Jerusalem Awqâf Administration (KEAM)

In Jerusalem, there was a Directorate of Awqâf (Awqaf Müdiriyeti) for the late Ottoman period, namely after Tanzimat (promulgated in 1839). But the Ministry of Awqâf in Istanbul was established in 1826. This application implemented by the central authority was also followed by the local administrations. Then, for the British Mandate and Jordanian periods there were two divisions in Awqâf administration : one was the General Directorate of Awqâf and the other was the Jerusalem Awqâf Administration.

The Department of the Waqf in Jerusalem charged with handling the question of Waqf properties was founded in 1264 H/1845 CE.

In the British Mandatory period these official functions were taken on by a specially created body known as the Supreme Muslim Council. After 1948, the SMC was replaced by the Jordanian government with a body that became known as the Awqaf Administration.

ISAAR (CPF), 2nd Edition, 2004.

Entry prepared on September 2019

Musa Sroor, "Jerusalem’s Islamic Archives, Sources for the question of the Waqf in the Ottoman period", in Jerusalem Quarterly 22/23, p. 80-85.
Michael Dumper, “Muslim institutional development in Jerusalem: the role of waqfs”, in Journal of Islamic Jerusalem Studies (Winter 1998, 2:1, 21-38).
Şerife Eroğlu Memiş, “Appointment Registers as Archival Sources for Waqf Studies between Ottomanization and Local Networks: The Case of the Waqfs of Magharibah Neighborhood”, Proceedings of Open Jerusalem International Symposium “Revealing Ordinary Jerusalem (1840-1940), New Archives and Perspectives on Urban Citizenship and Global Entanglements” (ERC, Forth), Institute for Mediterranean Studies, Rethymno, Greece, May 2016, forthcoming.

Author(s) : Şerife Eroğlu Memiş, Open Jerusalem http://www.openjerusalem.org/