Measuring the Quality of Zakat Management of Government-Endorsed Bodies (A Case Study on National Zakat Agency and Zakat Committee of Mosques in the City of Kendari)

The research was conducted in the city of Kendari Southeast Sulawesi Province. The purpose of this study was to determine or assess the quality of zakat management administered by the National Zakat Collector Bodies (BAZNAS) and mosque-based zakat institutions as the official institutions established by the government to collect and distribute zakat fund. This research was conducted by the method of observation and depth interview with the BAZNAS organizers, and zakat committees based at mosques. For the purpose of data validity, triangulation was held, comprising time triangulation, sources triangulation, as well as technical triangulation. The results of the study were as follows (1) zakat collector bodies, BAZNAS and zakat committees appointed by the government have administered zakat without database, neither data of the zakat payers (muzakki) nor that of the beneficiaries (mustahik), (2) zakat collector bodies, BAZNAS and mosque-based zakat committees have not worked professionally yet since the committee members particularly, also hugely involve in mosque management, making the zakat management unserious and incidental, (3) most of the zakat fund collection administered by BAZNAS has still focused on zakat of profession only since it is easily and directly collected from salary treasurer. Meanwhile zakat maal fund (zakat of possessions) and other kinds of zakat have not been significantly collected or have still been collected far from its potential, (4) the zakat administration held by committees at mosques only take place during month of Ramadan or once a year, simply targeting zakat fitrah without zakat maal. Meanwhile zakat fitrah serves only as a sympathy giving, not as empowering one, (5) according to claims of prospective muzakki, they prefer to distribute zakat maal directly to mustahik both for sympathy and empowerment purpose, as they do not have enough information about the BAZNAS, (6) the case mentioned at number 5 indicates the lack of knowledge and trust of community in zakat management administered by government-appointed bodies. As a result, the amount of zakat fund paid by muzakki is not recorded accurately and the number of mustahik reached is still few, or even overlapping in which a mustahik can receive more and on the contrary, the other receive very a little or nothing at all, (7) the law governing zakat in this country is still very weak since it has not been able to encourage muzakki to pay zakat in accordance with sharia guidelines, namely through government-appointed zakat agency because it is the government that is most responsible for the administration of zakat, and mustahik in general, have not had their rights in accordance with shariah.