Nzf Canada At The World Zakat; Waqf Forum 2022

The World Zakat and Waqf Forum was established in 2010 and consists of more than 40 member countries. The thought leaders in Islamic social finance gather annually at the Forum to create meaningful strategic action to become future-ready and use its platform to share innovative ideas in Zakat and Waqf development.   

Hosted by National Zakat Foundation Worldwide, the 11th Annual World Zakat and Waqf Forum was held in Leeds, UK, from Sept. 28 – 30, 2022. We at NZF Canada had the honour and privilege to participate and join discussions on Islamic Philanthropy Leadership’s impact on today’s global cost of living crisis.  

Representing NZF Canada, Zubair Qasim (CEO) and Zaid Mirza (Program Director), connected with world leaders in the Islamic social finance arena and shared their passion and dedication to strengthening the Canadian Muslim community. They had inspiring conversations on ways to create meaningful and lasting social change by effectively utilizing Zakat within one's community not just to tackle extreme poverty but also pave the path toward supportive communities that are self-sufficient.    

“It was alarming to learn that one-third of all Muslims live in poverty in the OIC (Organization of the Islamic Cooperation) countries. I believe that if Zakat in each of these countries was paid properly and allocated locally, it could completely lift Muslims out of poverty, wherever they may be,” said Mirza.   

At the 3-day WZWF, Mirza moderated a panel session on – Identifying potential future collaboration among the Forum member countries. The panellists were Yasmina Francke from South Africa National Zakat Fund (SANZF), Irfan Syauqi Beik from Badan Wakaf Indonesia, Dato' Amran Hazali from Zakat Penang (Malaysia) and Abror Ismailov from Newstead Capital, UK.   

The panellists identified barriers that impact collaborative efforts toward a better future and how to break down those barriers. The discussion also highlighted how to benefit all parties involved and ways to create incentives for new members to join the WZWF to improve coordination and effectiveness of the collection of Zakat and the use of Waqf globally. 

Thank you to the outstanding panellists for sharing thought-provoking presentations on achieving socio-economic stability, utilizing Islamic social finance tools and technology, and much more. We at NZF Canada are grateful for this wonderful opportunity to gain unprecedented access into discussing innovative solutions in Zakat and Waqf development. We look forward to implementing our learnings from the Forum to strengthen the Canadian Muslim community and better serve our donors and beneficiaries. 

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