La charité islamique : un levier innovant pour le financement du développement ?

For many centuries, forms of Islamic charity such as zakat (i.e. "obligatory" alms) and waqf (i.e. endowment or philanthropic foundation) have proven to be essential tools for economic and human development. Both of these schemes aim to reduce income inequality and to encourage productive investment and an entrepreneurial spirit among needy people. Despite their importance, zakat and waqf have received less attention in economic and financial strategies. Consequently, their potential for poverty alleviation and reducing unemployment has not been fully utilized. The main objective of this study is to provide an overview of an efficient management and investment strategies which maximize the revenues of charitable funds and enhance their contribution to socioeconomic development. We will also try to give answers to the following questions: What are the economic roles of zakat and waqf? Can Islamic charity be used as an innovative source of finance for development? How do we maximize returns on these flows to make them productive? Based on experiences in some countries of the Arab World, Africa and Southeast Asia, our study will show that good governance and tax exemption may be significant factors in increasing charitable giving. Therefore, investing charitable funds in socially responsible projects, based on expert knowledge of Islamic finance, should be an efficient strategy to provide permanent revenues and help solve the problems of poverty. Finally, cooperation between mainstream international development agencies and waqf and zakat institutions could improve their capacity to reduce poverty and social exclusion.