In this episode we talk to Iqbal Nasim, CEO of the National Zakat Foundation, about Islamic giving and using technology to transform the way Zakat works. Including:
- What is Zakat and how does it fit within Islamic teaching?
- What does Islamic teaching say about how Zakat is to be given? (i.e. are there specific causes, should it be anonymous etc?)
- Is Zakat the primary focus of giving for most Muslims, or do many give in other ways too?
- What is Sadaqa, and how does it relate to Zakat?
- Does most Zakat from Muslims in the UK go to international causes? Why, then, did NZF decide to focus on distributing Zakat in the UK?
- How much Zakat goes to individuals and how much to organisations (charities, NGOs etc?) How does this reflect Islamic teaching?
- How is Zakat viewed by givers and recipients- is it seen as a gift made through charity or a payment made as a requirement of justice?
- Is there any stigma to being a recipient of Zakat?
- What responsibilities are there as a digital platform towards those giving and receiving zakat? Should you aim to be a neutral intermediary, or do you have to take a more active role in informing donors, assessing recipients etc?
- Disintermediation through technology brings benefits in terms of allowing more direct connection between giver and receiver, but it may also bring challenges- e.g. in individual crowdfunding there are growing concerns we are seeing biases and old-fashioned distinctions between the "deserving" and "undeserving" poor emerge. Are there similar challenges when it comes to zakat? How can they be mitigated?
- Does the focus on giving to individuals make it harder to address issues at a more systemic level? (i.e. because you can't fund campaigning or advocacy for larger-scale change)
- There is a lot of interest in the wider world of philanthropy (particularly in an international development context) in tapping into Zakat as a potential new source of funding for existing causes, or aligning it with the SDGs etc. Is this feasible, or does it misunderstand what Zakat is and the motivations behind it?
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