This week the Wakf (Islamic endowment) Minister of the American-backed Palestinian Authority government in Ramallah issued a plethora of decrees banning all Zakat (alms) committees in the West Bank. The minister claimed that the closure was aimed at reforming the committees and preventing the occurrence of abuse and corruption.
However it is widely believed that the real goal behind the sweeping measures is to eradicate Hamas’s influence in these committees and make the impoverished layers of the Palestinian society constantly at the mercy of the corrupt-ridden Fatah-dominated government and institutions.
During the difficult years of the first and second intifadas (uprisings) against the Israeli occupation the Zakat committees assumed the role of a welfare ministry helping and meeting the needs of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians without any discrimination based on political affiliation. Then the committees saved many lives by helping people perform badly needed surgical operations such as kidney-transplant. Moreover abjectly-poor students who couldn’t pay their college tuitions were helped which enable them to graduate and serve their societies.
Needless to say the insinuations that some of the committees were sufficiently transparent seem to have no iota of truth. Indeed if the minister or anyone else in his ministry has any evidence penalizing the committees let him disclose whatever evidence he may have and report it to the police. But if he doesn’t as is the case he should shut his mouth up and stop libeling people who spent hundreds or thousands of power feeding the hungry helping the poor and the needy.
We all know that the committees submitted comprehensive data pertaining to their activities and expenditures which were subjected to meticulous bookkeeping by certified public accountants.
Obviously the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority didn’t like this success story viewing it as a certain threat. Hence when the opportunity arose earlier this year with Fatah taking over the Wakf ministry the present Wakf Minister did all he could to destroy what had been built for years.
In truth the intended reforming of the Zakat committees is only a euphemism for destroying these institutions an act that Israel is already very happy about.
First of all it is very clear that the vast bulk of the committees’ income comes from wealthy but religious Muslims who wouldn’t pay their Zakat to committees run by people they don’t trust.
Indeed why would a religious Muslim who seeks to please God give his alms money to a committee controlled by people known for their corruption and ill-repute?
This necessarily implies that the sources of income for these committees will dry up the committees’ income and eventually destroy them financially in which case the poor will suffer.
Second with corrupt and morally-questionable entities or people poised to take over these committees it is very safe to assume that institutions and schools and kindergartens associated with these committees will fall into disrepair.
Third it is also reasonable to predict that donors from abroad especially those based in the oil-rich gulf region who until recently supported the Zakat committees will now stop paying their alms to the Fatah-dominated Zakat committees.
Needless to say this will eventually result in the closure of these committees. Is this what his Highness the minister would like to see happen eventually.
Of course Zakat-givers at home and abroad will not stop giving Zakat to the poor and the needy. But they would explore and find other ways and means to purify their money and give the poor their dues.
In addition to corroding and crippling the Zakat committees the current Wakf minister has dismissed many people from their jobs in his ministry purely for political reasons or because he received instructions from the PA intelligence apparatus to fire them.
Such oppressive measures are bluntly illegal since an on-job promotion is an earned right that no one could withdraw unless pursuant the law.
Recently the Minister of Wakf issued a decree banning all symbols of Hamas in the mosques including green banners bearing the Islamic article of faith La Ilaha Illa Allah Muhammad Rasulullah (There is no god other than God and Muhammad is His Messenger). However the minister remained silent when Fatah activists fixed the group’s yellow banners atop mosques in many parts of the West Bank.
Similarly two months ago the Minister issued a strange decree ordering Muslims to pray in open places rather than in the mosques. Fortunately very few people heeded the order as 99.99 % of the masses performed their Eid prayers in the mosques.
We always have to remember that we are a people languishing under a sinister Nazi-like occupation which means that we need to utilize every conceivable means that would help us withstand the pressure of the occupation and oppression.
Needless to say the way the Wakf minister has been behaving seriously undermines our people’s steadfastness and resilience.
In light it is important that this minister be fired as soon as possible for the sake of the national interests and for the sake of the poor.
