World Zakat Forum 2019 Delivers Seven Resolutions

Bandung, MINA – The 2019 International Zakat Forum (WZF) which was held at Bandung, West Java on Tuesday to Wednesday officially closed. As 300 conference participants from 28 countries agreed to formulate 7 resolutions of the theme raised “Optimizing Global Zakat Role through Digital Technology”.

The Secretary General of the WZF and Chairman of the National Amil Zakat Agency (Baznas), Bambang Sudibyo said that the seven resolutions called for the development of global zakat by utilizing advances in digital technology that exist today.

According to Bambang, zakat commitment must pay attention not only to how zakat is collected, and distributed accordingly. But also how zakat is managed professionally, effectively, efficiently, and adapts to fast-moving technological advances.

“The global zakat movement must pay attention to the role of digital technology in the management of zakat because the Muslim world is very broad, from Africa to Southeast Asia which covers six continents,” Bambang said in Bandung on Wednesday, November 6.

Here are the seven resolutions of WZF 2019:

1. The growing role of digital technology must be optimized for the benefit of global zakat development, especially in raising the awareness of Muslims in fulfilling their zakat obligations.

2. The use of digital platforms in zakat management must be increased, WZF invites all WZF members to adopt current technology as part of their zakat management, especially for the promotion, calculation, collection, and distribution of zakat funds in each member of the WZF countries.

3. The relevance of “blockchain” technology to zakat management has been widely discussed. Therefore, WZF recommends all WZF members to further explore the potential of zakat management with “blockchain” technology.

4. The use of digital technology raises specific risks. The presence of Technical Notes (Technical Notes) on the Risk Management of Zakat Organizations is expected to play an important role as a guideline to reduce the risks that may occur from the practice of zakat management including the use of digital technology. Therefore, all WZF member countries are encouraged to adopt these technical guidelines.

5. All members of the WZF are encouraged to adopt Technical Guidelines on Good Amil Governance as manifested in the “Zakat Core Principle” to improve the quality of zakat management.

6. WZF invites all members to strengthen their collaboration with UNICEF and UNDP as agreed in the MoU to meet the SDGs requirements.

7. WZF shows its concern over the involvement of several multilateral institutions in the collection and distribution of zakat, particularly those related to compliance with sharia and national regulations.

It not only that, the 2019 WZF also decided on the ninth WZF International Conference, and the WZF 2020 Annual Meeting in Selangor, Malaysia, and the Selangor Zakat Institution as the main organizer.

The agenda for the 2020 Annual Meeting will include discussions on the Technical Guidelines for Financial Reporting and Zakat External Audit, Technical Guidelines on Zakat Disclosure and Transparency, and discussions on the Zakat Welfare Index. (T/Sj/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)