IRAQ SUNNI CLERICS REJECT PACT TO SHARE RELIGIOUS ENDOWMENTS

Wed 16 December 2020:

Sunni Iraqi clerics yesterday rejected an agreement to share religious endowments in the country, describing it as “legally void”, Anadolu news agency reported.

The Ahl Al-Sunnah Scholars Association in Nineveh governorate said in a statement that Sunni scholars at home and abroad, headed by Sheikh Ahmed Hassan Al-Taha, reject the agreement adding that it is legally void since it did not obtain the Supreme Council of Endowments’ approval.

The Sunni scholars called on the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, to revoke the agreement.

Later on Tuesday, the Sunni Endowment Office postponed the implementation of an agreement signed last month on sharing religious endowments in the country until a satisfactory solution is reached.

Less than a week ago, the Iraqi Fiqh (Jurisprudence) Academy categorically rejected the endowment-sharing agreement, explaining that disputed issues should be resolved through the judiciary and not political agreements.

In early November, the Sunni Endowment Office signed an agreement with the Shia Endowment Office to distribute all property belonging to the previous Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs and resolve the endowment file, which has been a cause of dispute since 2003.

Before 2003, the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs was responsible for managing all religious institutions in Iraq, including Shia shrines, mosques, Sunni schools as well as the institutions of other religions.

Photo: Sheikh Ahmed Hasan Al-Taha is chairman of the Iraqi Jurisprudence Council,