The Maldives’ Zakat Fund has pledged US$100,000 dollars (MVR 1.5 million) to aid the people of Gaza via the Qatar Red Crescent Society, Islamic Minister Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed has confirmed.
Saeed said the aid would be made available in two parts and will go towards providing food for the people of Gaza.
“This is the first time that the Maldives’ Zakat Fund has helped a foreign cause. In the past, Maldives has sent aid twice, on a state level, through Qatar’s Red Crescent,” Shaheem said.
Responding to local media, Shaheem said he decided to provide aid through Qatar’s Red Crescent because the Maldivian Red Crescent had no direct presence in Gaza.
Israel’s ongoing 75 years of occupation of Palestine and oppression of the Palestinians, especially since their disproportionate attacks which began on 7 October 2023, have so far left more than 33,000 dead — most of them women and children — and have pushed the entire population of Gaza into, or dangerously close to, famine.
The Zakat Fund, established by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, is mandated with providing aid to the needy and has traditionally been deployed to address needs within the country. President Mohamed Muizzu recently established the Zakat House with the stated intention of strengthening the Zakat Fund.