page_title: Ministry of Awqaf (Egypt)
section_title: Crime at awqaf mosques
hierarchical_section_title: Ministry of Awqaf (Egypt) / Crime at awqaf mosques
caption_attribution_description: English: Ministry of Endowments in Cairo, Egypt on Sherif Pasha St.
context_page_description: The Ministry of Awqaf of Egypt is one of ministries in the Egyptian government and is in charge of religious endowments. Religious endowments, awqaf, are similar to common law trusts where the trustee is the mosque or individual in charge of the waqf and the beneficiary is usually the community as a whole. Examples of waqfs are of a plot of land, a market, a hospital, or any other building that would aid the community.
context_section_description: In the year 2008 growing concern erupted in Egypt over the increase of thefts from Awqaf mosques in Egypt, such as Ganim Al Bahlawan and Altinbugha Al-Maridani mosques, where inlaid wood panels from the minbars were stolen. Thieves were also caught trying to steal an ironwork grill window from the sabil kuttab of Rokaya Dudu. The Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) blamed the Ministry of Awqaf for the incidents, stating that the role of the SCA is only to restore mosques and give then back to the Awqaf, who are then in charge of security. Yet, legally the SCA is in charge of security of monuments and archaeological sites. In 2017, it was decided that some mosque artifacts would be stored at SCA warehouses, for security reasons.
caption: Awqaf ministry building
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