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From Islamic philanthropy to social enterprise: The development of Islamic economy and social enterprises in contemporary Indonesia
Last modified: 2010-09-01
Abstract
This paper will focus on the increasing interest in social justice in the distributions of wealth in contemporary Indonesia. Economic development policies in Indonesia have been shaped by capitalism in order to increase the size of the national economy, but still approximately 14 % of the population live under the poverty line. To date, measures to eradicate poverty and provide social welfare have been mainly taken by the state, but the sheer size of the population has posed significant challenges to implement these programs efficiently. As a result, since the beginning of 1990s frustrated urban middle class people with a strong Muslim background have resorted to Islamic jurisprudence of social justice. These Muslims have started Islamic philanthropic activities and have established economically sustainable social enterprises. I will review the social origins of development of social enterprises in Indonesia and an example of emerging social entrepreneurship among the Muslims who are leading the Islamic microfinance institutions in Indonesia.