UNHCR partners with Iqraa TV to show how Zakat is helping refugees

- UNHCR seals official media partnership with Iqraa TV for globally-focused campaign to highlight the plight of refugees and IDPs and the impact of Zakat on their lives

- UNHCR urges Muslims to remember refugees in their prayers, and remember them with their Zakat this Holy Month of Ramadan

- UNHCR has recently unveiled the Refugee Zakat Fund to help individuals and Islamic financial institutions realize their social responsibility with global impact

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2019 – To raise global awareness on the plight of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) during the Holy Month of Ramadan, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has partnered with the satellite TV channel Iqraa to tell heartfelt stories about refugees and highlight how Zakat is helping the most vulnerable displaced families.

The media partnership is part of the most prominent Ramadan campaign yet from UNHCR to raise awareness of the global refugee crisis - which is largely affecting the region - and to show how individuals can make a real difference to lives of refugees and IDPs through directing their Zakat and Sadaqah to refugee support programmes.

During the month of Ramadan, satellite TV channel Iqraa, which specializes in family-friendly content that focuses on Islamic and social affairs, will broadcast to a worldwide audience the emotional stories of different refugees, particularly orphans, the elderly and widows, and, will bring to light the difference Zakat makes in dealing with everyday refugee struggles.

“With the Holy Month of Ramadan upon us, we would like to bring attention to the growing refugee crisis, and how UNHCR’s Refugee Zakat Fund is helping the most vulnerable families,” said Khaled Khalifa, UNHCR Regional Representative to the GCC Countries. “This important partnership with Iqraa TV allows UNHCR to reach Iqraa’s expansive audiences around the world, and show that refugees are ordinary people, going through extraordinary circumstance.”  

Mohammed Sallam, Iqraa’s General Manager said: “We are proud to join hands with UNHCR to raise awareness on the growing refugee crisis around the world, and especially in the Arab and Islamic worlds. The partnership aims to enlighten our audience with the everyday struggles of refugees through stories of hope and resilience as they face the most challenging conditions. We also want our viewers to understand and realize the impact Zakat can have on the lives of the most vulnerable families.”

Of the 68.5 million forcibly displaced people worldwide, 60 per cent, or around 40 million people, are Zakat-eligible, according to UNHCR figures. UNHCR has pioneered the leveraging of Zakat and established the Zakat Refugee Fund earlier this year to allow individuals and institutions alike to fulfil their Zakat obligations efficiently through a globally trusted structure, with 100 per cent of contributions delivered directly to the most vulnerable refugees and internally displaced families.

Governed by UNHCR, the Fund is fully Sharia-compliant; backed by fatwas from leading Islamic scholars and institutions, and subject to strict governance, ensuring utmost transparency. Through the Fund, UNHCR aims to bridge its required funding of US$208.6 million for 154,740 of the most vulnerable displaced families in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, Egypt and Mauritania.

UNHCR’s Zakat campaign raised US$14.4 million globally, from institutions and individuals alike, from 2016 to 2018, directly assisting 6,888 displaced families, primarily Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon. To know more about UNHCR’s Refugee Zakat Fund please visit: zakat.unhcr.org.