ABSTRACT
Recent years have witnessed the increasing popularity of international Muslim non-governmental organisation (NGOs) among mainstream humanitarian and development organisations. international Muslim NGOs have not always been a part of the mainstream system of humanitarian and development aid, but lived a parallel existence to that of Western NGOs and donor agencies. This is not only true for Middle Eastern organisations such as the International Islamic Charitable Organisation, Direct Aid and International Islamic Relief Organisation, but also for organisations based in the West, such as Islamic Relief and Muslim Aid. Islamic Relief and Muslim Aid not only have to respond to the expectations of Western donor agencies, but also to those of individual Muslim donors, often presenting substantially different expectations to their aid. The analysis of Muslim Aid and Islamic Relief has not only presented a case of organisational homogenisation and institutional isomorphism, but has also shown how such processes of adaptation are not only beneficial for the organisations.
