Study: The West Bank Zakat Committees (1977-2009) in the Local Context

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Emanuel Schaeublin, along with the Center on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding in Switzerland, has published a study about the role of zakat committees in the West Bank and Gaza, and the effects of politics on them. Zakat committees, Schaeublin explains, had been (before 1970) informal groups that operated charitable projects out of mosques in the West Bank. In the 1970s the Jordanian government established more formal committees.The Working Paper draws on interviews with local actors and published research to argue for a more nuanced interpretation of the role of zakat committees within Palestinian society.

 
Under the occupation of Israel, and with increasing politicization of the committees, Schaeublin explores how the zakat committees were able to remain “tactful and efficient grassroots organizations” that “strengthened local response systems and self-reliance.” Additionally, he discusses the implications that the recent control of Gaza by Hamas and the West Bank by Fatah has had on the zakat committees. He posits that Hamas and Fatah may politicize the committees, or a coalition may be built to retain the independence of the committees from the political parties.
 
Citing the localized coalition building that created the zakat committees, Schaeublin contends that for the efficiency of the zakat committees to remain intact, they must remain independent and free of political influence from Hamas and Fatah.