needs have the potential to increase the risk of the community in the future? Do they present any future risks? 3) Based on the information gathered and your analysis for section 1, what are some of the positive aspects that the community has? How can the community use the positive factors to improve their situation? 2. Living Conditions Number of people living in one house or dwelling Generally, how many generations live in the same house? How many family units live in the same house? If there are multiple generations/family units living in the same house/dwelling, what are the effects of this? Housing/dwelling conditions On average, how many rooms does each house have? What are the physical conditions of the house? For example, describe the roof, windows, door, floor, ventilation, humidity, sanitation, etc.? Do the physical conditions affect the well- being of the people living there? What other factors are affected by living conditions, or affect living conditions? Summary: 1) What are specific issues, problems, and needs arise based on the information you gathered in section 2? 1a) What are the most important issues, problems, and needs? Why are they more important? 1b) What issues, problems, and needs are secondary? 2) Do any of these issues, problems, or needs have the potential to increase the risk of the community in the future? Do they present any future risks? 3) Based on the information gathered and your analysis for section 2, what are some of the positive aspects that the community has? How can the community use the positive factors to improve their situation? 3. Livelihoods How do people earn money? What kinds of jobs do they have? What are their working conditions? What type of work is it (contract, seasonal, stable, daily, etc.)? Are there any 272 seasonal changes? What types of jobs do different groups have? Who works? How many wage earners are there in any given household? Who are usually the main income earners? Do wages vary for different groups? Are there people who work but do not earn an income (for example, sometimes women work in agriculture but they receive harvested crops instead of pay)? What other factors affect livelihoods in this community? Are people able to find work? What are the various traditions and cultures surrounding employment? Etc. Summary: 1) What are specific issues, problems, and needs that arise based on the information you gathered in section 3? 1a) What are the most important issues, problems, and needs? Why are they more important? 1b) What issues, problems, and needs are secondary? 2) Do any of these issues, problems, or needs have the potential to increase the risk of the community in the future? Do they present any future risks? 3) Based on the information gathered and your analysis for section 3, what are some of the positive aspects of this community? How can the community use the positive factors to improve their situation? 4. Income Sufficiency What is the average income of families in the community? Compare this to national income rate – what do most people in the country earn (e.g. what is the range of income in the country? What is considered to be a high wage versus a low wage?)? Also compare this to internationally recognized standards of poverty, such as $1.25/day. Are people paid daily, weekly, monthly, etc.? Are incomes stable? Are incomes seasonal? Are incomes formal or informal? Do people have the same income throughout the year? Are there times when they earn more/less money? Do people’s incomes vary from year to year? What are the factors that affect wages? Are they paid legally or “under the table”? Can people meet their basic needs? Are they able to save? Approximately what percent of people’s incomes are spent on basic necessities? Are they able to meet their daily, 273 weekly, monthly needs? Are they able to pay for unexpected expenses? What other factors affect incomes in this community, or are affected by incomes? Do people receive remittances from family members living outside of the community/abroad? Do people barter or trade? Are they fully dependent on their income to meet their needs, or do they have other means of meeting their needs (ex: growing their own food)? Do inflation rates and/or currency fluctuations affect the community’s ability to purchase food and/or other necessary items? Summary: 1) What are specific issues, problems, and needs that arise based on the information you gathered in section 4? 1a) What are the most important issues, problems, and needs? Why are they more important? 1b) What issues, problems, and needs are secondary? 2) Do any of these issues, problems, or needs have the potential to increase the risk of the community in the future? Do they present any future risks? 3) Based on the information gathered and your analysis for section 4, what positive aspects does the community have? How can the community use the positive factors to improve their situation? 5. Health and Nutrition What is the average life expectancy of the population? (You may be able to find this information in studies or by talking to key informants, such as health professionals or government officials) How does this compare with regional, and national life expectancies? Describe the health (morbidity) of members of the community. Are there any illnesses/diseases prevalent in the community? What factors affect the health of members of the community? Are there any groups within the community that have better/worse health than the others? Presence of clinics, hospitals, and health centres Where are these located? What services do they have? What services are they lacking? What are the communities’ perceptions of the available services? What factors prevent people from accessing health services? Does the community 274 use any traditional or natural remedies to solve or prevent health problems? What are the costs associated with using the health care services? How do people pay for health care? Do people have access to health insurance? Do health care costs represent a major cost for the community? What is the health status of the children in the community? Do children have high/low/regular birth weight? Have children had any/completed their immunizations? Are there any specific health risks affecting children? Are there any services (e.g. pediatricians) available specifically for children? What is the maternal health status in the community? Do women have access to pre-natal and post-natal services? Where do women in the community give birth (e.g. at home, in a clinic, in a hospital, etc.)? Are births assisted by a trained professional (e.g. traditional birth attendant (TBA), doctor, nurse, midwife, etc.)? Do women breast-feed? For how long? Are family planning or birth spacing techniques used? What is the average number of children per household? At what age do women normally have their first child? How have these trends changed over time? What is the status of people with disabilities in the community? Can some of these disabilities be prevented? Are there services offered specifically for people with disabilities? What is their role in the community? Are they accepted/included, able to find meaningful employment, etc.? (See section XX for more information and issues to consider.) Nutrition Are there any nutritional diseases prevalent in the community (e.g. micronutrient deficiencies, obesity, etc.)? Is healthy food available and accessible to community members at all times throughout the year? What types of foods can community members access? Is it enough? How many meals are eaten on a daily basis? What does a typical meal consist of? Does the type of food eaten change on a seasonal basis? Are people eating a variety of food? Is food stored and prepared in a hygienic/healthy manner? Does one group have more/less access to food than other groups? How have eating trends changed over time? Do community members grow their own food? What other factors affect health and nutrition in this 275 community, or are affected by the health and nutritional status of community members? Summary: 1) What are specific issues, problems, and needs that arise based on the information you gathered in section 5? 1a) What are the most important issues, problems, and needs? Why are they more important? 1b) What issues, problems, and needs are secondary? 2) Do any of these issues, problems, or needs have the potential to increase the risk of the community in the future? Do they present any future risks? 3) Based on the information gathered and your analysis for section 5, what positive aspects does the community have? How can the community use the positive factors to improve their situation? 6. Education Are there schools in or around the community? Can children and youth from the community access these schools? Are all levels of education offered within these schools (preschool, kindergarten, elementary/primary, secondary/high school, etc.)? Can community members access vocational training and/or university? What is the quality of the education provided in the schools (describe the infrastructure, resources and equipment available, teaching quality, class sizes, etc.)? What are the costs associated with education (e.g. tuition, uniforms, books and supplies, transportation, etc.)? What are the literacy levels/formal education levels found within the community? (This may be available from studies and/or from key informants such as educational experts and/or government officials) Do the levels vary for different groups (consider age, gender, nationality, ethnicity, religion, etc.)? Why? What are factors preventing access to education? How has this changed over time? Do children and youth drop out/repeat grades? Why? At what age/grade do children normally drop out? Are any groups at higher risk of dropping out/repeating grades? What other factors affect education in this community, or are affected by the educational status of community members? 276 Are schools private or public? What are the national levels of education? Are teachers available in the community? Does the government recognize schools? Etc. Summary: 1) What are specific issues, problems, and needs that arise based on the information you gathered in section 6? 1a) What are the most important issues, problems, and needs? Why are they more important? 1b) What issues, problems, and needs are secondary? 2) Do any of these issues, problems, or needs have the potential to increase the risk of the community in the future? Do they present any future risks? 3) Based on the information gathered and your analysis for section 6, what positive aspects does the community have? How can the community use the positive factors to improve their situation? 7. Marginalization – Voicelessness, Powerlessness , Isolation Are there any groups within the community that are not accepted and/or included by other groups? How are they marginalized? (e.g. do they live in separate areas, are they not socially accepted, are they discriminated against?) Why are they marginalized? What effect does this have on their daily lives? Who are they marginalized by? How do outsiders view the community? Is it an accurate representation? Is this the same view that community members have of themselves? What is the impact of this view by outsiders? Are community members able to speak for themselves and express their needs in a meaningful way? Do community members have any influence over the issues that affect their community? Does the community have access to representation? Does the community have people in positions of power (e.g. politicians, leaders, tribal chiefs, etc.) representing them? At what level? What other factors affect the voicelessness, powerlessness, and isolation of this community? Summary: 1) What are specific issues, problems, and needs that arise based on the information you gathered in section 7? 277 1a) What are the most important issues, problems, and needs? Why are they more important? 1b) What issues, problems, and needs are secondary? 2) Do any of these issues, problems, or needs have the potential to increase the risk of the community in the future? Do they present any future risks? 3) Based on the information gathered and your analysis for section 7, what positive aspects does the community have? How can the community use the positive factors to improve their situation? 8. Capacities and vulnerabilities What are the positives aspects of the community? For example consider the capacities, assets, resources, abilities, and skills available within the community. Social Capital What are the social relationships found within the community? Do these provide any benefits to community members? Are the community members part of any groups? Do community members trust and support each other? Human Capital What are the abilities and skills of the community members? Have they received any formalized training or education? Does this help them improve their livelihoods? Natural Capital What natural resources exist in the community? Is the community able to use local natural resources to improve their wellbeing? Do all community members have access to these resources? Who controls the resources? Physical Capital What is the status of the infrastructure in the community? For example, consider water quantity and quality, sewage systems, transportation, shelter and buildings, electricity, communication systems, etc. Financial Capital Are people able to save? What types of financial services are available to the community? Do people have any other sources of income (e.g. remittances)? Do people have assets that can be sold if necessary? Does the community face any shocks (consider health, natural disasters, economic issues, conflicts, natural resources, etc.) How has the community been affected by shocks over time? Are they at risk of facing any shocks in the future? How do seasonal issues affect health, employment, prices, 278 production, natural resources, etc.? Do these always occur on an annual basis? Do community members having coping strategies in order to deal with these issues? What different coping mechanisms does the community employ in order to deal with some of the problems that they face? Summary: 1) What are specific issues, problems, and needs that arise based on the information you gathered in section 8? 1a) What are the most important issues, problems, and needs? Why are they more important? 1b) What issues, problems, and needs are secondary? 2) Do any of these issues, problems, or needs have the potential to increase the risk of the community in the future? Do they present any future risks? 3) Based on the information gathered and your analysis for section 8, what positive aspects does the community have? How can the community use the positive factors to improve their situation? 9. Other What is the history of the community? When and why did the inhabitants arrive in the area? What are the main historical events that have shaped the community? Is the community migratory or settled? What are the factors that influence their movement patterns? Is their land ownership stable? Are there any legal issues that affect the community? How does this affect their wellbeing? Consider land tenure issues, nationality and citizenship, subjection to illegal arrest or detention, etc. Are children ever incarcerated? Are there any gender-related issues? Are early marriages common? Are women able to make decisions (for example, in terms of their reproductive health)? Do women have equal access to resources? How do the main roles and responsibilities of men and women differ? Are women provided with equal opportunities? What are factors that divide community members? What are factors that connect (or bring together) community members? 279 Potential dividers and connectors are: systems and institutions, attitudes and actions, shared values and interests, common experiences, and symbols and occasions Are there any conflicts that affect the community? The conflicts may be internal or external to the community. How do these conflicts affect the daily lives of community members? Do the conflicts affect various groups differently? How does the community compare with other areas or communities? What about the national standard? What are the hopes and dreams of the community members? What do the community members wish for in an ideal situation? This question is particularly important for planning development projects and initiatives. Are there any systems or structures that help or hinder the community? These may be political, organizational, etc. Is the government able to meet people’s needs? Are there legal frameworks in place detailing people’s rights? Do people have access to national level support like social security? Are there any other issues, that have not yet been raised throughout the assessment, that are important to the community? Be creative as each community and context is different. Remember to consider both positive and negative factors. Completing the assessment Remember, it is important to compare the data you collect with regional, national, and international standards in order to determine what the information means. An indicator of poverty or vulnerability in one area may not necessarily indicate poverty in another area. For example, completing grade 6 in one area may be viewed as an accomplishment, whereas only completing grade 6 in another area may be viewed as a low level of education. Now that the assessment has been completed, it is important to identify the overall most pressing issues, problems, and needs present in the community. Review the summaries 280 that were completed at the end of each section. Try to identify trends and patterns between and within the summaries. Ask yourself the following questions: • Are there any connections or links between the problems, issues, and needs? • Are there any underlying factors or causes that are creating these problems? • How do you know? What evidence is present? • What are the most pressing problems, issues, and needs that were identified? • Do any of these have the potential to be major problems in the future? What an assessment like this has done is enabled you to look in detail at the community and understand the issues, problems, assets and capacities that exist within it. This serves as a good starting point to analyze some of the major problems – to understand what are some of its causes and what is the impact (consequences) of these problems on the community. 3. Step Three: Resources Having identified the problems in the community, the third step is to explore and identify the values of the community and resources available. To identify the capacities and resources that a community has, use the following framework. Each community has capacities and assets, which have ensured their survival. In order to understand the nature and dynamics of poverty in the community, the community’s strengths need to be understood.657 Its assets and capacities fall into the 657 This model has been adapted from the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development’s (DfID) Sustainable Livelihoods Framework that was built on Chambers’ model of household poverty. The framework seeks to understand and analyze the livelihoods of the poor. The contribution of this framework is that it does not just describe what poverty looks like, but it attempts to define elements of the system (social, economic, political, and nature) that affect the wellbeing of individuals. Adapting the model to a community level (as in this thesis) enables development practitioners to understand the influence of contextual factors and external events that impact the assets and capacities of the community. 281 following categories. The framework below also identifies the impact of various internal and external factors that affect the capacities and assets of the community. Figure 6. Community Capacities and Assets • Human – skills, knowledge, amount and quality of labour available, and educational achievement • Social – social and political networks, relationships of trust, reciprocity and exchange, the ability to have a voice, and informal social safety net • Physical – infrastructure (roads, water, electricity, storage, etc.), tools and equipment • Natural – natural resources, and biodiversity • Financial – types and amount of savings, liquid assets, remittances, income, and other inflows of money It is also important to recognize that the capacities and assets of a community are affected 282 by a number of contextual factors: • Laws and policies – affect access to basic services such as education and training, the types of social safety nets available and the physical assets the community may have. • Culture and values – impact the assets and capacities of the community. For example, the desire to have a son may increase the number of children in a family, affecting the financial assets of the family, what can be passed on from one generation to another, while also affecting the available water and food resources. • Political and social institutions – Political institutions may favor one community over another, affecting capacities and assets. Social institutions may or may not provide services such as access to education and health care to the community, directly impacting its human capacity. • The role of the private sector – affects, for example, the building of roads and infrastructure, the availability of employment and the affordability of private services. • Levels of government – affects capacities and assets positively or negatively by its responsiveness to the community’s requests for assistance, such as providing services and benefits. External events also have a direct bearing on, the community: • Natural and man-made disasters - can devastate a community, though they may, in the long-term benefit the community by bringing in government and private resources. • Trends (economic, social, migratory, etc) – may influence available work forces, employment opportunities, and investment in industries • Seasonal, economic and political cycles – may affect employment opportunities, harvest cycles, livelihoods, financial wellbeing, and stability in a community. Based on the analysis above, identify the following: i. How do they care for the poor and vulnerable, and their needs? What values, mechanisms and institutions already exist in the community? ii. What resources do they have within the community and what resources can they access from those who have migrated out of the community? 283 iii. It is also important to develop institutions within the community through which the funds and resources can be handled. What institutions need to be developed in order to do this? 4. Step 4: Access to Basic Service The fourth step is to ensure that the community has access to basic social services. However, the emphasis should be on access to education at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels. Each community needs access to basic services. Look at the assessment done in Step 2 and the resources available in the community in Step 3 and identify the status of the basic services available to the community: • Health • Education • Financial services • Technical service (agriculture, small scale manufacturing, business advisory services, etc.) • Utilities (water, electricity, etc.) • Infrastructure (primarily roads) It is only at this point that the initiatives for change should be identified. Projects then need to be designed using good project design principles. Based on the assessments done in Step 2, the resources identified in Step 3, and the basic services that are needed in the community, the following four questions need to be identified as each project is designed. A. What is the problem or need? Why should the problem and/or needs be addressed? The answers to these questions provide a reason and motivation for undergoing a process of change. The community and other key stakeholders must be actively involved in the identification of needs and problems. 284 B. What should be done to address the need or problem? What activities will facilitate the desired change? Following an analysis of the problem, activities that are selected should target the causes of the problem, the problem itself, or its effects. Continual monitoring is key for determining whether the activities are addressing the problems or needs adequately and are bringing about desired changes in the community. C. What resources are required (such as finances, technology, labor force, skills, facilities, and equipment), and what is their availability? It is preferable to use resources from the community as this increases the participation of community members and strengthens their ownership of the process and the ensuing change. However, sometimes it may be necessary to bring in resources from outside. The allocation of the resources throughout the process of change should be determined during the planning stage. D. How will the process of change be implemented? Decisions need to be made about who will coordinate the overall process, who will be responsible for each of the specific activities, and the timing of each activity (start and end points), while not forgetting the need to monitor progress and possibly make adjustments if required. 5. Step 5: Empowerment – Social Movements and Non-Movements Finally the community needs to be able to socially and politically to move into the mainstreams of society and be part of the civic and political discourses. Social movements are an effective strategy to accomplish this. In addition the community can be 285 taught the principles of nonmovements, where individuals and families take incremental steps, which together over time bring about significant change. Forming Effective Social Movements As with any strategy for development, it is important for a community that is forming a social movement to take into consideration principles that form the basis of good development, as well as the possibility of using a rights-based approach. The following section highlights some important focus points for creating effective social movements: • Understand the political and social dynamics - It is necessary to know whether the political and social climates are conducive for the changes being planned and whether there are “opportunity structures” (such as a growing number of participants that could reach a critical mass, which creates an increasing momentum and desire for change) that would enable a social movement to emerge. Some of the elements that need to be considered are: o Any indications of changes, instability or conflict in the way those who wield power and authority are aligned with each other; o Allies among the ruling elite or those in authority who could provide support to the movement; o The ability to influence the powers that be to bring about change. If the political and social context is not conducive for change, rather than not doing anything, what could be done to help engender that climate? • Have a vision of the end goal and clear messaging - Many movements emerge out of the repressed anger that people and communities feel about the injustices that they 286 experience. A community could potentially channel this energy toward social change if they define a goal, communicate it clearly, and recruit participants to it. (If the energy from people’s discontent is not harnessed in this way, it could become more negative or else dissipate, without positive change being achieved.) To be effective, the messaging about grievances and the change that is hoped for should reflect the values, worldview and ideology of the individuals involved. It might draw on stories, language, identity, and cultural symbols that individuals can relate to and are attracted to, and it may tap into the history and cultural unconscious658 of the disenfranchised or marginalized group. It is this cultural and historical framework that provides the language for articulating the problem and the solution. In messaging, the following should be done by the movement’s local leaders: o Construct the frames that diagnose the problem. This would include attributing responsibility and targeting blame (using a rights-based approach). o Offer solutions to the problem, including strategies and tactics that would mitigate the injustice. o Provide a rationale to motivate support and collective action. • Recruit participants - The recruiting mechanisms are closely aligned with the messaging, goals and vision of the movement; if communication is done well, individuals will respond and join the movement. Mobilizing structures, methods and strategies should enable recruitment and orientation of new participants, and then mobilize them. These mobilizing structures could be formal (for example, a labor union), or informal (such as the networks of African grandmothers protecting AIDS orphans). 658 A concept developed by the Neo-Freudian, Carl Jung. 287 • Empower participants – Strategic plans should be made so that those involved in a social movement are able to contribute their skills, talent and energy. The participants should feel a sense of ownership of not only the objectives of the movement, but also the process. This does not necessarily occur naturally and should be addressed by the leaders. • Advocate – Movement leaders need to clearly articulate grievances and end goals not only to individuals and communities, but also to the powers, the authorities, the system, and the wider audience that are key to enabling change. This type of support for the cause is crucial. • Access resources - Social movements need resources in order to function and be effective. They need financial resources and access to office space and other support mechanisms. They need a variety of human resource skills. They require access to sympathetic decision makers and influencers of public thought in order to gain their patronage. • Strategize for Action – Decisions must be made about what needs to be done to achieve the stated goals, how this will occur, and what resources will be used in the process. This is the action plan that will enable the group to follow through and achieve the desired results. Success should be defined. • Enable conscientization - For social movements to be effective, considerable effort needs to be put into conscientization (see Chapter 1) in order to create increased awareness of the issues and of possible solutions. Conscientization is a participatory process that assists and supports individuals and communities as they analyze their 288 context, and helps them articulate their frustrations and dreams. When the process is done effectively it builds the capacity of communities to take steps on their own behalf. This process can also have the benefit of strengthening social movements. • Reassess and adapt - Finally, for a social movement to remain relevant and dynamic, its vision and messaging needs to continue to evolve and adapt as the context continues to change. Ongoing context analysis is a critical part of planning and organizing social movements as they expand and progress. Social movements can be very powerful tools for mobilizing people around particular issues in order to bring about social change. 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