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The Muslim Zakat: a vision of the "big society"?

Re-awakening a sense of comradery.

By Fadi Itani Published 11 August 2012 10:05

Photograph: Getty Images

The holy month of Ramadan - a time of fasting and intense spiritual reflection and worship for Muslims - is now well underway. A central feature of this sacred month is giving to charity, and in particular the concept of Zakat, where millions of Muslims across the UK will be pledging a proportion of their income to support the most vulnerable communities in need.

At the same time, the coalition government’s big society agenda is fast losing momentum. Efforts to make giving a "social norm" in the UK have been met with tepid enthusiasm by the general public and the charity world alike, amidst a failing economy and a charitable sector struggling to cope within an uncertain economic environment. But as ministers scramble for solutions to address the predicament, the overarching concept of Zakat presents a vision of a "big society" in action; a social contract between civilisations’ rich and poor where each individual shares a moral and duty-bound obligation to help one another.

So what lessons can the state’s flagship programme learn from this spiritual act of giving and is there space for Zakat to fill the unfolding funding vacuum?

Zakat is the third pillar of Islam and the compulsory form of charity ordained by God to be paid each year. Every year, each Muslim that meets the minimum wealth criteria (known as the nisab) is compelled to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth to people in need.

Zakat is not seen solely as a mechanism to redistribute income to the poorer elements of Islamic civilisation. It is also believed to ‘purify’ an individual’s accumulation of wealth and assets over a year, while enshrining the right of help to the community’s needy.

Zakat has been in practice since the foundation of Islam over 1400 years ago. A system for the collection and distribution of Zakat first materialised following the Prophet’s (pbuh) migration to Medina (known as the hijra). Collectors of Zakat were appointed to visit potential Zakat payers, and having helped them to assess their Zakatable assets, would collect the due amounts and distribute it to those in need within the local area and its surroundings.

Anecdotal reports from the first 100 years of Islam indicate that Zakat had a huge impact on poverty alleviation. While no figures on Zakat collection during this period exist, narrations from the time of Caliph Umar bin al-Khattab (634-643AD) and Omar bin Abdul Aziz (718-720AD) suggest poverty was eradicated, with rulers in some regions struggling to disperse Zakat proceeds due to the lack of poor and eligible recipients.

Government ministers would be hard-pressed to ignore recent figures on Zakat donations, which indicate that such offerings are one of the largest contributors in humanitarian world today. A report from IRIN, the news and analysis service of the UN office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), included estimates that each year, somewhere between US$200 bn and US$1 trn (£130 bn and £645 bn respectively) are given as mandatory and voluntary donations across the Muslim world. At the low end of this estimate, this is 15 times more than global humanitarian aid contributions in 2011.

There remains great potential for Zakat donations to play an even more important role towards development, particularly within these shores. In the UK, Zakat tends to be paid to Muslim relief agencies that address international issues and humanitarian crises, such as poverty relief and helping people meet their basic needs. However, an important tenet of Zakat is that collected funds should be dispersed locally first where there is need before being spread further afield.

As ministers struggle to instil a culture of giving within British society, Islam and its concept of Zakat illustrates the potential of philanthropy when effective drivers to give are in place.

It may be idealistic to suggest that Zakat can inspire a new generation of givers in the UK. Yet the brotherly spirit and the love and care between one another that embodies this act of giving can certainly be held up as an example of a working human community in action. With the landmark events of 2012 filling the nation with pride and re-awakening a sense of citizen comradery among the British population, the possibilities of Zakat making a larger contribution to eligible causes in the UK should be a major area of consideration; an opportunity for Muslims to use their faith as a benchmark for forging the nation’s "big society".

Fadi Itani is Chief Executive of Zakat House. For more information about Zakat House and their latest campaign, visit www.justzakat.org.uk

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More from Fadi Itani

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33 comments

Tue, 2012-08-14 15:57 — Fadi Itani

Thank you to everyone for commenting.

1. Firstly, I don’t quite understand why there’s been such a backlash against this article when it is essentially a positive example of giving among the Muslim faith group, and a type of giving that many people are unaware of, and how this could potentially benefit UK society. It’s clear that the Big Society agenda has stalled and Ministers have struggled to bring it back to the foreground. This article is merely pointing out that there is a lot of potential for Zakat and Muslim charitable donations in general to make a greater contribution to UK society, both financially and as a positive story to others, given the amount of money that flows out from these communities to international humanitarian causes.
2. I’ve not been scathing about the British public’s propensity to give and I would never do so. Quite the opposite, the UK is one of the most generous societies in the world (see World Giving Index and UK Giving publications). The mood of the country in the last 16 days has never been bettered, from the joy and pride we’ve taken from delivering such a successful Olympic games, the support we’ve provided to our competitors and the elation of watching them perform so valiantly, and the huge effort of the volunteers who have dedicated their free time and goodwill to ensure a triumphant Games. This is a real opportunity for the UK government to build upon the buoyant climate, to forge deeper ties and roots for how we support one another, and to create real and lasting social change for the millions of people in need of our help. There may not be another opportunity like this in our lifetime. British Muslims should have a major role in this given the importance of charitable giving and community spirit to our faith.

There is nothing more dangerous in our world than being negative and spreading incorrect information about others, especially when concerning something as good and positive as charity. It is time to stop dividing our world between them and us, and it is time to stop cursing the darkness and light a candle instead.

Tue, 2012-08-14 16:49 — Des Demona (not verified)

Well said but you completely fail to address the apparent sectarian nature of Zakat in that it appears to be only for the benefit of muslims? Or am I wrong? Surely charitable giving should be for the benefit of all regardless of religion or race.
I am non-religious and would say the same thing if this article was in relation to a Christian or Jewish 'tithe' that was only expended on the poor of that particular faith. A religious 'tithe' is certainly a good way of raising mone for good causes. To then restrict the 'good causes' to only those belonging to that religion is in my opinion quite against the spirit of giving.

Tue, 2012-08-14 09:49 — Des Demona (not verified)

Maybe Zakat woulkd inspire a new generation of givers if it didn't appear, from what I see in the article, that it is given exclusively for the benefit of the Muslim community? I think giving should be inclusive not exclusive.
In fact having thought about it I find the whole concept pretty divisive.I believe the charity Christian Aid for example makes no distinction on religion when bringing relief to the poor.

Mon, 2012-08-13 22:33 — Val South (not verified)

Some of the comments below are a shocking display of intolerance. Comparing the Welfare state (which I may say has become obsolete in many Western countries, especially the US), or Western aid to Zakat donations not only falls into a false dichotomy, but also displays a profound incapacity to understand (and perhaps learn from) a different culture.

Plus, praising a Muslim tradition does not mean "offending" Western cultures, as some have said. Why do we continue enforcing antagonisms? Are we ever going to learn to respect each other's culture? Are we ever going to let ethnocentric discourses aside?

As a non-Muslim, I think Zakat is a good practise, an example to praise.

Mon, 2012-08-13 16:19 — Mam Tor

Comparing zakat to Humanitarian Aid is pretty low.

Firstly, humanitarian Aid is usually disaster Aid, it doesn't cover the much larger Development Aid, which is where most non-muslim Aid is given. Secondly zakat includes money given for mosques, masjids, convertion, proselytism which no-one would expect to see coming out of humanitarian aid.

Zakat is intended to be distributed locally but this could be so it is not seen as an invader tax, with taxes asset stripping invaded countries. One result of this is that zakat is mostly distributed to muslim recipients and not non-muslim. Also immigrant communities are frequently given the choice of sending zakat to their country of origin, still regarded as 'local'.

Saudis do support the WFP but again this is mainly single donations to specific (muslim) countries.

So it is difficult for anyone (except perhaps Itani) to see how this demonstrates "the brotherly spirit and the love and care between one another that embodies this act of giving can certainly be held up as an example of a working human community in action."

Rather it seems a by word for bigotry and racism. The Huffington Post carried the mark 1 version of this puffery and it seems bizarre that both the HP and NS have become carriers for bigotry.

Mon, 2012-08-13 17:58 — HassanS (not verified)

Actually the primary purpose of Zakat is for the relief of poverty and to meet peoples' basic needs, which you can very much classify as humanitarian aid. The other categories do focus on other aspects of supporting the Muslim community but predominantly Zakat is directed towards humanitarian relief and aid efforts. There is also an increased desire among some NGOs to utilise the potential of Zakat towards more sustainable development goals, such as micro-finance projects and livelihood support. Read the IRIN article that this piece references.

Also, are you sure most non-Muslim aid is given as development aid? Do you actually know what development aid is? I'd suggest reading UK Giving to find out where most charitable donations are directed to from the general public.

Yes, Zakat is intended for Muslims but the piece never denies this and that is not its argument. Zakat is means of income redistribution from the rich to poor, to purify the wealthier elements of society's wealth and to provide a support sytem for those in need. Its intended to bring people in the Muslim world closer to one another, essentially operating like their own welfare state. Is that really so bad? It may not be as effective as it could be in places but that is its intended structure and I think that's part of the argument of the article, that it has the potential to do more, particularly in the UK.

On a sidenote, Muslims do give to charity outside of Zakat - this is called Sadaqah, it is voluntary and can be for anyone in need. So if part of your argument is that Muslims only give to Muslims then you are again quite misinformed.

Final point: the definition of a bigot is a person who is utterly intolerant of any differing creed, belief, or opinion.

Mon, 2012-08-13 15:33 — William Peters (not verified)

Excellent article.

Mon, 2012-08-13 15:15 — Iva (not verified)

@Plain John Smith - The Catholic Church is the largest, most well funded and organized pedophile group in the history of man! In 2007 alone over 200 Catholic priests have been accused of sexually abusing children. You heard that right 200 priests that are under investigation for sexually abusing children live near areas they live within a mile of 1,500 playgrounds, schools and day-care centres” across California. There where many “ if not all” of the 200 priests admit to sexually abusing children. No further proof need be given on the Judgment Day against every single person of authority in that monstrous organization of perverts. This will help John to think again before pointing fingers….

Mon, 2012-08-13 15:05 — Jessica Holmes (not verified)

Wow, what on Earth are the BNP/EDL doing reading the New Statesman? The negative comments below are just shocking. Your hatred for all things Islam/Muslims prevents you to see any good, just as 'Al-Qaeda''s hatred of the west prevents them from seeing any good in the West.

Learn to appreciate good wherever it may come from.

Zakat = 'Thumbs-Up'

Mon, 2012-08-13 14:54 — Andrea W. (not verified)

Well written article. Muslims must donate their zakat, as part of their religion, so I think it's a great idea for these funds to be used for development and social change.

Mon, 2012-08-13 14:49 — Steve Lawrence (not verified)

I must say, I didn't know about all this. The Zakat system is clearly a lovely thing. If it's combined with other initiatives, then without doubt it will bring much benefit to the world.

We need to big enough to learn from each other. We shouldn't allow anger to make us blind to what is clearly good. And Zakat is clearly good.

Mon, 2012-08-13 14:33 — Mark Larry (not verified)

So many stupid comments from evidently ill-educated right-wing haters.
Sure there are things in Islam I don't like, but to attack the concept of Zakat like this, tells more of people's insecurity and level of thinking than anything else.

The article was a nice and thoughtful read. Stop hating.

Mon, 2012-08-13 14:25 — Akbar Mohamed (not verified)

It is shocking to see that the act of charity, regardless of its form, is attacked by detractors, who have no better use of their time than to attack, obfuscate and even deviate from a subject matter like Zakat.

I don’t understand the mindset of such people - most of you who probably belong in an insane asylum – who feel the need to diverge the conversation to unrelated subjects (I’m looking at you PLAIN JOHN SMITH). What relevance has Zakat got with the heinous crimes of certain individuals? What about the story about a soldier who raped a school girl on Christmas Day in Walsall?

Should I plaster posts about how Christians are all rapists under a story about how a church raises money?

If anyone bothered to read the article, you would find it to be a critique of the government’s Big Society initiative and looking at Zakat as possible inspiration to bringing it back on track? To criticise that is petty and downright silly.

Oh and to answer Keir and his three questions at the end of this post; yes, yes and yes!

Mon, 2012-08-13 13:40 — plain john smith (not verified)

Allah Akbar!!!

Andrew Parker, The Sun (London), August 9, 2012
Two evil brothers face long jail terms after they were yesterday convicted of grooming schoolgirls for sex and selling them as prostitutes.

Ahdel Ali, 24, groomed a 13-year-old girl from the day he met her and later raped her.

He also had sex with two other 15-year-old girls who he later pimped out with his brother Murbarek Ali, 29.

A court heard the teenagers were driven to the rear of a shop and forced to climb through a window “because they were white girls”. Murbarek got one of them to have sex with two restaurant workers when she was four months pregnant.

The brothers’ links with Asian restaurants and fast food shops provided them with a network of punters who paid £20 to £50 for sex, Stafford Crown Court heard. The girls, from Telford, Shropshire, regularly failed to attend school or went missing from home and were “easy prey” for the brothers, who are both married.

The pair controlled their victims by offering them lifts and mobile phone top-ups, urging them to drink vodka and smoke cannabis and giving them fags and food.

The brothers, also from Telford, who denied a total of 26 charges involving sexual abuse and sexual exploitation, will be sentenced in October.

Original Article

Mon, 2012-08-13 11:59 — Daniel de B (not verified)

Surely we should all have the moral compulsion to doate part of our wealth before being told God or some other authority tells we have to! Also, "...somewhere between US$200 bn and US$1 trn (£130 bn and £645 bn respectively) are given as mandatory and voluntary donations across the Muslim world" - Wow...don't think I've seen quite as vague and massive a gap in estimates ever!!!

Mon, 2012-08-13 11:41 — plain john snith (not verified)

The reason that Arab countries are so poor is mainly because the people there have very low IQs. This is mainly because of cousin marriage producing low IQ kids over many generations.

Mon, 2012-08-13 14:30 — Akbar Mohamed (not verified)

Well, they probably all have a higher IQ than you. Again nothing related to the article. That low IQ must be making hard to for you to read and comprehend.

Mon, 2012-08-13 14:43 — Mark Larry (not verified)

LOL, exactly.

Sun, 2012-08-12 18:42 — Elizabeth. (not verified)

if you want to be charitable stop waging war against all non-Moslems, stop stoning your own women to death stop your persecution of Gays.

Sun, 2012-08-12 12:23 — Red Rain (not verified)

"millions of Muslims across the UK" .... Less than 2 millions Muslims live in the UK.. Muslims love to over inflate their number. "So what lessons can the state’s flagship programme learn from this spiritual act" Nothing... We created the welfare state the same welfare state all poor Muslims in the UK depend upon. "As ministers struggle to instill a culture of giving within British society" We give all the time 20 BILLION in foreign aid alone. We also gave £202.6 billion last year to maintain the welfare state if that's not giving I haven't a clue what is!!

Sun, 2012-08-12 10:40 — Amadeus (not verified)

Firstly, there is no single Islamic country in the world rendering the concept of the Zakah useless, as it is not constructed in the economic and political framework.

Secondly, Zakah is mistaken for charity but "taxation" is more an accurate term.

Thirdly, the IMF-World Bank system goes against the rules of Islam as gold is the only Islamically traded currency. All these "Islamic Banks" are nothing more than Trojan horses for back door interest, supporting the IMF-World Bank's oppressive economic global hegemony.

Hence in order to see the fruits of Zakah, one has to follow Islam completely and holistically and THEN you'll see the fruits, they way Caliph Omar bin Abdil Azeez saw the fruits.

Sun, 2012-08-12 03:10 — tony Maloney (not verified)

@Kier- "one if five Arabs live on less than $2 per day"

a clear indication that you are talking out of your arse. Where did you find that statistic? I find it hard to believe that any statistician has grouped peoples into arabs and non-arabs when most people can't even define what an arab is.

Sun, 2012-08-12 12:39 — Red Rain (not verified)

The UN as no problem defining what an arab is. A UN report released some grim figures on life in Arab countries.
A new UN report on development in the Arab world has shown that one in five residents of Arab nations live on less than $2 per day. The Arab Human Development Report, issued by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), noted a high economic vulnerability among Arab states which has taken a toll on the overall human security of the area. The report claimed that 20% of the Arab population in the Middle East lives on less than two dollars a day and outlined a number of negative economic trends throughout the Middle East.

Sun, 2012-08-12 00:44 — Pavlova

"The Muslim Zakat: a vision of the "big society"?"

Muslim states and communities are a vision of social malaise. Name me a single one that functions properly or well.

I mean seriously, are you trying to hold up Muslim society and welfare as an example Britain could learn from? Seriously?

Sun, 2012-08-12 00:27 — Pavlova

Surely this is just an annual tax to go towards a rudimentary social welfare system.

And I know Muslims are fond of the notion that they invented the concept, but they didn't.

"As ministers struggle to instil a culture of giving within British society"
I think it's pretty unfair to accuse non-Muslims of not having a culture of giving when most of them pay annual taxes *and* give to charities. It's non-Muslim, Western societies that have the most comprehensive welfare states and charitable sectors.

Ones that not only sustain their own citizens, but others too, including Muslim ones. Pakistan for example receives billions in Western aid each year. Any time there's an NGO project or disaster relief or international aid, it will be westerners taking the lead. There are thousands of British people volunteering their time and expertise all over the world right now; teaching, training, managing projects, providing medical aid and disaster relief and environmental research. While, I might add, rich Muslim states don't pull their weight within or outside their borders.

I'd be very surprised if Muslims volunteered or donated to charity at anywhere near the rates British people do, outside of organisations aimed at Muslims and Islam.

So all in all I think this article is pretty offensive.

Wed, 2012-08-15 06:58 — ahmed abdullai (not verified)

firstly my name is ahmed abdullai,for west african ghana am a student at institutes of islamic student ,i will to ask you if you can help me with zakat so that i can go back to to.
thank you
ahmed abdullai

Sun, 2012-08-12 11:39 — peace1940 (not verified)

Luxemburg contributes more money to charity than the richest Muslim country (Saudi Arabia). In any case, Zakat was never intended to be a charity and even now a days Zakat ends up in the pocket of Muslim preachers and not given to the starving Muslims around the world who rely on non-Muslims for thier survival.

Sat, 2012-08-11 23:37 — peace1940 (not verified)

Firstly, it is either a deception or a delusion to think that a Muslim can pay Zakat from non-Halal money. Zakat can not be paid from non-Halal money. Taking money from or making money from working or trading with non-Muslims are not Halal. Secondly, there is no spirituality in Islam at all and lastly, fasting in Ramada is not just a waste of efforts but also harmful to health in more than one way.

Sat, 2012-08-11 18:18 — Fuad Ali (not verified)

It is the poor's due, not charity, tax is a poor (oops) term. We dont get to feel happy clappy about making sure they get it. nor should we sell it as religious eye candy.
As for running a state off zakat, and it being a politicsless solution to everything, id say grow up and pull the other one!

Sat, 2012-08-11 16:26 — Abdul Rahman Reijerink (not verified)

Zakat is not charity, it belongs to the poor. It is their right.

Sun, 2012-08-12 12:44 — Red Rain (not verified)

Yes... just like our walfare state.

Sat, 2012-08-11 15:21 — AAA (not verified)

Some interesting questions there, Kier.

In an article that most people would see as purely positive, you've managed to taint it with you cynicism. This suggests to me that a predetermined agenda has been expressed. Though to be honest, people like your self litter the world over so not surprised.

I'd also like to suggest your shallow analysis is almost beyond belief- not surprising as you've not really understood the issue.

Zakat is a type of spiritual giving; it does not mean to say only the zakat can be used to sustain a nation exclusively - other mechanisms can be used too.
Sure, many (if not most) global Muslims are very poor, but even you'd be able to discern much of the economic status-quo is largely down to western colonial ideas - whether past or present.

And I'm sure God does love a cheerful giver, but what good is a cheerful giver if they only give when, say, Pudsey on TV? Giving should be regular.

Sat, 2012-08-11 13:27 — Keir

How much compulsion is there in Zakat? How easy is it for a Muslim to give up being a Muslim? Is Zakat not actually a form of taxation?

Some Muslims do actually convert to a faith that supports this idea:

'Each person should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, because God loves a cheerful giver.'

Is 2.5% of income sufficient to overcome poverty even within Islam? Muslims constitute 22 % of the world population but produce <5% of global GDP, and reducing. One in five Arabs live on less than $2 per day. Sierra Leone, Afghanistan ($1 a day), Somalia, Nigeria, many of whose people live by subsistence farming, are countries with a Muslim majority. Within the 60 poorest nations of the world live 60% of the Muslim world. 75% of the world’s refugees come from Muslim nations. More than half of the world’s poor and needy are Muslims.

Does Allah love a cheerful giver? Does Allah love The Shard? Does Allah really love his big society?