USTAZ DR IZAL MUSTAFA APPOINTED AS THIRD DEPUTY MUFTI

Our religious leadership recognises that the issues we collectively face today are increasingly multi-dimensional and complex While we will constantly face changes that are rapidly evolving, it remains important that we continue to strengthen our religious leadership and institutions which serve as the critical pillars of guidance for the community

Hence, we are pleased to announce that the Office of the Mufti has appointed Ustaz Dr Izal Mustafa Kamar as Deputy Mufti With over a decade of service, Ustaz Dr Izal has been heavily involved in the development of religious policy and supported the development of several key fatwas

Ustaz Dr lzal will serve in his new role alongside Ustaz Dr Mohd Murat and Ustaz Dr Mohammad Hannan. With this rejuvenation of religious leadership, the Office of the Mufti strengthens its efforts to extensively engage with the community and various stakeholders in shaping guidance and initiatives that are relevant and effective.

Wakaf Masyarakat Singapura (WMS) or Singapore Community Wakaf is an Islamic community endowment fund. It was introduced in June 2020 to fund the future needs of the Singapore Muslim community and its institutions in a sustainable manner.

WMS also aims to reignite the legacy of wakaf started by our forefathers and local philanthropists Since the 1800s, they have bequeathed land and properties for the benefit of the wider community, planting seeds for the long-term funding of religious institutions and the poor in Singapore.

Today, our economic landscape has evolved, and bequeathing land and properties for charitable purposes have become increasingly difficult. WMS was created to make wakaf viable for the community and allow more to create their own legacy for the community and generations forward.

As an Islamic endowment fund, WMS will provide a long-term sustainable source of funding and support, in areas not supported by any existing structured community funds. At present, existing community funds – such as Zakat, ad-hoc donations to mosques and madrasahs and Mosque Building and Mendaki Funds (MBMF) – support the day-to-day and shortterm needs of our community. Despite these funds, our institutions still need to carry out ad-hoc fundraising to cover funding shortfalls

WMS will generate sustainable income in a robust financial model. It will pool together contributions from institutions, corporations and community members to form the WMS Corpus (principal amount).

The Corpus will be kept intact and invested in Shariah-compliant Investment Products to generate income until the end of time Only the net income earned will be channelled towards WMS beneficiaries.

As a wakaf instrument, WMS is vested and administered by the Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (Islamic Religious Council of Singapore) under the Administration of Muslim Law Act, as the sole trustee.