By Samah Abdel Fattah | 2024-12-30

During its reign of terror in Iraq and Syria, the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) hijacked zakat -- one of Islam's five pillars of faith -- using extortion to transform a sacred charitable obligation into a funding stream for terrorism.

While the group's fundraising apparatus was crushed with its defeat, scattered ISIS cells are still attempting to collect money by force, often under the guise of zakat, religious and security experts said.

"Zakat is a fundamental pillar of Islam that plays a vital role in fostering unity and supporting those in need," according to Shamil Humaidan of Saudi Arabia's Zakat Authority.

In modern practice, he said, legitimate zakat is collected by state-run institutions under scholarly supervision and distributed through charitable organizations.

But during ISIS's reign of terror, this sacred institution was corrupted into a primary funding source for terrorism.

"ISIS has not only violated Islamic principles governing zakat collection and distribution," Humaidan said, but has "betrayed the very essence of this sacred duty, transforming an act meant to uplift society into a weapon that destroys it."

Terror through extortion

In ISIS's former Syrian stronghold of al-Raqa, money transfer office manager Qasim Hammad told Al-Fassel he witnessed firsthand how the group collected zakat by force.

"They prohibited any other form of zakat distribution and even targeted local charities that were helping the poor," Hammad said. "The funds were never spent on the needy. Instead, poverty actually increased."

While proper zakat is administered transparently through regulated institutions, ISIS's self-appointed "zakat bureau" operated like a criminal enterprise.

Hammad described how ISIS operatives "regularly visited residents based on prepared lists and collected funds," demanding "exorbitant sums exceeding many people's financial capacity."

Those who couldn't pay faced consequences such as flogging, imprisonment or the destruction of their shops and properties.

Military expert and terror group specialist Yahya Mohammed Ali pointed to a broader pattern of religious exploitation.

"Most radical terrorist groups exploit Qur'anic verses, prophetic traditions and fatwas for their own interests," he said.

But ISIS's manipulation of zakat was particularly egregious as it transformed a pillar of faith into a criminal enterprise, he added, noting that the impact extended beyond immediate financial exploitation.

The group's actions have devastated communities, destroyed local charitable networks and undermined one of Islam's most fundamental institutions for social welfare, Ali said.

And ISIS sleeper cells are still "forcibly collecting funds through intimidation and coercion," he added.