Algeria’s Experience in Zakat Administration: From the Zakat Fund to the National Office for Awqaf and Zakat

Abstract

The administration of zakat constitutes one of the fundamental pillars of Algeria's financial and social system, as the state seeks to regulate this religious obligation within a modern institutional framework that ensures the efficient collection and distribution of its proceeds. This study examines Algeria's experience in zakat administration, highlighting the structural transition from the “Zakat Fund”, established in 2003, to the “National Office for Awqaf and Zakat”, created pursuant to Executive Decree No. 21-179 in 2021. The research focuses on analysing the legal and regulatory framework of the office, a public institution of an industrial and commercial character that enjoys financial autonomy. It also aims to assess the performance of the Zakat system, as well as the newly introduced mechanisms of digitisation and electronic payment designed to increase Zakat revenues. The findings indicate that this model has streamlined administrative operations and achieved steady growth in total revenues. However, the experience has also encountered challenges related to the limited investment of zakat funds and the failure to achieve the expected revenues relative to the actual scale of wealth, which call for strengthening trust and transparency and broadening the zakat base.