New 'zakat' law will not affect donations collected: Bazis

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The city's Muslim Charitable Donations Board (Bazis) and several mosques have expressed optimism that the new government policy on zakat (Islamic alms) will not affect the amounts they collect annually in zakat.

The chairman of Bazis Jakarta, Abdul Shomad Muin, stressed that the board had many loyal donors.

"It doesn't matter if our zakat donations decrease as we only act as the collector and distributor (of zakat). We don't get a penny from handling it," Abdul told The Jakarta Post on Monday, adding that Bazis employees are paid by the city administration.

Zakat is a tithe that all Muslims are obliged by their religion to pay, and should amount to 2.5 percent of their wealth. Recently, the government issued a new regulation which provides that the 2.5 percent paid in alms is deductible from the income tax of donating Muslim worker.

The government also plans to establish a National Zakat Executive Agency to handle the collection and distribution of the alms.

Separately, H.Suhendar, an official from the Istiqlal Mosque in Central Jakarta, expressed similar optimism, saying that although zakat was a religious obligation for all Muslims, actual payment depended on their individual consciences.

"Therefore, the amount we collect in zakat is different each year," he asserted, adding that after the economic crisis hit the country in 1997, donations to the mosque decreased slightly.

According to Abdul, Muslims are free to choose how to pay zakat. He also said the new policy would provide an alternative for Muslims in paying zakat.

Currently, various private groups, such as local mosques, collect and distribute the money to the needy. Distribution usually takes place prior to Idul Fitri.

Last year, Bazis Jakarta collected and distributed Rp 8.4 billion in zakat and other donations for the needy. Most of the those who pay are administration officials and local companies.

The Istiqlal Mosque's management, said Suhendar, was able to collect Rp 7.5 billion last year from ordinary people.

Unlike Bazis, the mosque management still applies the traditional method of distributing zakat by giving some cash and rice to the poor.

Besides giving rice to the needy, Bazis Jakarta has used zakat funds to provide scholarships for about 20,000 students throughout the city, and for helping some 3,000 small-scale vendors and 3,000 mosques.

"We hope the funds can help the needy became financially independent and better educated," he said.