Establishment of Waqf Institutions to Alleviate Poverty in Somalia: Test of Theory of Planned Behavior

Abstract

Poverty is seen as a destructive force in the world, regardless of one's religion, ideology, or political views. The Ministry of Planning Investment and Economic Development, (2020), stated its Somali National Development plan (SNDP) program 2020 to 2024 that around 69 percent of Somalis live below the international poverty line of US$1.90 per day. With growing concern about the wide reach of poverty and the government's inability to provide adequate resources to finance social and community development such as health and education, many counties are currently focusing on waqf. However, the purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, on the establishment of a Waqf institution for poverty alleviation in Somalia. The study proposes to use a structural equation model with attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control as independent variables, and a waqf institution for poverty alleviation as the dependent variable. The primary data for this study will be collected through a questionnaire survey of 100 Mogadishu residents. The study found that all variables, except attitude, have a significant positive impact on the establishment of waqf institution for poverty alleviation in Somalia. This study will add a significant contribution to the limited literature on the waqf in Somalia, as well as illuminate the path forward for establishing waqf institutions that are sustainable, efficient, and capable of meeting the socioeconomic needs of the Somali people. Keywords: Waqf Institution, Poverty Alleviation, Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB).