Part of Zakat alms will go to abandoned children, King Hassan II says
Morocco, Economics, 1/15/1999

King Hassan II announced on Thursday that part of the Zakat alms will go to abandoned children to help them grow up in an atmosphere imbued by the moral values of the Moroccan Islamic society.

The sovereign made the announcement during a religious ceremony held in Rabat on the occasion of "Lailat Al-Kadr" (the Night of Destiny), on which the Koran was revealed to prophet Sidna Mohammed and which is celebrated between the 26th and 27th of the holy month of Ramadan.

The sovereign said the Moroccan department of Habous (endowments) and Islamic affairs had published a guide compiling general and detailed provisions on the Zakat, alms tax provided for by the Islamic law.

He added that the guide took into account the standpoint of Moroccan ulemas (theologians) and that the government will have to examine ways of implementing it.

The Zakat is a voluntary contribution that does not require legislative texts, but only regulatory texts to set the bases and modalities of the Zakat identify the structures for collecting the funds and define the beneficiaries and modes of distribution, the sovereign said.

King Hassan II, who assessed the Zakat returns at between 600 and 800 Million Dirhams (around $65 million to $86 million), said, "This huge amount should be disbursed in a rational and honest way."

He added, "One quarter of these returns should go to abandoned children so that these children live, before being secured education and employment, in an atmosphere imbued by the moral values of our Moroccan Islamic society."

The sovereign expressed hope that a program of action will be set up in cooperation between the government, the regional councils, the rural and urban communes, the prefectoral and provincial assemblies and that the action be sustained and continuous so that the Zakat yields its first fruits as of next June.

During the ceremony that was attended by Crown Prince Sidi Mohammed, Prince Moulay Rachid, the Cabinet members and several Moroccan and foreign personalities, a Chinese theologian, Mohamed Saleh took the floor on behalf of the theologians having attended the religious lectures held on the occasion of Ramadan under the chairmanship of King Hassan II to hail the sovereign's action in the service of the propagation of Islam and defense of Islamic causes.

The ceremony was also marked by the reading of two poems by Moroccan Mohamed el-Haloui and Syrian Mohieddine Al Baradii. Both poems lauded the sovereign's actions in favor of the Arab- Islamic nation and hailed Morocco's glory.

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