Solving PovertyThere are two main explanations for poverty, cultural and structural. Sociologists primarily use structural causes to explain poverty in America. The cultural question attributes more faults and causes to the individual and the “culture” they create, which gives the impression of a repetitive cycle. Nevertheless, poverty is a very complex problem, although culture and the individual play a role, but there is much more to it and that is why the explanation of structural causes comes into play. Although the causes and the explanation are so complex, the solution must also be multiple. -faceted and flexible: being able to adapt to many different situations and contexts. Looking at history and seeing how others have dealt with the problem of poverty in their societies might lead us to find answers. This article will study zakat – a charitable tax found in Islam – and see if it can alleviate the plight of the poor in America. The cultural argument states that poor people are raised to be poor. Their way of life – their culture – locks them into the lowest class. The culture of poverty exhibits traits such as laziness, lack of work ethic, and lack of responsibility. In this light, poverty can be blamed on families and therefore the deterioration of social morals and ethics. Ultimately, this explanation places all the blame on individuals to the extent that they themselves caused their situation by not getting out of it. This explanation has become a general excuse or belief in the United States and can even be seen in the discourse of policymakers. It's become so common that there are expressions like: get out of your boots. In a way, this explanation also maintains the status quo, creating a sort of caste system of poverty. The explanation of the structural causes of poverty argues... middle of paper ......r something that has its source in Islam in their government. The recent protests at mosques have shown that even a place of worship manages to instill fear of Sharia law in people's minds. While Sharia law is a very complex thing and not a monolithic canon of law (it is very flexible) – and most countries that say they practice it are really not forgetting everyone, most Muslims do not want to themselves of Sharia law. Since Islam is a very controversial issue, it may not be possible to use zakat. However, the general idea was that society and individuals themselves are responsible for many aspects of poverty and that it is their responsibility and duty to ultimately address it for their own benefit. Works Cited Senturk, Omer Faruk. A complete guide to Zakat charity in Islam. New Jersey: The Light Inc., 2007. Gohari, MJ The Quran. Oxford: Quran Institute, 2007. Print.