Jakarta – The Ministry of Religious Affairs will develop a special team to collaborate with the National Alms Agency (Baznas) to improve the zakat (alms) management ecosystem.
“It is commendable that the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Baznas have created a special team to identify issues impeding zakat administration,” Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas said in a written statement received here on Friday.
According to Qoumas, Indonesia, where Muslims constitute the majority of the population, has a significant potential for zakat to boost the people’s economy. As a result, he believes it is really regrettable if management is subpar.
He believes that one of the issues is that people do not realize that zakat is necessary for Muslims. As a result, many people still believe that zakat is synonymous with infaq (disbursements) and sedekah (simple alms), he stated.
As a result, major socialization must be carried out collaboratively in order to remove the false perception of zakat, he stressed.
Of course, if we don’t do it together, Baznas’ duty will be difficult. Thus, let us rebuild the partnership in order for it to function properly and to develop a strong zakat management ecosystem, “he made a statement.
Noor Achmad, the head of Baznas, applauded the minister’s plan. According to Achmad, the coordination between Baznas, the ministry, and regional administrations has not been perfect thus far.
So far, there have been several issues with the synergy and coordination between the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Baznas, and, in particular, regional administrations. We are hopeful that we will be able to find a solution together, “he stated.
According to the Baznas head, the formation of the special team is in line with the strengthening programs launched by Baznas, namely the strengthening of institutions, management and organization, the strengthening of human resources, the strengthening of facilities and infrastructure, and the strengthening of networks.