From Consultancy to Critique: The ‘Success Story’ of Globalized Zakat Management in Malaysia and its Normative Ambiguities

Abstract

The administration of Islamic alms (zakat) funds in Malaysia underwent spectacular transformations since the 1990s, shaped by the appropriation of marketized forms of management and a skyrocketing growth of collection and distribution rates. Simultaneously, local zakat funds are increasingly used to pursue targets of sustainable poverty reduction, such as the empowerment of micro-entrepreneurship. This globally inspired ‘success story’ is referred to by various international observers, including development organizations, as a ‘role model’ for other countries to learn from. After illustrating what makes the Malaysian case so particularly attractive, this article develops a critique of international perceptions of this ‘success story’ by making explicit some of its underlying ambiguities. Instead of narrowly celebrating instrumental aspects of business-style organizational innovation and calling for their globalization, a deeper understanding of the discursive embeddedness of Malaysian zakat management would reveal significant normative tensions with secular humanitarian ethics and human rights law, with implications beyond the Malaysian case.