The Third International Zakah Conference

Abstract

The first International Zakah Conference was held in Kuwait in 1984 (1404 H) at the invitation of Kuwait Zakah House. The second International Zakah Conference was held in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in 1986 (1406 H), at the invitation of the Zakah and Income Tax Department of the Kingdom. The Third International Zakah Conference, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, intended to achieve the following goals: i) To provide a comprehensive picture of different socio­economic and organizational dimensions of Zakah institutional systems currently operating in Muslim countries and communities. ii) To study the economic significance of various institutional frameworks. iii) To focus on the effects of the mandatory payment of Zakah to the state. iv) To compare different systems of Zakah collection and disbursement in use in different IDB member countries. v) To provide a forum for exchange of views and sharing of experiences of Zakah administration both for scholars and administrators. The principal theme of the Third International Zakah Conference was the institutional framework of Zakah. The conference was jointly organiz.ed by: i) Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRI'I) of IDB, Jeddah, ii) Islamic Affairs Division, Minister of Religious Affairs in the Office of the Prime Minister of Malaysia, iii) Zakah and Income Tax Department, Ministry of Finance and National Economy, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, iv) Zakah House, Kuwait, and v) International Shari'ah Board for Zak.ah, Kuwait. The conference began with a welcome address on behalf of the President of the Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah. The address highlighted the importance of the conference in contributing toward the establishment of a more effective Zakah system in the Muslim Urrunah. Mr. Abdul Ghafar bin Baba, Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, in his opening speech, emphasized ...