By Kashif-ul-Huda, TwoCircles.net
For those who give in Charity, men and women, and loan to Allah a Beautiful Loan, it shall be increased manifold (to their credit), and they shall have (besides) a liberal reward. [Surah Al-Hadeed: 18]
Zakaat or alms-giving is an important pillar of Islam. Sadaqah or charity has also been emphasized in many Quranic verses and ahadith. Is the money raised for charity by the Muslims not enough for community needs or is there a systemic flaw in the disbursement of funds? Why are we not seeing any effect of charity in alleviating poverty among the Muslims of India?
“Oxford Handbook of Muslims in India: Empirical and Policy Perspectives”, a book edited by Abu Saleh Shariff and Rakesh Basant has a chapter devoted to zakaat. Based on a survey data of over six thousand household spread across India, Dr. Shariff estimates zakaat in India to be approximately Rs. 6,760 million. This money if uniformly distributed to 5 million eligible Muslim households then it will be Rs. 1,352 per annum per household.
This number, however conservative, will be off if people are not giving zakaat in the first place. A recent poll on TwoCircles.net asked people about destination of their zakat money. Only 9% of Muslim respondents selected the response that they don’t give zakaat. Majority give zakaat to individuals (27%) or relatives (23%). Then NGOs (17%), madrasas (16%), and masaajid (7%) are recipients of zakaat money, in that order.
With 50% of the money going directly to the beneficiary without any middle man or overhead cost, one should expect to see optimal use of that fund. However, it may also mean that money could be used for immediate needs like medical expenses, urgent repair work, or to pay old loans. Organization, when they are in picture, bring overhead expenses but they can also take advantage of experts and advise the beneficiaries how best to spend the money, helping them come out of poverty.
But should Muslim charity begin and end with zakaat? Given how much is needed to invest in education and employment needs of Indian Muslims shouldn’t people of means be loosening their purse strings and spending a bit more than what is scripturally prescribed to them?
We checked Ministry of Home Affairs website for all NGOs in India with FCRA clearance and receiving more than 1 crore rupees in the financial year 2011-12. There are only 14 Muslim organizations out of a total of 242 that can be found in this list of big NGOs. These 14 organizations raise a total of just over 31 crore rupees or 3.5% of the total money raised by 242 organizations.
A closer look at these 14 organizations reveals an interesting picture. Money sent to these organizations does not necessarily reflect where money is most needed. Kerala tops the list with 6 organizations, then comes Delhi with 3, Gujarat and Maharashtra with 2 each and Uttar Pradesh with a huge population of Muslims with just one organization. States with a large poor Muslim population like Assam, West Bengal, and Bihar have no Muslim NGOs that can raise more than 1 crore in a year.
About 63% of the money collected is by Kerala-based Muslim NGOs. Nation’s capital Delhi with 3 Muslim NGOs but 12% of the total funds comes a poor second. This unequal distribution shows that money is being given based on the sects, castes, and regional considerations and not necessarily where money is most needed.
There are many Muslim organizations doing excellent work by raising money less than a crore of rupees that have not been part of this analysis. But seeing the huge educational and economic gap that is in front of Muslims of India, shouldn’t we living in India or abroad be thinking, planning, and spending on a bigger scale and in a more organized way?
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Kamrun Nehar helped in the data analysis for this report. Data was updated recently but conclusions drawn in this article does not change. Text has not been updated.