Muslim Philanthropy in Brazil: Interviews with Philanthropists in São Paulo.

The main purpose of these interviews is to explore the development of Muslim philanthropy in Brazil as well as the role of dawah and its relation to philanthropy. The interviews deal with specific terms such as zakat, fitra, sadaqah, and waqf to explore how they are interpreted and applied in Latin American contexts. The interviews were conducted with the person in charge of Centro de Divulgação do Islam para América Latina (CDIAL, Center for the Promotion of Islam in Latin America) and the director of affairs at Al-Madina School in São Bernardo, São Paulo, Brazil. This paper also provides some perspective on how the Brazilian government provides facilities for Islamic institutions, the way Muslim nonprofit organizations spend their zakat, and how they manage to help others in Brazilian civil society. Both through interviews and the author's personal involvement, this paper offers multiple first-person accounts of Muslim philanthropy in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]