The third edition of the International Zakat Conference 2026 (INZAC 2026), organised by the Maldives Zakat House, will focus this year on poverty eradication, Sheikh Imthithaau Abbas, the Director General of the Zakat House, announced.
Preparations remain underway to ensure the gathering serves as an impactful, result-oriented platform for knowledge exchange, Sheikh Imthithaau noted while briefing reporters. Evolving lifestyles have altered the pathways to financial hardship and heightened economic pressures on middle-income households, prompting joint evaluations between state institutions, the Zakat House, the private sector, and civil society.
"International experiences, various poverty eradication programmes, and how those initiatives can be contextualised to the Maldivian setting will, God willing, be explored as religious scholars, policymakers, zakat administrators, and other relevant experts deliver highly engaging and scholarly insights," he said.
Keynote addresses will be delivered by Professor Dr Amir bin Shaharuddin of INCEIF University, Associate Professor Dr Fuadah binti Johari of Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, and Yusuf bin Ahmad of the Kedah State Zakat Board, alongside panel discussions examining Islamic social finance and social empowerment.
Fulfilling strategic objectives for the national zakat sector remains the primary goal, Sheikh Imthithaau noted, adding that policy initiatives seek principally to reduce the approximately 2,000 individuals registered on the official Maldivian poverty registry.