The Council of Ministers in Mauritania on Monday (December 26th) adopted a draft decree to create a national body to collect zakat, one of the five pillars of Islam. This annual and obligatory alms is paid to the most needy according to precise rules of solidarity, enacted by Islam. In its draft decree, the Mauritanian government provides for the establishment of a special allocation account for the zakat.
Called ” Beit Mal Zakatt El Mauritani (Mauritanian House of Zakat), this account aims to “ collect and distribute “of this alms” to those who are entitled “, explains the report of the Council of Ministers.
Today, zakat is not regulated in Mauritania: every Muslim pays it in his soul and conscience. ” Creating a national body seems coherent insofar as the country is an Islamic republicexplains Abdallahi ould Awa, professor of economics at the University of Nouakchott. Especially since the zakat represents an extraordinary windfall for financing the economy. »
Contacted by RFI, the Islamist opposition party Tawassoul declined to comment. ” Islamic jurists must first examine the textexplains one of its executives, but they will not be able to decide until we know more about the mechanism of operation and management of this body. »
” The issue of transparency is indeed acutecomments an observer. Will Mauritanians have confidence in a public body, given the corruption record at the highest level of the state ? »
For the economist Modibo Mao Makalou, this initiative by the Mauritanian authorities represents an innovative solution for mobilizing financial resources, while the country is facing many economic difficulties.
For economist Modibo Mao Makalou, Zakat could be an innovative way for Mauritania to find financial resources
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