In April 2025, leaders at MIF will pledged a landmark response to modern slavery: the Freedom Fund. Coordinated by the Global Donors Forum (GDF) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), with Mercy Mission as a strategic partner, the Fund seeks to revive one of the least-utilised categories of Zakat (almsgiving) riqab (the freeing of captives).
A timely response to a global crisis
In Libya alone, over 47,000 people were reported as trapped in slavery in 2021. Such figures expose the scale of exploitation and the urgency for bold, values-driven solutions.
Historically, Zakat (almsgiving, zakāt) was used to liberate individuals from bondage. Yet in recent decades, Muslim giving has rarely been directed to this obligation, with most funds focused on poverty relief. The Freedom Fund aims to correct this imbalance, restoring riqab (the freeing of captives, riqāb) as a vital expression of Islamic philanthropy in the 21st century.
Structure and commitment
The Fund is anchored in a USD 10 million Memorandum of Understanding signed between IOM and GDF, routed through the Islamic Philanthropy Fund (IPF) – a Shariah-compliant platform launched in Riyadh earlier in 2025. The IPF includes a dedicated Anti-Slavery Investment Window.
A co-funding board of up to five charities will guide the Fund’s governance and programmes, with each contributing a minimum of USD 200,000. Initial interventions will begin in North Africa, embedding survivor leadership and drawing on partnerships with civil society, fintech, and policy actors.
Why MIF supports this initiative
The Muslim Impact Forum is proud to endorse and contribute to this effort. We see the Freedom Fund as a model of how Islamic charity can be mobilised in strategic, high-impact ways.
Our mission at MIF is to amplify such initiatives, connect leaders across philanthropy and policy, and ensure that Islamic philanthropy is recognised not only as compassionate but as catalytic – shaping systemic solutions to entrenched global injustices.
“Modern slavery is one of the gravest injustices of our time. The Freedom Fund is not simply about charity; it is about restoring dignity and breaking cycles of exploitation through a key instrument of Islamic philanthropy, Zakat.”
– Azim Kidwai, CEO Mercy Mission, Co-Lead of MIF
Launch at the UN General Assembly
The Freedom Fund will be formally launched during UNGA High-Level Week at the Freedom Roundtable: “Faith in Freedom” on 25 September 2025 in New York.
This high-level gathering will convene ministers, zakat agencies (zakāt institutions), philanthropists, fintech innovators, survivor advocates, and international organisations to:
1 Endorse the IPF Anti-Slavery Window and its governance framework
2 Secure additional commitments toward the first-year USD 10 million target
3 Design a joint action plan identifying geographies, interventions, and due diligence standards
4 Forge alliances across philanthropy, technology, civil society, and survivor groups
Looking ahead
Following the UNGA launch, the Fund will initiate its first project in December 2025.
