Maldives raises record MVR 98 million in zakat

The Maldives Zakat House has received MVR 98 million in zakat proceeds so far this year, says Islamic Minister Dr. Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed.

In a brief press statement on Wednesday, Saeed said that the MVR 98 million marks the highest zakat collection in Maldives’ history.

Shaheem said that the Islamic Ministry aims to raise at least MVR 100 million in zakat collections each year.

“…and to provide greater assistance to those entitled to zakat under the principles of Sharia. This is the result of the decision by Dr. [Mohamed] Muizzu’s administration to establish a dedicated institution for zakat,” he said, referring to the Maldives Zakat House, which was established in January.

Zakat proceeds were recently used to finance a project outside of the Maldives for the first time this year, with a USD 100,000 donation to the Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) to supply water to residents of Gaza.

The project will see the distribution of 50,000 water boxes to 60,000 people in need.