Waqf is the permanent dedication by a person of its property for a pious, religious and charitable purpose. In Singapore, Waqf had existed way back since 1826 and the first mosque Omar Kampung Melaka dated 1826 was the first Waqf. It has since been expanding with philanthropist building mosque and bought commercial properties to be rented out in order to create a revenue stream for the maintenance of the mosque that was built.
This created a revenue stream to ensure that these mosques have income for its maintenance and religious activities. This is a socio-religious enterprise model in the early days. However, there were issues raised that the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) had to step in and with that, Waqf revenue began to increase exponentially.
Our experts, Dr Shamsiah Abdul Karim, Waqf Specialist will share about the effort that helped to improve the Waqf system in Singapore and how it should be replicated.
