JEDDAH, 26 January — The Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) announced yesterday that it had set up a task force to ensure the international credibility of Saudi Arabia’s charitable organizations.
The chamber said the joint task force, set up with the help of the World Muslim League (MWL), will develop a comprehensive financial and administrative system for charitable bodies in the country.
The task force is composed of businessmen and representatives of charitable organizations, the chamber said in a press statement.
The new joint move by the JCCI and MWL follows a worldwide crackdown on Islamic charities accused of financing Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations.
The chamber reiterated its condemnation of the terror attacks on Washington and New York and supported all efforts aimed at eliminating future terrorist activities.
The chamber, however, highlighted the significance of charitable activities for Muslims, as supporting charitable work is a cornerstone of Islam. "Zakah, which is a percentage of a Muslim’s wealth given to the needy and other specified beneficiaries, is one of the five pillars of Islam," the chamber pointed out.
These five pillars are the very basis of Islam and failure to abide by any one of them means that an individual has no claim to be a true Muslim.
"Muslims also realize that utilizing zakah not in the proscribed manner violates the tenets of Islam," the statement said.
Saudi charitable organizations have long been known for their support of millions of needy people throughout the world.
Orphans, the elderly and the handicapped of all nationalities and faiths are among the beneficiaries of the good work carried out by Saudi charitable organizations in the fields of education, health and relief work.
"The chamber encourages the business community to continue its support for recognized charitable organizations and assures its members that it will be working closely with those Saudi charity organizations to implement quality improvement programs," the statement said.
"The Jeddah chamber has long recognized that it has a social responsibility to the community at large and not only to the business community of Jeddah. Accordingly, it formed a committee about a year ago made up of the representatives of the charity organizations operating in the city of Jeddah," the statement said.
The purpose of this committee is to improve coordination among those charity organizations and to implement programs that will develop their capabilities.
