Zakat and Social Capital: Thoughts on Modernism, Postmodernism, and Faith

Abstract

Islam has become a cause of Western anxiety, representing the Other and the Shadow. Raising the Shadow to consciousness by directing up communication is a matter of urgency. In Western socio-economic thought, the spiritual and secular are sharply separated, but in Islam they are indivisible. The area of communication chosen in this study' involves religion and social capital. It is emphasized that there are relevant connections between the understanding of social capital and Zakat. These connections have the potential to provide a more in- depth understanding of the economic, social, and spiritual implications of Zakat; most specifically, in the Western discourses. This paper out- lines the spirit of the tension between modernism, postmodernism, and Islam. The concept of social capital is delineated, and the main features of Zakat (almsgiving) in association with social capital are summarized.