Why EA Should Be Welcoming To Religious People
Why EA Should Be Welcoming To Religious People
[Religious people: ironically, this post is not going to be welcoming to you guys, because it takes atheism as a base-level assumption.] I pretty fervently believe that effective altruism should make deliberate efforts to reach out to religious people, to the point that my litmus test for whether I take someone seriously in the perennial Effective Altruism PR Wars is whether they agree with me on…
Not by any means an expert on Islam (I’m that embarrassing assigned-christian-at-birth whitey who knows “the” one muslim they could personally ask on such things, (but at least I recognize it)), but this wikipedia description sounds awfully EAish:
Scholars have traditionally interpreted this verse as identifying the following eight categories of Muslim causes to be the proper recipients of zakat:[17][50]
- Those living without means of livelihood (Al-Fuqarā’),[17] the poor[50]
- Those who cannot meet their basic needs (Al-Masākīn),[17] the needy[50]
- To zakat collectors (Al-Āmilīyn ‘Alihā)[17][50]
- To persuade those sympathetic to or expected to convert to Islam (Al-Mu'allafatu Qulūbuhum),[17] recent converts to Islam[16][50][51] and potential allies in the cause of Islam[50][52]
- To free from slavery or servitude (Fir-Riqāb),[17] slaves of Muslims who have or intend to free from their master by means of a kitabah contract[50][52]
- Those who have incurred overwhelming debts while attempting to satisfy their basic needs (Al-Ghārimīn),[17] debtors who in pursuit of a worthy goal incurred a debt[50]
- Those fighting for a religious cause or a cause of God (Fī Sabīlillāh),[17] or for Jihad in the way of Allah by means of pen, word, or sword,[53] or for Islamic warriors who fight against the unbelievers but are not part of salaried soldiers.[50][52][54]:h8.17
- Wayfarers, stranded travellers (Ibnu Al-Sabīl),[17] travellers who are traveling with a worthy goal but cannot reach their destination without financial assistance[50][52]
Zakat should not be given to one’s own parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, spouses or the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad.[55]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zakat
I’m pretty sure you can easily see which categories GiveWell, GiveDirectly, AMF etc. would each fall in. The rules even seem to acknowledge that administrative costs may be a legitimate factor in charity! And one should help people further away instead of one’s immediate relatives or high-status causes. (Although that means that EY would have to choose between being the rightful caliph and being eligible to receive zakat…)
1 month ago · tagged #religion cw #islam cw #effective altruism · 52 notes · source: ozymandias271 · .permalink