The index, called the National Zakat Index (IZN), can also map the development of the institution of zakat, Baznas` Chairman Bambang Sudibyo said.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The National Islamic Alms (zakat) Management Agency (Baznas) has launched an index to measure the role of zakat in overcoming poverty and improving recipients welfare.

The index, called the National Zakat Index (IZN), can also map the development of the institution of zakat, Baznas Chairman Bambang Sudibyo said here on Tuesday.

"The index can be used as a reference in evaluating the current condition of zakat management as well as a reference in formulating policies," he noted.

In general, he said, IZN can boost the quality of management of zakat so that its objectives, as stated in Law Number 23/2011, can be achieved.

The index, he added, is the first and the only one of its kind in the world and is, hence, expected to be a barometer of zakat management globally.

Zakat is an obligatory payment made annually under Islamic law on certain kinds of property and is used for charitable and religious purposes.

Bambang hoped IZN can be used to improve the performance of zakat management in Indonesia.

Other countries with a good management of zakat can also use the index, he noted.

According to him, IZN can be directly applied to calculate the zakat management in the first quarter of 2017 and can be used periodically once or twice a year.

"Until now there has been no standard measurement tool that can measure the performance and progress of zakat both at national and international levels. In fact, such measurement is very important in determining the success of zakat distribution and use," he said.

Bambang said the Islamic alms performance could also measure national economic development.

"IZN is expected to become a standard measurement that can be used by regulators, zakat institutions, and communities in evaluating the national Islamic alms development," he said.

Director of Baznas Center for Strategic Studies Irfan Syauqi Beik said the index has been established through quantitative and qualitative research.

The qualitative methodology is used in forming the estimation calculation model while the quantitative method is used to determine the IZN components based on a basic concept set by the research team.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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