Since the outbreak of the Syrian uprising in February 2011, Syrians have been crossing the borders to

their neighbouring countries in order to seek refuge with no resources to support their families. But

with the refugee crisis in its third year resources of international humanitarian organisations are

diminishing. The host communities are overstrained, while refugees more than ever rely on

humanitarian assistance programmes. This study explores the role of the Islamic charities offering

assistance to Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon. It gives a picture of structures and strategies of

intervention of Islamic charities, of collaboration between Islamic charities and the international

humanitarian community and finally of how the assistance of Islamic charities is perceived by the

refugees themselves.