Differences in Muslim philanthropic behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic based on demographic factors

The COVID-19 pandemic that hit the country has caused a huge impact, especially on the economic sector. The approach taken by the government in dealing with the pandemic crisis by implementing a movement control order (MCO) have, to some extent, affected the source of income of the community. In order to survive, these underprivileged people are in need of financial assistance from the government, agencies and the kind-hearted people. Islam places great emphasis on welfare, especially in helping the needy with their daily needs. Therefore, this study aims to examine the level of philanthropic behavior of Muslims during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as to analyze the differences in Muslim philanthropies’ behavior during the occurrence of this pandemic based on demographic factors, namely gender, age, education level, marital status, area of residence, household income and employment sector. To achieve this goal, a total of 424 respondents had answered a set of questionnaires distributed during the movement control order (MCO) period as a time limit via a simple sampling method. The results of the study found that five out of the seven demographic factors tested, namely age, level of education, area of residence, household income and employment sector showed significant differences in philanthropic behavior among the respondents. These findings also prove that demographic factors do also influence the decision-making process to donate among Muslims in Melaka. Therefore, all parties need to take a role in explaining and providing awareness on the importance of this philanthropic activity so that the burden borne by the community affected by the COVID-19 pandemic can be eased.