The Council of Senior\nScholars of Morocco is the highest official religious authority in Morocco, and\nincludes a fatwa council. It follows the Maliki School.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The fatwa starts by\nreasserting the importance of Zakat as one of the five pillars of Islam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It then explains that\nMuslims must give Zakat on their own to legitimate beneficiaries from their\ncountries, who are the categories mentioned in the Quran, Surah 9, verse 60.\nBut it is also allowed to transfer some or all of one\u2019s Zakat to beneficiaries\noutside the country, if their needs are higher than in the country of the Zakat\ndonor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is also allowed for\nthe Zakat donor to use an agent he or she trusts, whether the agent is an individual\nor an organization, to distribute Zakat to legitimate beneficiaries in the donor\u2019s\ncountry or abroad. This is because Zakat is a financial obligation in which\nagency is allowed. It can even be preferable or obligatory to use an agent if\nit is impossible for the Zakat donor to directly reach out to the beneficiaries,\nas this is the case for displaced populations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The fatwa then develops\nthe topic of transferring Zakat abroad, quoting references of the Maliki School.\nIt explains the stance of some scholars regarding the hadeeth used by others to\nforbid transfer of Zakat abroad. The hadeeth is the one where the Prophet\n(peace be upon him) sends Mu\u2019adh to the people of Yemen and tells him what to\nteach them. Among others he tells him to \u201ctake alms from their rich for their\npoor\u201d. Alms here refers to Zakat. The fatwa points out that the preposition\n\u201ctheir\u201d refers to Muslims generally speaking. It does not refer to the Muslims\nof this particular country, as understood by those saying Zakat cannot be transferred\nabroad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It then quotes Imam\nMalik from the book Al Mudawana<\/em>. He was asked: \u201cwhere Zakat should be\ndistributed?\u201d He replied: \u201cto the people of the place where Zakat is collected\n(\u2026). If something is remaining after this, then Zakat would be distributed to\nthe nearest country.\u201d He also says: \u201cif the people of a country are rich, and\nthe Governor knows of another country in a situation of need (\u2026), and part of\nthe Zakat is transferred to [the people of this other country], I see this as\nbeing the correct way, because Muslims should support each other in situations\nof need\u201d. Other books from the Maliki School are also quoted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is no doubt,\naccording to the fatwa, that the reason mentioned in the books for transferring\nZakat abroad is present in the case of displaced populations. This is very\nclear when one looks at their situation, and their lack of basic conditions for\na dignified life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The fatwa states that the\ndisplaced Muslims from Syria, Iraq and Yemen, because of their difficult\nsituations, are considered to be from the Abna\u2019 Sabeel (stranded travelers),\nFuqara (poor) and Masakeen (needy). Some of them could also be considered from\nthe category of the Al Muallafati Quluubuhum (for bringing hearts\ntogether [for Islam]).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before giving a summary\nof the fatwa, the Council affirms that for those who want to give Zakat to\ndisplaced people, UNHCR is the only means or organization to do so. UNHCR would\nbe considered as an agent for the Zakat donor, to transfer Zakat to the\ncountries where these people have been displaced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The fatwa concludes that it is allowed to give Zakat to UNHCR and to consider the organization as a Zakat agent, because it is a neutral and trustworthy organization. In addition to this, giving Zakat to displaced populations is also part of the Islamic and humanist solidarity and cohesion that are promoted by the Quran and the Sunnah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n