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Pakistan
Zakat as a Welfare System
Social security plans were first introduced in the 1960s but
have never achieved much success. Traditionally, the family and
biradari have functioned as a welfare system that can
be relied on in times of need based on reciprocal obligations.
In 1980, as a part of his Islamization program, Zia introduced
a welfare system, known as the Zakat and Ushr Ordinance. Based
on the Islamic notion of zakat, the aim was to forge
a national system to help those without kin. The Zakat and Ushr
Ordinance combined elements of the traditional Islamic welfare
institution with those of a modern public welfare system. The
ordinance's moral imperative and much of its institutional structure
were directly based on the Quran and the sharia.
As a traditional religious institution, zakat involves
both the payment and the distribution of an alms tax given by
Muslims who enjoy some surplus to certain kinds of deserving poor
Muslims ( mustahaqeen--see Glossary). The traditional interpretation
by the Hanafi school of religious law stipulates that zakat
is to be paid once a year on wealth held more than a year. The
rate varies, although it is generally 2.5 percent. Ushr
is another form of almsgiving, a 5 percent tax paid on the produce
of land, not on the value of the land itself. Both zakat
and ushr are paid to groups as specified in the Quran,
such as the poor, the needy, recent converts to Islam, people
who do the good works of God, and those who collect and disburse
zakat.
The Zakat and Ushr Ordinance set broad parameters for eligibility
for zakat, which is determined by local zakat
committees. Priority is given to widows, orphans, the disabled,
and students of traditional religious schools. Eligibility is
broad and flexible and presumes great trust in the integrity,
fairness, and good sense of the local zakat committees.
Although the program initially focused on providing cash payments,
it gradually has moved into establishing training centers, especially
sewing centers for women. By 1983 the zakat program had
disbursed more than Rs2.5 billion to some 4 million people. The
program, however, has come under a great deal of criticism for
the uneven manner in which funds are disbursed.
Shia have vociferously criticized the program on the basis that
its innate structure is built around Sunni jurisprudence. Shia
leaders successfully have championed the right to collect zakat
payments from members of their community and to distribute them
only among Shia mustahaqeen.
Data as of April 1994
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