Saudi Arabian 'professional beggars' minting money from 'zakat' system

Manama -  Professional beggars in Saudi Arabia have reportedly been selling rice given to them as 'Zakat Al Fitr' to restaurants in the Middle-East country at cheap rates.

The 'zakat', that are alms given to the poor and the needy at the end of holy month of Ramadan, aims to provide all people with a means to celebrate Eid, the festivities that follow the fasting.

In Saudi Arabia, people often tend to give bags of rice that they buy from stands set up near mosques and give them to the needy sitting in the vicinity.

"Professional beggars take the bags that are often distributed haphazardly and sell them to popular restaurants, often at half price," Gulf News quoted a worker in restaurant, as saying.

Abdul Mumen Yazdi, an Afghan who works in a restaurant that sells rice dishes, claimed that the food outlet buys up to 600 bags from beggars.
 
"Most of the beggars are African women and children. For the restaurant owner, this is an opportunity not to be missed since they pay only half the price for the bags," the paper quoted him, as saying.

Despite Saudi officials waging campaigns to put an end to the exploitation of the religious alms, their efforts are being resisted by beggars and restaurants who are keen on making financial gains, the paper said.