Enhancing Zakat Framework of Maldives: A Hundred Muslim Country

Abstract

Maldives is a hundred percent Muslim nation where zakat administrative function is entrusted to a government Ministry, Ministry of Islamic Affairs. Zakat al maal and zakat al fitr is managed by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs. Starting from 1st June 2016, the Ministry of Islamic Affairs has delegated the task of collecting zakat to Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA). At the moment, there is no law in Maldives dealing with zakat and Islamic Training and Research Institute (IRTI) has proposed a set of zakat laws that could be adopted by the country. The objective of this research is to discuss the proposed zakat framework by IRTI. This is a qualitative research. There is limited literature available about the zakat framework in Maldives and it is anticipated that this research will be the beginning point to do research on this point.