Communication continues between the Syrian Ministry of Religious Endowments (Awqaf) and the Turkish Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) to obtain Ottoman archival documents pertaining to endowments in Syria. This is aimed at inventorying all endowed properties and confirming their ownership, paving the way for a reassessment of their rents according to current market prices, a source told Zaman al-Wasl.
The Ministry of Religious Endowments seeks a complete copy of the Ottoman real estate records, which will allow for the creation of an accurate map of endowments spread across Syrian provinces.
Initial estimates indicate the existence of thousands of endowed properties in the cities of Damascus and Aleppo that have not been accurately inventoried for decades. If these properties are proven to be endowed, the endowments authority will offer their occupants (who may have considered themselves owners) two options: either accept new lease agreements that reflect current market prices, or vacate the property in favor of other tenants.
The endowed status of the property—even if recently discovered—cancels any previous official real estate considerations. The Ministry of Religious Endowments' move is not new; it has been in place for over eight months, and it puts hundreds of Syrian property owners at risk of losing their legal ownership of their properties.
Under this measure, property owners with official title deeds could become mere tenants of the Ministry if Turkish records prove the existence of an old endowment (waqf) on the land.
These properties are located in historic areas of Damascus and Aleppo.
Zaman Al Wasl
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