THe man wearing a sarong offers an unusual investment. Let us give, he urges, everywhere he goes. Wearing a long shirt, glasses, and a skullcap, he wanders from mosque to mosque. In every venue he speaks at, the message is the same: an appeal to make a habit of giving alms. This is the way to overcome a life of constricted means, he says.

He is Yusuf Mansur, who has not yet turned 30. This religious teacher or Ustad has specialized in the wisdom