Zakat – A viable funding model for enterprise

Posted: April 23, 2016 in Islamic Finance, Poverty
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I remember some years ago, a British commentator remarked in an off the cuff, ignorant manner, that Islam (and therefore Muslims in general) had not contributed any thing of substance in the last 100 years or so.

Which Islam or Muslims was he referring to? A number of respected intellectuals have made valid contributions to the most profound topics of discourse in contemporary matters, be they governance, enterprise or spirituality. Perhaps this person never made an effort to look beyond his own sphere of understanding in order to identify these contributions

One such example of what the Muslim world has delivered for contemplation of all nations states, is the funding model based on Zakat – financial or non-financial investment for the sake of others, not to gain personally, but to establish a method to fulfill a need which private profiteering cannot.

In the UK, we struggle to foot the cost of basic welfare through taxation. The number of taxes in existence are far too much to understand how far the web stretches and how much they impact our everyday lives, destroying incentives to save or to give.

In a part of the world riddled with abject poverty, injustice and failing state apparatus, a beacon of light is being provided by world class medical institutions such as the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital (SKMH), entirely funded by donations and providing free cancer treatment to the most disadvantaged patients. Across the third world, similar initiatives  do exist, whether they are based on Zakat or not, I highlight this project due to it being based on principles found at the core of the Islamic faith; giving up of ones own property to provide for others, in a way which establishes justice.

At the end of 2015, SKMH opened its second site in Peshawar. The factors which make this institution thrive, are not confined to Islam, however it certainly demonstrates the way in which incentives, resources and an interest to gain from intangible, distant means, not necessarily financial in nature (based on a belief in a power other than that of Man), can be made to work perfectly well for a wider section of the population, independent of state disintegration.




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