Do You Think This is Philanthropy? Think Again

Politics and philanthropy have been integrated into the management of Islamic faith-based organizations (IFBOs) in Indonesia. This paper aims to explore the relationship of the political behavior of IFBOs (PBO) to the practice of Islamic philanthropy and the socio-economic problems faced by society. By employing a sample of 1,888 organizations, I conducted path analysis using the Partial Least Squares-Path Modeling (PLS-PM) method. The results of the study indicate that PBO is related to the practice of Islamic philanthropy by government-affiliated charitable organizations. Still, it is not associated with the socioeconomic problems of the community. Next, I synthesized the results of the analysis by referring to international literature. My findings reveal that political motives have distorted the attitude of faith of organizational figures in managing Islamic philanthropy, which has sparked failure to accomplish the principle of benefit (Maslahah) and public skepticism of Islamic religion-based politics. A more detailed explanation is presented in the discussion and implications section.