Dubai: His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, issued a decree regulating the endowment sector's (Waqf), income and expenses in compliance with Sharia laws.
The move reflects the attention the country gives to the endowment sector and its keenness to regulate this sector in compliance with legal and Sharia laws.
Shaikh Mohammad's decision is also aimed at finding appropriate mechanisms to preserve charity endowment funds and ensure that they are spent properly and invest them in compliance with Sharia regulations.
As per the decision, endowment sources and expenses are determined in line with the laws of the country.
Endowment funds include educational Waqf endowment, Islamic Affairs Waqf, endowment fund for orphans and needy people, health endowment fund, social care fund, charity fund, and family endowment fund.
The decision mandates the General Authority for Islamic Affairs and Waqf to approve new endowment funds.
Expenses
The decision also included a host of regulations regarding expenses from endowment revenues providing that endowment revenues should be spent in prescribed and specified ways. The board of the General Authority for Islamic Affairs and Waqf is the only body responsible for issuing orders for cashing endowment funds and monitoring and the process to ensure that the endowment money are spent according to regulations in the law.
The decision tasked the authority's board to activate the role of endowment funds and set regulations and rules for management and investment of endowment funds , as well as collect their revenues in coordination with the authority's Sharia Committee.
The authority is also tasked with implementing endowment bonds and control supervisory bodies.
