7 - Public Service in the Catchment Area

Summary

In premodern times Islamic institutions (Sufi shrines, hospices, and mosques), were often responsible for the provision of social services: healthcare and food for the indigent and the infirm, schooling, and so on. During times of crises – famine, epidemic, and war – Sufis (especially) served the people. The Persianate social obligation to “feed the people” (takafful-i umur), still valid in Iran, Afghanistan, and South Asia (but known by sundry terms – if at all), was an imperative for the shrine’s leadership in the past, and to an extent today, namely, access to the shrine’s library, the construction of a new public library, and financial aid for students enrolled at the shrine’s seminaries. The provision of services to the public will have intensified symbiotic bonds between shrine and community.