Challenges and Opportunities for Optimizing the Role of Zakat Institutions in Indonesia in Alleviating Poverty

Abstract

Indonesia is still faced with the challenge of poverty with the poverty rate reaching 9.22% in 2024, so zakat is an important instrument in the sharia economy to overcome this problem and support sustainable development. This research aims to identify challenges and opportunities to increase the role of national zakat institutions. This study examines the optimal role of national zakat institutions in poverty alleviation in Indonesia through literature research methods. With a descriptive qualitative approach, this study collects and analyzes secondary sources in the form of scientific articles, reference books and other relevant sources. The content analysis process is focused on three main dimensions: the mechanism of zakat distribution, the governance of zakat institutions, and the effectiveness of the mustahik empowerment program. The results of the study show that there are still many challenges faced by zakat collection institutions, for example, people who choose to distribute zakat directly without going through official institutions, as a result of which the great potential of zakat has not fully resulted in significant changes in poverty alleviation. This is due to the lack of transparency and accountability from the zakat collection institution, resulting in low public trust. In addition, the empowerment of mustahik has not been maximized is a challenge faced by zakat institutions in Indonesia. Based on these findings, this study recommends increasing cross-sector collaboration, strengthening the capacity of zakat institution resources, and utilizing information technology to realize a more inclusive and sustainable mustahik empowerment.