The Muslim Humanitarian Sector: The State of Research

BRITISH COUNCIL

Policy Brief
Summary

This policy brief provides an expanded discussion on the need for ongoing research about Muslim aid and development actors documented in the report The Muslim Humanitarian Sector: A Review for Policy Makers and NGO Practitioners (British Council, 2017). Our research over the course of two years found that although there has been a marked increase in the level of investment and discussion around the benefit of engaging religious actors in order to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, there remains a systemic lack of institutional partnerships with humanitarian and aid NGOs from Muslim backgrounds. While long–running political problems often underwrite this lack of engagement, it is also the case that practitioners and policy makers from all backgrounds simply do not have enough objective data and independent analysis of the Muslim humanitarian sector in order make informed strategic decisions. In February 2018, a group of academics, practitioners, and policy makers was convened to identify reasons behind the existing knowledge gap on this sector and ways to potentially overcome it. In addition, a series of interviews with active researchers and practitioners was conducted to further inform the findings provided here.The contents of this document reflect a compilation of participating stakeholder perspectives, which come out of the European Union–funded project, Bridging Transatlantic Voices. These perspectives do not reflect the views of the implementing organizations, and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.