Muis to Disburse Over $4 Million Derived from Income of Muis-Managed Wakaf
6 June 2020
1. Wakaf1 comprise assets belonging to the Muslim community which were contributed by benefactors in the past and used for the good of the community. Every year, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) disburses income from Muis-managed wakaf to various beneficiaries.
2. This year, Muis will disburse a total of $4,917,943 from the income of Muis-managed wakaf to various beneficiaries, a slight increase of 1% from the previous year. Of this, $3,646,178 will be channelled to local beneficiaries. Mosques, madrasahs, and Muslim Organisations will also be receiving more as compared to last year.
3. Beginning this year, Muis will allocate $200,000 from the amount allocated to mosques, towards a new Mosque Asatizah Development Fund. This fund can be tapped on by asatizah employed by the mosques to professionalise, upskill and upgrade themselves. The Fund is in line with the Asatizah Workforce Development Plan that was launched during the Muis Work Plan Seminar 2020, and will provide mosque asatizah with training grants to support their learning and upskilling.
4. According to Mr Esa Masood, Chief Executive of Muis, “Our asatizah in the mosques play an instrumental role in providing religious knowledge and guidance, and must continue to be equipped with the relevant skills necessary to respond to contemporary challenges. Dedicating wakaf funds to support our asatizah will allow these efforts to be sustained over the long-term, and will strengthen our mosques in supporting the religious life of the community.”
5. This year, a total of $1,810,477 will be disbursed to the mosque sector. In addition to the Mosque Asatizah Development Fund, this will also fund mosques’ operational needs as well as upgrading and renovation works. Amongst those receiving this support are mosques that are currently fundraising for upgrading or renovation works such as Masjid Khalid, Masjid Khadijah and Masjid Abdul Gafoor.
6. To support various social needs of the Muslim community given the impact of the COVID-19 situation, a total of $535,158 will be disbursed to 29 Muslim organisations such as 4PM, Casa Raudha, Pertapis Children Home and United Indian Muslim Association. This is a 38% increase from the previous year and is intended to support Muslim Organisations, especially charities who serve social causes that support the needs of the community.
7. In addition, our six full-time madrasahs and 38 part-time madrasahs at mosques will be receiving a total of $476,193 including proceeds from Wakaf Ilmu, a wakaf created for the benefit of Islamic religious education in Singapore. This is an 18% increase from the previous year and will support madrasah programmes and initiatives to develop future religious leaders for Singapore.
8. Just as how the Wakaf that has been established by our pioneers in the community continues to support a range of beneficiaries today, more needs to be done to ensure that the community remains resilient in fulfilling its religious needs even in times of crisis in future. As such, as announced by Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, Mr Masagos Zulkifli, at the Minister’s Virtual Hari Raya Get-Together 2020, Muis will be establishing Wakaf Masyarakat Singapura (Singapore Community Wakaf) to financially support our religious institutions, asatizah development and community programmes. Wakaf Masyarakat Singapura will be a new initiative that aims to increase the value of the community’s assets which in turn, will provide greater financial support for the Muslim community in Singapore. Muis is currently working out the details and more information will be provided in due course.
MAJLIS UGAMA ISLAM SINGAPURA
1 Wakaf is the permanent dedication by a Muslim of any movable or immovable property for any purposes as stipulated in the trust deed of the wakaf and recognised by Muslim Law as pious, religious and charitable in nature.
Annex - Details of Wakaf Disbursement 2020
