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7 - Public Service in the Catchment Area

from Part III - The Shrine

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 May 2021

Shivan Mahendrarajah
Affiliation:
University of St Andrews, Scotland
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Summary

In premodern times Islamic institutions (Sufi shrines, hospices, and mosques), were often responsible for the provision of social services: healthcare and food for the indigent and the infirm, schooling, and so on. During times of crises – famine, epidemic, and war – Sufis (especially) served the people. The Persianate social obligation to “feed the people” (takafful-i umur), still valid in Iran, Afghanistan, and South Asia (but known by sundry terms – if at all), was an imperative for the shrine’s leadership in the past, and to an extent today, namely, access to the shrine’s library, the construction of a new public library, and financial aid for students enrolled at the shrine’s seminaries. The provision of services to the public will have intensified symbiotic bonds between shrine and community.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Sufi Saint of Jam
History, Religion, and Politics of a Sunni Shrine in Shi'i Iran
, pp. 143 - 148
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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