Trajectories of transnational Muslim NGOs

Transnational Muslim NGOs are increasingly important actors in the field of aid provision; however, little scholarly attention has been paid to these organisations and their history, whether within development studies or Islamic studies. Furthermore, much of the existing literature has presented a rather static and homogeneous picture of this group of organisations, overlooking their heterogeneity and changing nature.Tracing the historical trajectories of transnational Muslim NGOs, this article analyses their identities, activities, and relations, contributing to a more nuanced picture of these organisations. Using four specific events - the famine in the Horn of Africa, the wars in Afghanistan and Bosnia, and the War on Terror - as windows through which to study these organisations, the article shows how they have been shaped by changing political, economic, and social contexts, leading to the emergence of at least four different types of transnational Muslim NGO: da'watist, jihadist, solidarity-based, and secularised.