E509 | The waqf, often translated as "endowment," is a critical player in the story of urban landscapes, charitable giving, property management, and religion in the Islamic world. But what is a waqf? In this episode, Nada Moumtaz uncovers the many lives of waqf in the city of Beirut, from Ottoman times until the present. We talk about waqfs as buildings, processes, acts, and investments. We see how the story of waqf illuminates central features of the modern state while blurring boundaries between family life and public life, religion and business, charity and investment, past and future, and human and divine. More at https://www.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/2021/07/moumtaz.html Nada Moumtaz is Assistant Professor in the Department for the Study of Religion and in Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations at the University of Toronto. Her book, God's Property: Islam, Charity, and the Modern State will be published by University of California Press in August 2021. Susanna Ferguson is Assistant Professor of Middle East Studies at Smith College. She writes and teaches on the history of gender, sexuality, and political thought in the modern Arab world. CREDITS Episode No. 509 Release Date: 6 August 2021 Recording Location: Northampton, MA / Beirut, Lebanon Sound production and composition by Susanna Ferguson Music: "Fifteen Street," Blue Dot Sessions Bibliography and images courtesy of Nada Moumtaz at https://www.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/2021/07/moumtaz.html