Volume IV, Issue II (April 2006) - Columbus School of Law

poor or provide other social services. 65 Zakāt funds are established by governments (the moretraditional model), by banks, or by similar funds-management institutions. As mentioned above,non-governmental zakāt fund institutions appear to be a relatively recent development in Islamiccharity. Dubai Islamic Bank, for example, claims that it established the ‘first’ Islamic ZakātFund in 1975, ‘as a pioneering initiative by Dubai Islamic Bank, as part of its belief in fulfillingthe Zakat obligation imposed by God.’ 66 Moreover, although evidence of this is ‘anecdotalrather than the result of in-depth study of zakat institutions,’ there may be emerging a variety ofnew models. 67 This includes such cross-border innovations as the recently-announced jointventure between Dubai eGovernment and the Zakat Fund in Abu Dhabi. 68 Interestingly, whileapparently they have not been studied enough yet to reach any concrete conclusions as to whythese zakāt funds may be growing in popularity, it may reflectthe opening of Islamic societies to more pluralistic and democratic approaches; theemergence of a new and powerful Muslim middle class in the United States, Europe,South Asia, Southeast Asia, and even in the Middle East; and the increasinglyinternational nature of relationships within the Islamic world. 69In contrast to the contemporary zakāt fund, the ‘idea of the waqf is as old as humanity.’ 70 Formillennia, societies have established temples and other places of religious worship, as well asproperties exclusively dedicated as monasteries, schools, and libraries. Some scholars argue thatthe modern form of the waqf derives from Byzantine practice and, in the Abrahamaic tradition,Abraham is regarded as the founder of the first waqf in establishing endowed temples. 71Professor Timur Kuran elaborates in an in-depth study of the origins and development of thewaqf:The institution did not have to be developed from scratch because various ancientpeoples – Persians, Egyptians, Turks, Jews, Byzantines, Romans, and others – haddeveloped similar structures. Just as Islam itself did not emerge in a historical vacuum,so the first founders of Islamic trusts and the jurists who shaped the pertinent regulationsalmost certainly drew inspiration from models already present around them. 72In turn, the waqf not only established itself as a ‘defining feature of Islamic civilization … [but] itwent on to become a source of cross-civilizational emulation.’ 73 Scholars credit the waqf withhaving influenced the development of trusts in Western Europe -- most notably the establishment65 Bremer, above n 37, 8.66 Dubai Islamic Bank website at 12 July 2005: ‘Thebank set up the Zakat Fund to channelise the zakat from the bank funds, such as reserve amounts and theforwarded profits. The Fund also collects the zakat of those clients who wish the bank to distribute it ontheir behalf.’67 Bremer, above n 37, 11.68 ‘Dubai eGovernment joins hands with Zakat Fund’, AME Info FZ LLC (United Arab Emirates), 21March 2005, < http://www.ameinfo.com/56214.html> at 12 July 2005.69 Bremer, above n 37, 11.70 Monzer Kahf, ‘Waqf and its sociopolitical aspects’ (1992) [published by Islamic Research and TrainingInstitute (IRTI) of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia] at 20 June 2005.71 Bremer, above n 37, 9, citing John Robert Barnes, An Introduction to Religious Foundations in theOttoman Empire (1987) 5-6, 12-15.72 Timur Kuran, ‘The Provision of Public Goods under Islamic Law: Origins, Impact, and Limitations ofthe Waqf System’ (2001) 35 Law and Society Review 841, 848.73 Ibid.16