Analysis of Zakat System in High-Income Islamic Countries

Many Islamic countries are facing zakat governance issues including transparency, trust, inconsistency of zakat law with al-Quran and hadith, non-compliance and bureaucracy. Despite of the ongoing issues, little is known about zakat system in Islamic countries particularly the high-income Islamic countries. The high-income Islamic countries should be exemplary models to other Islamic countries as they have unlimited resources to build a dynamic zakat system that includes participation from renowned Islamic scholars to give opinions and fatwa on zakat law and the use of modern technologies to promote transparency and compliance. This study adopts a content analysis technique to analyse zakat system in seven high-income Islamic countries – Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. The data of zakat governance, zakat collection, zakat distribution, transparency, use of modern technology, issues and recognitions for each country were collected and analysed. This study added value to the minimal zakat system literature in Islamic countries. It is hoped that a harmonized zakat system can be adopted by Islamic countries and a strong commitment by all Islamic countries members to help asnaf particularly those who live in the under-developed countries.