Khaberni - A study by the Economic and Social Council showed that the number of endowments in Jordan is estimated at 10,475 endowments, with their value exceeding one billion dinars.
The study, titled (The Role of Charitable Endowment in Contributing to Sustainable Development in the Kingdom - Opportunities and Challenges), indicated that the role of endowment is currently focused in Jordan on religious buildings, especially mosques, a number of schools, in addition to two hospitals and four health centers.
The study, contributed to by a number of experts and discussed in a dialogue session that included the Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, specialists, experts, and Sharia scholars, revealed the availability of a number of unused endowment lands and buildings.
The statistics indicated the possibility of increasing the investment dimension in endowment, where endowment activities focus on building mosques and spending on them.
Mousa Shitiwi, the head of the Economic and Social Council, said in a press statement on Monday that the study aims to highlight the reality of the endowment in Jordan, and its potential contribution in various development fields such as: education and health, and building on outstanding initiatives in recent years aimed at expanding in the developmental field.
He added that the Islamic endowment system, with its roots extending through history, along with its values framework built on integration, provides an opportunity to address challenges faced by development in Jordan.
He pointed out that the study explores the possibility of endowment's contribution to sustainable development by highlighting the principles that guide it, reviewing its reality, evolution, and its charitable aspect in assisting individuals and local communities.
The statistics upon which the study relied showed the possibility of increasing the investment dimension in endowment, which focuses its activities on building mosques and spending on them, by up to 64% of the total number of endowment lands.
Shitiwi said that the study concluded with many important recommendations, foremost among them: the call to develop a national strategy for endowment and its uses in Jordan, taking into account developmental dimensions, such as: education and health among other fields, and conducting a comprehensive and in-depth study covering all aspects related to the application of the endowment system and the expected economic and social effects, and benefiting from best practices in different countries and accurately defining the developmental role of the endowment.
The study also called for setting comprehensive planning priorities with various national economic and social programs, linking them to the development of charitable work in Jordan, in addition to launching the "Endowment Atlas Project" which is based on several axes, most importantly, building databases and a guide model for endowers.
The study recommended designing awareness programs for citizens and endowers, encouraging people to establish endowment-based schools and hospitals, and reactivating national initiatives related to educational and health endowments, such as creating endowment funds focused on investing in specific areas by establishing and managing endowment schools, establishing and managing hospitals and health centers, caring for the disabled, and supporting micro, small, and medium enterprises.
The study also invited for the creation of jurisprudential adaptations to deal with different jurisprudential interpretations, including the conditions of the endowers, as many experts believe that research and efforts in applying the conditions of the endowers are ways to improve the performance of the endowment’s mission.
It also called for the media's role in raising awareness and education and organizing awareness campaigns about the various types of endowment and recommended conducting a review of the 2012 endowment securities law and the associated regulations, to maximize the benefit from these securities.
