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VP Ma’ruf calls on Muslims to increase ‘zakat’ to reduce inequality
Ma'ruf said the zakat potential in Indonesia was an estimated Rp 230 trillion yearly but so far only about 3.5 percent, or Rp 8 trillion, of the potential was being collected and managed.
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Paying it forward: A 'zakat' (alms) committee member serves a man paying alms at Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta. (The Jakarta Post/Seto Wardhana)
Vice President Ma’ruf Amin has said the zakat, if managed well, will decrease the welfare gap in the country.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 8th World Zakat Forum 2019 in Bandung, West Java, on Tuesday, Ma’ruf said the zakat alms tax, one of the rukun Islam (five pillars of Islam), could have a direct impact on the social and economic condition in Indonesia, where 90 percent of the population is Muslim.
“Islam allows everybody to collect as much halal wealth as possible but there is also an obligation to put aside some wealth to be given to the poor,” said the senior cleric and former Indonesian Ulema Council leader.
Ma'ruf said the zakat potential in Indonesia was an estimated Rp 230 trillion but so far only about 3.5 percent, or Rp 8 trillion, of the potential was collected and managed.
He expressed concerns over the large unmanaged zakat potential, saying that he had received a report that, for the last five years, only about 24 percent of the potential was collected nationwide.
“We need a breakthrough to make it better,” he said, adding that one way of improving zakat management was to use digital information technology to increase the trust of muzakki (zakat donors).
Ma’ruf said the work of state-sponsored collecting agencies Zakat Amil Agency (BAZ) and Zakal Amil Institution (LAZ) in collecting, managing and distributing the zakat were relatively good. Yet both needed to continue making innovations in zakat distribution to improve people’s empowerment, productivity and reduce poverty.
