MPN members attend Waqf training

Delegates from 15 countries share their expertise at Awqaf-SA training workshop, reports Mariam Jhaveri.

Awqaf-South Africa, the Islamic Development Bank of Jeddah and the Kuwait Awqaf Public Foundation hosted a Waqf training course for Southern Africa during 4-6 December 2009. The course theme ‘Developing Managerial Skills of Waqf Professional Cadres’ was aimed at sharing expertise and experience with those in Southern Africa that want to develop Waqf institutions. Delegates were from academic, government, private and NGO backgrounds and represented Malawi, Zambia, Uganda, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, Zanzibar, Tanzania and South Africa.

“There was not one companion (Sahaba) who possessed any substantial property and did not make a Waqf’’ (Ibn Qudama).

There is a rich legacy of Waqf in Islamic history and the workshop emphasized the need to revive this. With this philanthropic model the capital base remains for perpetuity as a loan to Allah (SWT) while the returns from the capital are used for religious, charitable and humanitarian purposes.

The training was conducted around the themes of Shariah, social and economic aspects, country report backs, investment strategies, legal and regulatory frameworks and practical strategies for setting up a waqf institution.
The workshop sessions were conducted by international academics of high repute in the fields of Islamic Economics, Finance and Jurisprudence including:

Mufti Mohammed Najeeb Khan from Pakistan, Professor Syed Khalid Rashid from India, Dr Mustafa Edwin Nasution of Indonesia, Moulana Yusuf Patel – the Secretary General of the United Ulama Council of South Africa, Dr Adi Setia – a professor at the Islamic University of Malaysia and Professor Tarek Abdullah who has obtained PhD degrees in Economics and Sociology and is currently based in the UAE.

The speakers concurred that though there are many immediate needs that need to be met in the Southern African context a longer term view of charity will ensure sustainable development for future generations. There must be the foresight to move beyond only reactionary ‘band aid’ charity.

Muguluma Hamed, Director of Humanitarian Efforts And Relief in Uganda left the workshop with a positive vision for implementing the waqf model in his country,
“Uganda has had its fare share of ups and downs in relation to waqf operations and dispossessions. But with support from both individuals and organisations of good will, we are already on top of the situation moving in a positive direction once again.”

Several recommendations were made by the participants including special waqf training for the Ulama, specialised training around corporate governance, accounting, and investments for waqf institutions, the development of waqf training modules for various levels of learning and teaching, and the declaration of Muharram and the second Friday of Ramadaan as Waqf awareness month and day respectively.

To find out more about this ‘gift that keeps on giving’ visit www.awqafsa.org.za