The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Dhaka

The instruction of Islam for Muslims is to deposit Zakat money to the government's Zakat Fund so that the government can take proper steps in alleviating poverty and make improvement of the lives of poor.

Khateeb of the Baitul Mokarram National Mosque Moulana Mufti Nuruddin on Sunday said at a press briefing at the conference room of the Press Information Department (PID).

Bangladesh Islamic Foundation organised the press briefing on "Creating Awareness Among the People about the Zakat Fund".

Director General (DG) of the Foundation Fazlur Rahman readout a written statement in the briefing.

Principal Information Officer (PIO) Iftekhar Hossain and senior deputy principal information officer MA Halim were present.

The philosophy of Zakat is to purify the minds of the rich people so that they can prepare themselves to donate money and other assets for the benefit of poor people. "If the people have the tendencies of making more and more assets and do not want to donate for poor, their minds get polluted and they get involved in activities which are not permissible in Islam," Moulana Mufti Nuruddin added.

DG of Bangladesh Islamic Foundation said, each of the Taka from Zakat Fund is being utilised in honest way and the fund is contributing a lot for the betterment of the poor.

"The money from the Zakat Fund is being spent in a very transparent way and the fund has been playing a very vital role in alleviating poverty," he said and urged the rich people of the society for depositing their Zakat money to the government's Zakat Fund.

He said, a total of 5,43,342 poor have been benefited from the Zakat Fund during last 26 years, he said adding the amount collected money in the Fund was Taka 6.70 crore during the period.

The collection of Zakat money in 26 years was much less due to lack of publicity about the activities of the government's Zakat Fund, he said.

The Zakat Fund of the government has been formed in 1982 for giving the Zakat management an institutional shape. A 13 member committee was constituted for operating the fund.

The money from the Zakat Fund was utilised for treatment of children, providing training to the poor, distributing stipends among poor students, rehabilitation of widows, giving rickshaws and vans, financial assistances, building houses for homeless, and providing money to start small business.