Management of Business Zakat of Islamic Cooperatives in Thailand’s Southern Border Provinces : A Case Study of Zakat Distribution

Abstract

Abstract
The purposes of this qualitative study were to 1) investigate knowledge and understanding related to an Islamic provision of business zakat, 2) study zakat allocation models adopted by Islamic cooperatives in Thailand’s Southern Border Provinces and compare their approaches in managing business zakat, 3) develop guidelines on business zakat management for implementing in Islamic cooperatives in the Southern Border Provinces. The data was collected through documentary research as well as a field study. The samples were twenty one people including officers of Islamic cooperatives in Thailand’s southern border provinces, Provincial Islamic Committees, religious leaders, religious scholars, and general people who were eligible to receive zakat. The researcher used an in-depth interview instrument to collect data on the management of business zakat. Data was analyzed by a comparative-descriptive analysis method.
The study found that: 1) Islamic cooperatives in southern border provinces of Thailand possessed knowledge and a good understanding of the provisions of business zakat. 2) The zakat management structure of each cooperative was different in terms of zakat allocation. However, the Islamic cooperatives adopted the same method. 3) Zakat allocation of the Islamic cooperatives in the Southern Border Provinces was divided into 2 portions. The first portion was directly distributed by the cooperatives. The second portion was allocated through other foundations. 4) The doers of zakat were searched through the branches of cooperatives and their various committees. 5) The zakat distribution by the Islamic cooperatives was many and varied such as promoting new professions and others. 6) Following - up on the performance of zakat distribution to the doers, it is done only in promoting professions and scholarship. 7) The ways to develop zakat management should focus on understanding the provision of business zakat to community that is through exchange of expertise and experiences among cooperatives, in order to achieve progress and development toward a unified direction. 8).Islamic cooperatives should create a database for a systematic process and transparent selection of zakat eligible recipients so that zakat can be distributed evenly and precisely to avoid the problem of clustering zakat on the same group of recipients.

Keywords : management, Zakat Distribution, business zakat, Islamic cooperatives.