‘Lion’s share’ of Awqaf Ministry budget goes to Jerusalem dept. staff salaries

AMMAN — Around JD14 million of the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs' total budget of nearly JD88 million is allocated to Al Aqsa Mosque, according to Awqaf Minister Mohammad Khalaileh.

During a Parliamentary Financial Committee meeting over the Awqaf Ministry’s budget on Monday, Khalaileh said that the “lion's share” of the JD14 million is allocated for staff salaries of the Jordan-run Jerusalem Awqaf and Aqsa Affairs Department. Defending Jerusalem's holy sites tops the ministry's agenda, the minister stressed, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra. 

The ministry's Aqsa Affairs Department appoints Al Aqsa Mosque staff and guards, and conducts maintenance and restoration operations, such as carpeting and installing modern firefighting systems, he said, noting that the ministry consults a restoration expert appointed for this purpose.

Khalaileh said that staff salaries accounted for JD56 million of the ministry's budget, while the electricity bill dropped from JD14 million to JD8.5 million thanks to a transition to solar energy at mosques.

Increases in endowment revenues range between JD6 million and JD7 million, he said, noting that revenue from endowment-related investments do not directly feed into the budget, but go directly into several programmes such as mosque maintenance, the education and health endowment, helping underprivileged families and printing copies of the Holy Koran.