MAKKAH, 20 October — Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, will open the first conference on endowments in Saudi Arabia at Umm Ul-Qura University here today.

The conference is scheduled to discuss 50 research papers.

Saleh ibn Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh, minister of Islamic affairs, endowments, propagation and guidance, stressed the importance of endowments in establishing mosques and educational institutions and providing social and health care and other assistance to the poor.

He said experts from within and outside Saudi Arabia will partake in the conference, which will focus on the history of endowments, modern developments in endowments, and the role of endowments in spreading the message of Islam and promoting Islamic education.

The four-day conference will also shed light on the social and economic roles of endowments and encourage Muslim philanthropists to set up endowments.

Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Matroudi, deputy minister for endowment affairs, expressed his hope that the conference would usher in a new era in the history of endowments. He said the ministry as well as the university had completed all preparations for the event. He noted the government’s efforts to develop endowment properties in various parts of the country.

"The Ministry of Islamic Affairs and Endowments, with its 13 branch offices in various parts of the Kingdom, exerts a lot of efforts to protect and develop endowment properties," he said.

Dr. Abdul Mohsen Al-Sheikh, chairman of the preparatory committee, said the conference’s first session will focus on the concept and types of endowments, the second on modern endowment issues and the third on highlighting the Kingdom’s efforts to protect endowments.

Qur’an contest: An international Qur’an recitation contest, named after King Abdul Aziz, will be opened at Makkah Inter.Continental today.

A total of 172 contestants representing 112 countries and 60 organizations will take part in the annual event organized by the Islamic Affairs Ministry. The contest is held in five categories. Winners will be awarded cash prizes worth a total of SR888,000.

In the first category, the top five winners will receive SR75,000, SR72,000, SR69,000, SR66,000 and SR63,000 respectively.