An exploration of the development of disability organizations in Saudi Arabia

Disability organizations in Saudi Arabia 14 to be added or for an old law that no longer works to be changed as long as the new law does not violate any of the Qur'anic verses or the Prophet Sunnah's.An example of this would be the now widely accepted practice of blood transfusion procedures, which did not exist in the Prophet's time.Although under particular circumstances laws can be changed, the general population does not make those decisions."It is not the task of every Muslim to invent a new law; it is the work of a specific group of people who are specialized in Islamic studies, known as Fuqahaa meaning jurists" (Ibn Taymiah, 1995, p.227).Since the context for this study is Saudi Arabia, the homeland for the Muslims' holy cities, it is vital to give a historical account of the connection between Islam and the beliefs pertaining to charity institutions during the different historical Islamic eras in which they flourished.These charitable institutions are the basis of today's disability organzations in Saudi Arabia.Historical significance of charitable institutions and waqf in Saudi Arabia.Because of the religious importance ofMakkah and Madinah for all Muslims and because Makkah has been the centre for pilgrimage for nearly 1,400 years, its history of charity and charitable institutions is more unique than in other parts of Saudi A¡abia.Muslim rulers during the different Islamic historical eras took extra care to establish cha¡itable waqfs6 -an income that would beneflrt the two holy cities (Bearman' Bianquis, Bosworth, van Donzel, Heinrichs,7002).waqfs were the main ftnancial and gift source for the maintenance of the two holy mosques (Al-Kibasi, 1977)' Waqf was distinguished from other charitable sources as a permanent voluntary charity and defined as "forbidden movement, transport or exchange of something" (Raissouni, 2008, Disabil-ity Organizations in Saudi Arabia 15 introduction, para.l).Raissouni defines Waqf in "Islamic Waqlf Endowment" as'."A canonical Islamic concept, which refers to a special kind of charity given for the purposes of benevolence.The word is used for charities and gifts that have permanence and continuity, so that people can benefit from them for years, generations or even centuries.This means that waqf endowment is made up of entities from whose usefulness, yield and fruit people can benefit, while the capital asset of the entity lasts and stays for a short or long period of time, such as alot, a building, a well or a tree" (2008, Introductiory para.2).According to Hallaq (2005), there are two kinds of waqf; the "private or family waqf' and the "charity waqf' (p.372).The private or family waqf benefit only family members and offspring to whom the waqf has been donated.Charity \¡iaqq on the other hand, is addressed to all Muslims who are in need."Persons and public utilities, such as mosques, schools, bridges, graveyards and drinking fountains, can be the beneficiaries ofa wal{reuenue" @earman et al., 2002, p. 60).There are two types of charitable waqf.: "waþfsconsisting of the mosque orthe utility itself (school, bridge, fountain) andwaþfs generating the income for the maintenance and operation ofthese utilities" @earman et a1.,2002, p 60).According to many hi'storians, such as Sayyid (1998) and lbn-Iyas (2007), waqf helped to serve and stabilize the different social and economic needs of the Muslim communities.This was because of the unlimited ways in which its revenue could be spent.Whenever there was a need in the Muslim community, the waqf revenue would help in financing that need.It was this type of waqf that set the foundation for charity- sustained disability organizations.The Mumluks'8 era in Egypt was considered by many historians as the golden era for waql which was mainly established to finance the needs of the two Muslim holy cities.Disability Orqanizations in Saudi P-rabia 24 that Islam has influenced the development of disability organizations in Saudi Arabia, a Muslim country that "tries to implement Islam fully as a comprehensive way of life" (Al- Maghlooth, 1999, p. 19).Research Questions o What are the key issues that contributed to the development of disability organizations in Saudi Arabia?o In what ways has Islam influenced the development of disability organuations in Saudi /uabia?c How do Head Managers (from disability orgarttzations) view the development of disability organizations and the role these organizations play for people with disabilities in Saudi Arabia?Chapter Two: The Literature Review presents and discusses the research relevant to disability organizatíons and people living with disabilities in Saudi Arabia.The review is in three sections: issues related to disability research in Saudi Arabia, disability research in Saudi A¡abia, and Western literature specific to studying disability in an Eastern context.This review situates this study in the already existing body of knowledge.Chapter Three: Carrying out the Methodology was complex, as I lived and studied in Canada, yet needed to conduct interviews and gather brochures from organizations in Saudi Arabia.This chapter outlines how I prepared forthe interview process, the interview questions, the gathering of brochure data, and the use of disability organization Disabitity Organizations in Saudi Arabia 25 websites.This section also discusses the qualitative method of data gathering.Chapter Four: My Data Findings reveal the details from interviews I conducted with Head Managers, information from brochures and the technologically-framed information from web sites.Chapter Five: In the Discussion/Analysis, all data from the various sources were information within the context of an Islamic country.This was interesting as the discourse of 'disability' and 'disability organizations' never moved outside the realm of government/religion that defines these organizations, their development, and their connection to Islamic beliefs and charity.The interviews, brochures and websitesalthough very different in naturerevealed a homogenous religious discourse embedded within disability organizations in Saudi Arabia.Chapter Six: In the Conclusion, I close the study by recognizing that during my analysis, I expanded my scope from the development of disability organizations and the connection to Islam and charity to'what I came to recognize as an embedded process steeped in deep religious tradition.This tradition and way of life in Saudi Arabia seemed to continue to evolve with the development of disability organizations in Saudi Arabia.I close with the conclusiorq limitations of the study, and recommendations for further research in the area.Disability Organizations in Saudi Arabia 26 Chapter Two: Literature ReviewThe literature for this topic was diverse and covered materials from Saudi Arabia as well as Western literature that discussed issues related to the topic.The review of the literature of this topic is presented in three sections.As the context of this study was placed Saudi Arabi4 it was essential to look at the literature related to disability organizations in Saudi Arabia to find the focus of earlier studies and what was missing from the literature.Therefore, the first section ofthis review focuses on literature related to disability organaations in Saudi Arabia.The second section of the literature review explores issues related to disability research in Saudi Arabia.Both of these sections are important as this study was conducted in Saudi A¡abia and would add to the body of knowledge on disability organizations in that country.It is also essential to understand how disability is presented in research and whether this study was going to contribute something similar or different to the existing disability research in Saudi Arabia.Although this study was conducted about disability organizations in Saudi A¡abia and research took place there, it was still part of a graduate degree at the University of Manitoba, Canada.This thesis would therefore be part of the Western literature studying disability in an Eastern context.It was important to have an awareness of other Western research in this area.This body of knowledge presented some valuable points that would add to the understanding of this thesis' topic.r The third section of the literature review discusses Western literature about disability in the East.This chapter also discusses the conceptual framework that helped situate the Disability Organizations in Saudi ArabLa 2l methodology and analysis of this thesis. Disability Organizations in Saudi ArabiaAlthough there are many organizations for people with disabilities in Saudi Arabia" there are few studies or written material about these organizations or the people with disabilities for whom they benefit.According to the literature, there are many types of disability organizations in Saudi Arabia.Al-Maghlooth (2000), in his lV'elfare and Rehabilitation 9f the Høndicapped in Saudi Arabia, classified disabitity orgaruzations according to their governing agencies and specified three types: those that are government governed; orgaruzations that are privately governed; and those which are supported mainly through charity.Charitable organizations could be government or privately governed.Al-Maghlooth listed the names of all the organizations in Saudi Arabia, classiffing them by type.He also described the services that each of these organizations provided for people with disabilities.With regards to information about the development of disability organizations in Saudi Arabia, he stated "I could not locate any study that looks at orgamzations' development" p. 5). This complies with one of the main arguments in this thesis regarding the need for research that explores the development of disability organizations in Saudi Arabia.Unlike the work of al-MaghloottU al-Turaki (1996), in his Daleel al moøawaq ela al khadamat al mutahq laho bilmsmlaka øl Arabia al suqdialA Disabled Person's Crttide to the Se

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