Development Through Faith: The Ma'adi Life Makers and the Islamic Entrepreneurial Subject

Abstract

The Life Makers are an Islamic youth organization inspired by the Egyptian preacher Amr Khaled and dedicated to social change and development based on Islamic principles. This group provides a morally-sanctioned social forum for youth interaction in the context of an increased emphasis on Islamic values. It also, through its vision of social change as emerging from individual transformation, functions to construct a new model for Muslim selves. The Life Makers' ideal self, inspired by Amr Khaled and the American self-improvement genre, is characterized by personal responsibility, individual initiative, and a focus on projects and goals. This vision of the Muslim self and the repertoire of social claims-making that it implies reflect both global trends in the practice of Islamic piety and the changing dynamics of the Egyptian "social contract" in an era of neoliberal economic reform.