The religious affairs Minister, Ghlamallah Bouabdallah, has ordered Imams (religious Preachers) and executives of his ministerial department to launch a large-scale campaign aimed at persuading wealthy people and businessmen to pay the compulsory “Zakat money” into the fund set up to this effect.

• Besides, the religious affairs ministry is now contemplating the creation of a bank or a special institution entrusted with managing directly the “Zakat money” collected on a yearly basis.

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• The Minister’s injunction came after experts’ reports showed that Algerian citizens don’t trust the Zakat fund set up by the religious affairs and Wakfs ministry.

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• According to the fact-finding reports, a large number of citizens prefer giving the “Zakat money” to their relatives or to people they know instead of depositing it in the ministry’s fund.

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• Mr Bouabdallah Ghlamallah has thus enjoined the Imams officiating in the country’s mosques to spearhead an awareness-raising campaign on the ground with a direct contact with the citizens in a bid to convince them to contribute to the Ministry’s “Zakat fund” whose purpose, he said, is to help financially the poor, the destitute and unemployed people.

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