FINAL DECLARATION

Final Declaration of International Forum of Al-Quds Waqfs

Economically Development of the Holy City Al-Quds and its Surrounding

12 – 13 Shaban, 1438 - 8– 9 May 2017

1^st International Forum of Al-Quds Waqfs held by the Prime Ministry Directorate General of Foundations and the International Institute of Islamic Waqfs in Malaysia in Istanbul on 12– 13 Shaban 1438 according to Hijri Calendar, 8 – 9 May of 2017 was carried out under the auspices of President of Republic of Turkey H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdogan. President of Republic of Turkey H.E.  Recep Tayyip Erdogan has brought honor to this forum and also Dr. Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othhaimeen, Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Ghazi bin Muhammad, Jordan Prince and Rami Hamdallah, Prime Minister of Palestine have honored this forum.

This forum was organized under the title of increasing the power of waqfs to support the economic development of Al-Quds city, capital of Palestinian, and its surrounding upon recommendation of Islamic Summit held by Organization of Islamic Cooperation on 15 April 2016 and this program has focused on the supporting of the Palestinian people in their own lands with the help of countries, private sectors, individuals and institutions.    

Member countries, waqfs, charities and humanitarian aid organizations as well as many specialized institutions performing studies in the field of the development of foundations and foundation's properties in Islamic countries have participated in this forum.

 Forum aims to support financial and information resources and to establish partnerships with the Al-Quds Waqfs.

Having been organized with the participation of more than 3,000 people who come from occupied Palestine, Turkish Republic, Arab countries and other countries where Muslim minorities live and who perform studies in the field of humanitarian aid, charities and foundations, this forum was realized in 8 sessions with the speeches of experts working on social responsibility and foundations.  

As a result of this activity, some recommendations for the development of Al-Quds Waqfs have been made and accordingly some conclusions were reached:

1. The decision of the United Nations and UNESCO, which accepted the Palestinian occupation by Israel, has been appreciated and it also has been emphasized that the occupied territories in Al-Quds and the 144-acre Masjid al-Aqsa area belongs solely to Muslims and that no division or fragmentation could be accepted.
2. Participants have emphasized the importance of communication with waqfs established to serve the city of Al-Quds and agreed on the establishment of expert committees for the development of the foundations' regulations.
3. Directorate General of Foundations of the Republic of Turkey and Organization of Islamic Cooperation have called the Kuwait Public Foundations, which will provide general coordination for waqfs in the Islamic countries, to act in order to do official works in favor of Al-Quds. They also have invited the Islamic countries to call their ministers of the waqfs, to encourage all Muslims to work for Al-Quds by establishing a common investment foundation and to make laws and to issue regulations in order to develop infrastructure in areas such as health, education and housing.
4. The importance of recommendations made by Jordan's Hashemite Kingdom on the protecting and defense of locations belonging Moslems and Christians as well as declaring the Israeli occupation on the international scene has been especially emphasized. The activities of the Jordanian Hashemite Fund have been also appreciated in this framework.
5. "If Doomsday Church belongs to only Christians, then Masjid al-Aqsa belongs to only Muslims" statement expressed by the Middle East Churches Platform in Amman in September 2016 has revealed the sensitivity exhibited by the Christians for the establishment of peace and salvation in Al-Quds.  
6. Participants have reached the conclusion that source and support provided to the Al-Quds Foundations by all the financial institutions, especially the Islamic Development Bank, has served as an example to other Muslim countries.
7. It has been decided to make efforts to establish an electronic network for Palestinian and Al-Quds foundations, to provide technological support for the economic development of the people of Al-Quds, to make the cooperation with donors and financiers, to develop the archive system for the defense of rights in international law, to implement works for bringing to life the foundations facing with danger of extinction and to retrieve the foundations' properties disseized forcibly.
8. It has been recommended to develop the donation opportunities for Al-Quds, to use the digital donation platforms, to establish the deduction funds, to advise institutions taking care to gain Islamic earning to grant their profit shares to Al-Quds foundations.
9. It has been foreseen to provide technical support to the isolated Al-Quds foundations, to operate the foundation properties by the private sector and companies, to conduct researches and studies on the evaluation of foundation properties and to make activities showing the true path to ensure that people's time, ideas and expertise dedicate for these issues.
10. Participants in the 4^th session of the International Islamic Foundation Forum has presented their opinions on establishing a center in Istanbul, which will works for Islamic foundations around the world, and allocation of some of their incomes for the city of Al-Quds and creation of a coordination between Islamic foundations.
11. It has been decided to establish a commission for the implementation and mobilization of the recommendations of International Al-Quds Foundations Forum held in Istanbul in 2017.
12. The President of Republic of Turkey H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdogan's call to increase the tourist visits from the Islamic World for the economic strengthening of Al-Quds has been welcomed in this forum.  

Participants have also appreciated the Palestinian prisoners who have been in the Israeli jails and they have called everybody, especially both the public and private sector, to give support to the Palestinian prisoners to ensure that they gain their liberty and freedom again.

Consequently, the participants have expressed their thanks to the participants organizing this forum due to their efforts and stated that this activity has been successfully completed.

We would like to express our thanks and appreciations for this forum to the President of Republic of Turkey H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkish Government, the people of Turkey, everybody who contributed to this forum and the participants who came from abroad and Turkey.