Riba: Usury or Interest

This edited book aims to raise issues pertaining to the topic of zakat and its primary goal of poverty alleviation. It portrays the dynamism of zakat by highlighting pertinent issues on the management of zakat institutions and innovative programmes that are designed as effective distribution mechanisms. Discussions include zakat payment motives, ways to measure the efficiency of zakat disbursement, economic development initiatives, housing programme, microfinancing, and actual impact on poverty alleviation. The discussions raised put emphasis on policy-orientation with dedicated sections on policy implications and recommendations. This approach is deemed necessary since it could guide the thought process of interested parties towards the creation of new ideas to actualize zakat as a very reliable tool in addressing the massive problem of poverty among Muslim communities. This special feature also significantly adds to the much-needed reference materials in courses on zakat at the intermediate level of undergraduate studies and introductory level of postgraduate programmes.