London mosque first to accepts Bitcoin for Zakat

LONDON: The Shacklewell Lane Mosque also known as Masjid Ramadan in Dalston becomes the first mosque in the UK to take Cryptocurrencies for Zakat and Sadaqah donations this Ramadan.

Zakat is one of the pillars of of Islam, which is a commandment to all eligible Muslims to donate at least 2.5% of their wealth to charity.

Religious advisers declared that Bitcoin is acceptable in the eyes of Allah, if it is “transacted in a lawful manner”. Muslims can use two different cryptocurrencies-Bitcoin and Ethereum for their Ramadan donations, known as zakat, or sadaqah.

“Any money or currency is neither halal – permissible – nor haram – impermissible. Guidance is about the value which it represents. If money is transacted in a lawful manner then it is halal,” Zayd al Khair, a religious adviser at the mosque, told ‘The Daily Telegraph’.

Erkin Guney, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Masjid Ramadan, Zayd al Khair, an Islamic advisor at the mosque, and Gurmit Singh, founder of a blockchain business are the people behind this new initiative is hoping to raise at least £10,000 from crypto-currency over Ramadan.

“We are trying to appeal to a wider audience with the new money,” Guney told The Hackney Gazette.

“It’s big in the Islamic world, and we have set up a platform for wealthier Muslims outside our community to support and donate to our mosque.”

The donated money is use to carry out essential repairs at the mosque, assisting Muslim families who are struggling to pay funeral costs, and feeding and offering shelter to the poor.