Dompet Dhuafa, Jakarta Zakat Forum Challenge Zakat Management Law
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Legal counsel Evi Risna Yanti conveying the petition’s subject matter at the preliminary hearing for the judicial review of Law No. 23 of 2011 on Zakat Management, Tuesday (8/6/2024). Photo by MKRI/Ifa.


JAKARTA (MKRI)Dompet Dhuafa Republika Foundation, Jakarta Zakat Forum association, and Arif Rahmadi Haryono have filed a judicial review petition of Article 5 paragraph (1), Article 6 paragraph (1), Article 7 paragraph (1), Article 16 paragraph (1), Article 17, Article 18 paragraph (2), Article 19, Article 20, Article 38, Article 41, and Article 43 paragraphs (3) and (4) of Law No. 23 of 2011 on Zakat Management.

The Petitioners—who are organizations and an individual—have close relations to zakat management. As muzakki (Muslims who are obliged to pay zakat) felt harmed due to the regulation of zakat management in the articles and/or paragraphs in the Zakat Management Law. The community-formed organizations have been educating and campaigning for ZIS or zakat (alms tax), infaq (charity without any hope for a return), and sadaqah (charity with the hope for specific return or protection from adverse events) in stages.

The Amil Zakat Organization (LAZ), which was established much earlier, hopes for a balance in role and duties of LAZ and the National Zakat Board (BAZNAS), which are comparable to banks that are privately- and publicly-run but have equal positions, which are regulated by the central bank Bank Indonesia, which is responsible for making monetary policies, regulating and supervising the financial system, and maintaining rupiah’s stability.

The Petitioners believes that Article 5 paragraph (1) of the Zakat Management Law shows implicitly and explicitly that the main purpose of the establishment of BAZNAS is to take over the collection of zakat that has been done by the community and negate the history of community management of zakat. In fact, when BAZNAS was newly formed, to provide learning and experience to BAZNAS, BAZNAS and the Dompet Dhuafa Republika Foundation cooperated for the management of zakat through Baznas Dompet Dhuafa. The cooperation was carried out because BAZNAS had not have any experience in zakat management.

“We see that the state wanted to participate in managing Muslim religious funds.  This is actually fine, Your Honors, but we wished the state and the lawmakers had considered the historical aspects the time,” said legal counsel Evi Risna Yanti at the preliminary hearing for case No. 97/PUU-XXII/2024 on Tuesday, August 6, 2024.

The Petitioners argued that the provisions overlook the disregard of zakat management institutions that had already existed before BAZNAS when drafting this piece of legislation. This law also does not facilitate community-led zakat management institutions.

In their petitum, the Petitioners request that the Court declare unconstitutional and not legally binding. They also asked the Court to reinterpret the petitioned articles as the Petitioners request.

Justices’ Advice

The hearing was presided over Constitutional Justices Enny Nurbaningsih (panel chair), Anwar Usman, and Ridwan Mansyur. Justice Anwar said that the Petitioners should elaborate their legal standing in relation to their constitutional impairment due to the enforcement of the norms as well as their contradiction with articles in the 1945 Constitution used as touchstones.

“Secondly, and maybe most importantly, the Petitioners should compare the zakat collection in other countries,” he said.

Author            : Mimi Kartika
Editor             : Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR                 : Fauzan Febriyan
Translator       : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Disclaimer: The original version of the news is in Indonesian. In case of any differences between the English and the Indonesian versions, the Indonesian version will prevail.


Tuesday, August 06, 2024 | 16:43 WIB 129