15 June 2026

Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA and the International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA) have signed a Memorandum of to strengthen Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA¡¯s Islamic Giving and Zakat programmes. The agreement ensures that Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA¡¯s fundraising initiatives are fully aligned with Islamic Sharia principles. The Academy will provide expert guidance on Islamic charity, review how Zakat donations are distributed to ensure compliance with Islamic rules, and contribute to strengthening transparency and donor trust in Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA¡¯s programmes.

¡°IIFA is committed to strengthening its cooperation with Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA and supporting its efforts to alleviate the suffering of Palestine Refugees. Their situation remains one of the core concerns of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and its institutions. IIFA will continue to make every effort to support Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA¡¯s humanitarian work¡±, said IIFA¡¯s Secretary-General Prof. Dr Koutoub Moustafa Sano at the signing ceremony in Jeddah, on 3 May.

IIFA, an institution under the Organization of Islamic Cooperation bringing together leading Islamic scholars and thinkers, had already endorsed Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA¡¯s Zakat programme through a 2024 Fatwa affirming its compliance with Sharia principles. The current agreement aims to further enhance the credibility and transparency of Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA¡¯s Zakat programme, supporting the Agency¡¯s efforts to mobilise additional Islamic giving in support of Palestine Refugees.

¡°Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA welcomes this important collaboration with IIFA, which will contribute to increased Zakat donations. Such support is critical to sustaining Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA¡¯s work in providing education, health services, food assistance and shelter to Palestine Refugees across the Agency¡¯s five fields of operation,¡± said Rami Adwan, Head of Arab States and North Africa Relations at Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA.

Under its Islamic Giving programme, Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA distributes 100% of Zakat donations directly to vulnerable refugee families in the form of emergency cash and food assistance, helping to alleviate the burden on those most in need. Other forms of Islamic giving, including Sadaqah and Sadaqah Jariyah, fund a broad range of Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA services, from education and healthcare to shelter, access to clean water and emergency relief.

In 2025, the programme raised more than US$23 million, including US$19.5 million in Zakat and US$3.5 million in Sadaqah and Sadaqah Jariyah contributions, supporting almost 280,000 Palestine Refugees across the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA¡¯s Islamic Giving Programme remains critical as Palestine Refugees continue to face the growing impacts of conflict, displacement, economic hardship, and limited access to basic services.