Waqf Department

A department within the Jordanian Ministry of Awqaf, Islamic Affairs, and Holy Places that is based in the Old City of Jerusalem and tasked with implementing the Hashemite custodianship over Islamic and Christian holy sites and endowments and consolidating the historical and legal Status Quo. Jordan has held the role of Custodian of the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem since 1924 under the long-established Status Quo. The Waqf Department, appointed by Jordan after the 1948 War, is purely administrative; religious authority on the site, on the other hand, is the responsibility of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, appointed by the Palestinian Authority (PA). With nearly 1,000 employees, the department’s main functions are registering Muslim and Christian waqf endowments (believed to have comprised 66 percent of the Old City’s area at the end of the 20th century); archiving, maintaining, and issuing waqf and historical documents as needed; regulating access to al-Haram al-Sharif by Muslim and non-Muslim worshippers; monitoring Israeli attacks against holy sites and waqf properties in Jerusalem; supervising the PA’s administration of the schools that are waqf properties; and undertaking research at and about al-Aqsa Mosque and waqf endowments in Jerusalem. It coordinates with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), as the Old City in its entirety is considered a protected international heritage. Christian waqf properties, while also under the Custodianship of the Hashemite Kingdom, enjoy more independence and are generally managed directly by the churches.