RIYADH, 21 March 2005 — On behalf of Crown Prince Abdullah, Riyadh Governor Prince Salman inaugurated a three-day symposium on “Rulings and Endowments” here yesterday.
The forum, sponsored by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance, focuses on the latest laws on endowments. It was attended by Islamic scholars and key government officials.
Addressing the gathering, Prince Salman said the Kingdom is keen to ensure that Islamic laws are implemented in the right spirit. “The Kingdom’s laws on endowments have been evolved systematically from 1966 to meet the changing needs of society,” he added.
The governor pointed out that Saudis are philanthropic by nature and they are involved in several charitable activities. Therefore, he said, there is a need for regularizing the endowment laws to keep pace with the changing times. The prince recalled that the endowment laws, enacted in 1966, were amended in 1973.
Minister of Islamic Affairs Saleh Al-Asheikh called for public and private sector participation in the planning and management of endowments in the Kingdom. He said the meeting will throw light on related laws in the Kingdom and enlighten participants of the rules governing prospective donors and recipients.
He pointed out that his ministry is currently managing more than 100,000 endowments. Lately, he said the ministry has invested in 55 real estates worth more than SR513 million and a further sum of SR117 million has been invested in private sector ventures.
The King Abdul Aziz Foundation for the Two Holy Mosques is the largest project handled by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs which is valued at SR2.7 billion.
“The ministry holds conferences of this nature to bring scholars together to enlighten the public about endowments,” the minister said, adding that it has already held four national meetings to educate the people on various Islamic rulings and aspects of endowments. It also organizes exhibitions for Muslims to disseminate the message of Islam among non-Muslims.
“They provide guidelines to non-Arabic speaking expatriates on how to carry out propagation work in their communities,” said the minister.
