Noted religious scholars welcome ruling on 'zakat'

Noted religious scholars welcome ruling on 'zakat'

Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

While praising the government's decision to make the Muslim
religious obligation to pay zakat tax deductible, religious
scholars differed on whether or not the same ruling should be
extended to other religions groups.

Catholic priest and intellectual Mudji Sutrisno welcomed the
ruling, saying that charity should be translated into concrete
action and not just be confined to lip-service.

"I think it's a good idea. I fully support it if it's done to
benefit the poor. But it would be better if the ruling were to be
fully implemented," Mudji said in an interview with The Jakarta
Post on Friday.

However, he disagreed if the ruling were to be applied to
other religious groups, arguing that such a move would be
tantamount to the state interfering in religious affairs.

"Every religion has alms-giving as part of its beliefs. To
make it an obligation is intervening in the charitable duty. Alms
should come from sincerely-held beliefs and conscience. It does
not need to be enshrined in law, Mudji said

Meanwhile, Muslim scholar Komaruddin Hidayat, who is also the
chairman of the Islamic studies foundation Paramadina, argued
that although alms-giving was a personal religious matter, as the
alms that were collected were used for public purposes, such
regulation was therefore needed.

Minister of Religious Affairs Said Agil Husein Al Munawar
recently announced that zakat would become fully tax deductible
next year.

Zakat are donations to charity that all Muslims are obliged by
their religion to give each year, and should amount to 2.5
percent of each individual's total annual net income.

Almost immediately after Minister Said Agil announced the new
ruling last month, people from other religious groups demanded
the same treatment, arguing that other religions also had to
encourage their followers to give alms.

But according to Mudji, the government should draw a clear
distinction between religion and the state.

"Indonesia's Constitution is not based on religious rules but
rather pluralism. Therefore, don't include religious laws in the
state law," Mudji stressed.

He suggested that what the government should do now was to
encourage people to be more honest in paying their religious
obligations, and to ensure the professional management of the
funds in favor of the needy.

Komaruddin, however, backed the idea of state regulation,
saying that zakat and the paying of taxes served similar
purposes, namely to empower and help low-income people.
Therefore, a government role was needed in regulating it and
popularizing it in society.

"The funds collected from zakat could serve as a national
resource if they were managed carefully. They could help the
government in its efforts to alleviate poverty. So, state
recognition is needed," Komarrudin noted.

As for applying the new ruling to other religions, Komaruddin
said that all religions were free to draw up similar schemes.

"There are Directorates General for Christians and other
religions in the Ministry of Religious Affairs. They can also
submit similar ideas. Why not?," Komaruddin said, adding that the
policy was in no way discriminatory.

"Islam is the religion of the majority here. So, it will not
only benefit us but also others," he added.

He admitted that the management of zakat within the Muslim
community itself still left a lot to be desired. Consequently,
Muslims only paid it as a mere obligation rather than as part of
concrete programs, such as the empowerment of the poor.

In order to prevent misappropriation of zakat funds,
Komaruddin suggested that the organizations authorized to collect
and manage the funds be required to submit to auditing by public
accountants.