{"id":16524,"date":"2026-08-30T19:03:28","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T17:03:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/?p=16524"},"modified":"2026-10-04T19:04:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T17:04:23","slug":"real-estate-transactions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/real-estate-transactions\/","title":{"rendered":"A 400-Year-Old Document Just Froze Property Transactions for Hundreds of Thousands of Egyptians"},"content":{"rendered":"<p dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Last May, thousands of citizens in Damietta, Daqahlia, and Kafr El-Sheikh found themselves unable to sell their apartments, register their contracts, or complete building-violation reconciliation files for their homes, after the Real Estate Publicity and Documentation Authority <a href=\"https:\/\/share.google\/UssBEeoMg4f8X3u3U\">issued<\/a> a decision suspending all transactions on between 420,000 and 441,000 feddans distributed across the three governorates. The freeze covers strategic areas including Ras Al-Bar, New Damietta, Damietta Port, and Lake Borollus, and its repercussions extended to affect legally settled property rights, building-violation reconciliation files, and ongoing development projects there.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The decision rests on a <a href=\"https:\/\/share.google\/UssBEeoMg4f8X3u3U\">historical religious endowment deed<\/a> dating, according to the official account, to the year 1008 of the Hijri calendar, under which the Awqaf Authority claims ownership of those lands as a charitable endowment from the Ottoman era. The Supreme Administrative Court concluded in June 2025 that the deed has no historical or surveying basis, and a government committee reached the same conclusion in 2001 in a 106-page report. This <a href=\"https:\/\/m.youm7.com\/story\/2026\/5\/13\/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B7%D9%81%D9%89-%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%B4%D8%AE%D8%B5%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%AE%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%B0%D9%83%D8%B1%D8%AA-%D9%81%D9%89-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%AF%D8%A8\/7414095\">dispute<\/a> had been resolved repeatedly through court rulings in favor of residents since the 1980s, before being reopened today through a single administrative decision, while parliamentary and judicial actions opposing the decision and challenging its historical and legal basis are escalating.<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure id=\"attachment_15875\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15875\" style=\"width: 1366px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-15875\" src=\"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/\u0631\u0642\u0645-8-e1784792651629.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1366\" height=\"768\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-15875\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Technical Circular No. 8 of 2026, issued on May 6 of this year.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">In swift legal action, lawyer Dr. Ahmed Yahya Fayed filed an <a href=\"https:\/\/share.google\/AidpyhoVFp79hYAhB\">urgent judicial challenge<\/a> before the Administrative Court of First Instance in Ras Al-Bar, against the Minister of Justice, the head of the Awqaf Authority, the Minister of Religious Endowments, and the Assistant Minister of Justice for Real Estate Publicity Affairs, demanding the suspension of implementation and annulment of Administrative Decision No. 5038 of 2026 and Technical Circular No. 8 issued regarding the freeze on transactions over lands subject to the &#8220;Prince Mustafa Abd El-Mannan Endowment Deed&#8221; in Damietta, Daqahlia, and Kafr El-Sheikh governorates.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">According to what is stated in the challenge, the decision violated final judicial rulings, citing the Supreme Administrative Court ruling issued in June 2025, which concluded that the endowment deed has no historical or surveying basis, that it does not appear in official records, tax registers, or surveying books over centuries, and that the Awqaf Authority&#8217;s actual possession of those lands has not been established.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The challenge also pointed to the existence of firmly established state and private ownership rights that are registered and publicized, and lands previously allocated by Khedival and royal decrees. The challenger argued that the decision relied on a photocopy of a deed that the court had previously considered to have no legal value whatsoever, stripping the decision of its legal basis. The challenge traced the historical chain of the lands&#8217; ownership, which was subject to state property law since Muhammad Ali&#8217;s era, then to agrarian reform, before parts were transferred to Damietta Governorate, and pointed to a letter issued by the Awqaf Authority in 1995 stating that the prohibition on transactions in the disputed lands had been lifted, arguing that reimposing the prohibition after more than thirty years constitutes an abuse of authority.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Fayed considers the decision to have caused a sweeping paralysis in registration, documentation, and real estate movement, harming the rights of citizens and lawyers, in addition to ambiguity about the scope of land subject to the prohibition and the absence of a clear time limit. He demands the urgent suspension of the decision due to the irreparable damages it causes, followed by its final annulment with all resulting legal consequences.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The court is scheduled to hear the first session of the challenge on June 13. Fayed affirms the decision caused a complete paralysis of buying, selling, and real estate registration, blocking power of attorney for sales and management, date verification on lease contracts, and halting building-violation reconciliation procedures in Damietta, Kafr El-Sheikh, and Daqahlia. He warns of broad social and legal repercussions resulting from the challenge to property rights that have been settled for many years.<\/p>\n<blockquote dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">He tells Zawia3: &#8220;The timing of reopening the endowment deed raises questions, especially given the existence of judicial rulings and previous technical committees that concluded the Awqaf&#8217;s claims regarding the endowment are invalid. The dispute was raised more than once since the 1980s and rulings were issued against the Awqaf Authority, before the file was reopened again years later.&#8221; He explains that &#8220;the Awqaf Authority presented only photocopies of the deed without an official authenticated original, while some reports concluded that the lands the endowment was supposedly established on no longer exist geographically due to coastal changes over centuries.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div>\n<figure id=\"attachment_15881\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15881\" style=\"width: 1366px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-15881 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/\u0637\u0628\u0642-\u0627\u0644\u0627\u0635\u0644.png\" alt=\"An image from the urgent challenge against Administrative Decision No. 5038 of 2026 and Technical Circular No. 8\" width=\"1366\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/\u0637\u0628\u0642-\u0627\u0644\u0627\u0635\u0644.png 1366w, https:\/\/zawia3.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/\u0637\u0628\u0642-\u0627\u0644\u0627\u0635\u0644-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/zawia3.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/\u0637\u0628\u0642-\u0627\u0644\u0627\u0635\u0644-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/zawia3.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/\u0637\u0628\u0642-\u0627\u0644\u0627\u0635\u0644-768x432.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1366px) 100vw, 1366px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-15881\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u00a0An image from the urgent challenge against Administrative Decision No. 5038 of 2026 and Technical Circular No. 8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\n<div class=\"z3-article-separator\" role=\"separator\" aria-label=\"Section divider\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 140 4269 130\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M120 211H4149\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"#7e7e7e\" stroke-width=\"10\"\/><circle cx=\"1718\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"1718\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><circle cx=\"1930\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"1930\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><circle cx=\"2142\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"2142\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><circle cx=\"2354\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"2354\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><circle cx=\"2566\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"2566\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><\/svg><\/div>\n<h3 dir=\"ltr\">A Document of Questionable Authenticity<\/h3>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The official account in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.parlmany.com\/News\/2\/605533\/%D9%82%D8%B5%D8%A9-%D9%88%D9%82%D9%81-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B7%D9%81%D9%89-%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%A3%D9%85%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%83-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%84%D8%A9-%D9%88%D9%87%D9%8A%D8%A6%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%88%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%81\">dispute<\/a> rests on a photocopy of a historical endowment deed dating to the year 1008 of the Hijri calendar, registered at the sharia court of Mahalla Al-Kubra, attributed to Prince <a href=\"https:\/\/m.youm7.com\/story\/2026\/5\/13\/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B7%D9%81%D9%89-%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%B4%D8%AE%D8%B5%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%AE%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%B0%D9%83%D8%B1%D8%AA-%D9%81%D9%89-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%AF%D8%A8\/7414095\">Mustafa Abd El-Mannan<\/a>, one of the princes of the Ottoman state. The Awqaf Authority considers it a legal basis for land ownership as a charitable endowment, while some challenge the deed&#8217;s authenticity, citing the absence of an official original, reliance on photocopies alone, the absence of clear references to the deed in historical records and surveys over centuries, the absence of surveying documentation, and the failure to establish the Authority&#8217;s actual possession of the disputed lands.<\/p>\n<blockquote dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Dr. Asmaa Hasanein, researcher in modern history and Islamic civilization, believes the circulating document raises significant doubts about its authenticity, because the chronological sequence in the document is historically illogical, as it links the endowment to Sultan Al-Zahir Barquq, even though Barquq belonged to the Mamluk era and died in the year 801 of the Hijri calendar, while historical sources indicate that Mustafa Abd El-Mannan lived in the Ottoman era and was born, according to some accounts, in 1027 of the Hijri calendar, more than two centuries after Barquq&#8217;s death.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">She explains in her conversation with Zawia3 that historical sources that addressed the personality of Prince Mustafa Abd El-Mannan, including the writings of &#8220;Al-Hamawi,&#8221; mention that he was among the notables of Damascus and lived there throughout his life, and was buried next to his father in Damascus, which raises additional questions about his connection to vast lands inside Egypt in the manner currently circulated. She points out that the document&#8217;s appearance and circulation at this time, coinciding with parliamentary controversy and notification requests submitted regarding the endowment, strengthens the doubts raised about it, especially since it was never circulated or relied upon historically throughout previous decades in land-related disputes.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Asmaa affirms that any final resolution of this case requires precise scientific review of the document by specialists in history, documents, and manuscripts, alongside legal and judicial examination, to verify its authenticity and consistency with the known historical facts.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_15883\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15883\" style=\"width: 1366px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-15883\" src=\"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/\u0648\u062b\u064a\u0642\u0629-e1784792997548.png\" alt=\"\u062d\u062c\u0629 \u0648\u0642\u0641 \u0627\u0644\u0623\u0645\u064a\u0631 \u0645\u0635\u0637\u0641\u0649 \u0639\u0628\u062f \u0627\u0644\u0645\u0646\u0627\u0646\" width=\"1366\" height=\"768\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-15883\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>The Prince Mustafa Abd El-Mannan endowment deed<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">According to a legal source familiar with the case who preferred not to be named, the Ministry of Religious Endowments claims that 90% of Damietta Governorate&#8217;s lands belong to it, even though 99% of the lands of Ras Al-Bar, Al-Sinaniyya, Kafr Al-Batikh, and Kafr Saad were transferred to citizens under registered contracts and sales from the State Property Authority, and the judiciary had previously rejected lawsuits filed by the Awqaf and upheld the residents&#8217; ownership rights, with numerous rulings issued against the Awqaf in Ras Al-Bar, Al-Sinaniyya, Kafr Al-Batikh, and Kafr Saad, on the basis that no tax register exists in the name of the Al-Mannan endowment and that the Awqaf has never had actual possession of any lands in these areas at any point in time, and that the endowment deed&#8217;s boundaries and features are obliterated.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The legal expert confirms that a final binding ruling was issued in 1997 against the Awqaf in a lawsuit filed by the Urban Communities Authority against the Minister of Religious Endowments and the Chairman of the Awqaf Authority&#8217;s board of directors, in which the court ruled to prevent the Awqaf from interfering with the entire area subject to the lawsuit, which encompasses the full area of Ras Al-Bar, Al-Sinaniyya, and Kafr Al-Batikh extending to Gamasa. This ruling was upheld by the Court of Appeal and the Court of Cassation. Several letters were also issued by the Awqaf to the Real Estate Publicity Authority in 1995 to lift the prohibition on the Al-Mannan endowment from sales and registered contracts issued by government bodies.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">He notes that in 1999 an assignment was issued by the Legislative Committee of the Council of Ministers to the Experts Authority at the Ministry of Justice to form an expert committee to examine the Awqaf&#8217;s problem with the governorates of Damietta, Daqahlia, and Kafr El-Sheikh. The expert committee concluded: the Awqaf did not present the original of the deed or the original engineering report implementing it; there is no tax register in the name of that endowment; this deed has not been updated on modern or ancient surveying references; and the Awqaf did not present anything indicating registration of this deed or anything indicating its actual possession or dealings with possessors or tax register holders at any point in time.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\n<div class=\"z3-article-separator\" role=\"separator\" aria-label=\"Section divider\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 140 4269 130\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M120 211H4149\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"#7e7e7e\" stroke-width=\"10\"\/><circle cx=\"1718\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"1718\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><circle cx=\"1930\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"1930\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><circle cx=\"2142\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"2142\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><circle cx=\"2354\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"2354\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><circle cx=\"2566\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"2566\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><\/svg><\/div>\n<h3 dir=\"ltr\">Protecting Property Rights<\/h3>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Dr. Abbas Al-Za&#8217;farani, former Dean of the Faculty of Urban Planning at Cairo University, believes that dealing with the Prince Mustafa Abd El-Mannan endowment file must begin from protecting citizens&#8217; rights and legally settled situations, such that priority is given to not harming individuals whose legal situations have been settled for many years, whether through formal contracts or possession situations that Egyptian law recognized in previous periods.<\/p>\n<blockquote dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">He tells Zawia3: &#8220;The Ministry of Religious Endowments, according to the law&#8217;s provisions, is considered a supervisor of the endowment and not its actual owner, and the Ministry&#8217;s original function is to manage endowments and implement the terms of their founders for the benefit of the entitled parties or the designated purposes, not to deal with them as private property of the Ministry itself.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">He affirms that any talk of reclaiming lands or disputing them with citizens must take into account whether there are endowment beneficiaries or not, explaining that if there are parties with established rights or entitled heirs, it is obligatory to seek a legal formula that achieves balance between their rights and the rights of current citizens who have been residing on or holding the land for decades. If there are no clear beneficiaries, he says, it is impermissible to harm the legally settled situations of people.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">He points out that a large part of the disputed lands passed in ownership or possession over many years, whether through adverse possession or through allocations and contracts with government bodies, creating stable legal and social positions that cannot suddenly be ignored by administrative decisions. He warns that disregarding these considerations may lead to injustice against broad segments of citizens.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">He considers the Awqaf Authority&#8217;s intervention in some urban and development projects may sometimes lead to obstruction of development, citing previous cases that witnessed disputes between the Awqaf and executive bodies over lands that had been developed or repurposed to serve residents and the community.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">He believes the current crisis reveals a broader problem related to the nature of managing the endowments file in Egypt, and the limits of the Ministry of Religious Endowments&#8217; role as a supervisory and management body, not a direct ownership body, affirming that resolving the dispute requires precise legal and historical review that takes into account the rights of original beneficiaries, if any, while preserving urban and social stability and the rights of citizens present on these lands for generations.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Ibrahim Izz El-Din, Director of Policies at Diwan Al-Omran, considers what is happening to reflect a state of administrative confusion and an absence of transparency in making information available about public policies in Egypt. He explains that the Real Estate Publicity Authority&#8217;s circular regarding the suspension of transactions over the lands caused a state of anxiety and confusion among property owners, and opened the door to the spread of rumors and concerns about the possibility of losing ownership or being unable to dispose of real estate in the future.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">He tells Zawia3: &#8220;The picture is still not entirely clear regarding the project, especially given the existence of an ongoing dispute between the Awqaf and Housing authorities over ownership of the land subject to the residential project,&#8221; pointing out that the legal default assumes property owners should not be affected by any administrative or legal dispute regarding land ownership, as long as their contracts have been settled for years and their private ownership situations exist legally, affirming that protecting these settled legal positions represents one of the principles the law is supposed to guarantee, even in the event of ownership transfer or affiliation of assets between different state bodies.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The crisis comes in a broader context related to the inventory and documentation of Awqaf Authority assets and maximizing their economic benefit, as President Abd El-Fattah Al-Sisi <a href=\"https:\/\/www.presidency.eg\/ar\/%D9%82%D8%B3%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1\/%D8%A3%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%B1%D8%A6%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A9\/news1652026-1\/\">directed<\/a> on May 16 the continuation of inventorying and documenting all Awqaf Authority property and assets to maximize their investment and optimal exploitation, with the aim of supporting the national economy and ensuring the maximum return for the endowment in service of its religious and social purposes.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The directives focused on establishing spatial and digital maps and an integrated database for all assets and properties to achieve a precise inventory and prevent encroachments, and offering promising investment opportunities in cooperation with major specialized companies and real estate developers to raise the economic value of the Authority&#8217;s assets, alongside exploiting assets in alignment with the state&#8217;s comprehensive development projects, such as developing historic Cairo&#8217;s areas and transforming them into attractive cultural attractions.<\/p>\n<h3 dir=\"ltr\"><\/h3>\n<div class=\"z3-article-separator\" role=\"separator\" aria-label=\"Section divider\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 140 4269 130\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M120 211H4149\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"#7e7e7e\" stroke-width=\"10\"\/><circle cx=\"1718\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"1718\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><circle cx=\"1930\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"1930\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><circle cx=\"2142\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"2142\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><circle cx=\"2354\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"2354\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><circle cx=\"2566\" cy=\"211\" r=\"56\" fill=\"#fafafa\" stroke=\"#9c9c9c\" stroke-width=\"3\"\/><circle cx=\"2566\" cy=\"202\" r=\"50\" fill=\"#647580\" stroke=\"#4e5962\" stroke-width=\"4\"\/><\/svg><\/div>\n<h3 dir=\"ltr\">Parliamentary Movements<\/h3>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">MP Dia El-Din Daoud, member of the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives, submitted mid-May an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/p\/18XGax1tYa\/\">urgent statement<\/a> to the Speaker of the House under Article 134 of the Constitution regarding the crisis.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">He explained that the decision was based on correspondence issued by the Ministry of Justice regarding the suspension of any procedures until the inventory of lands is completed, considering this to constitute an assault on property and usufruct rights, a disruption of building-violation reconciliation laws and possession regularization, and harm to the rule of law principle. He pointed out that the dispute has extended for more than 30 years and was resolved through official technical reports in 2001 that confirmed state and residents&#8217; ownership based on historical records, surveying works, and official documents.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">He warned of serious consequences from the decision, including paralysis in Real Estate Publicity services, the blocking of tens of thousands of reconciliation requests, the suspension of utilities connections and commercial licensing, and the freezing of major projects and investments in the three governorates, threatening social and economic stability, and demanded the immediate cancellation of the circular, the cessation of Awqaf Authority disputes with citizens and governorates, and the restoration of legal discipline to the file.<\/p>\n<blockquote dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Daoud affirms that the crisis represents a direct threat to citizens&#8217; settled legal positions, and that the ongoing dispute squanders the authority of previous judicial rulings issued in connection with it, considering that there is no established legal existence for this endowment since the Awqaf Authority has not exercised, over approximately 400 years, any of the manifestations of ownership, management, or rent collection over the disputed lands.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">He tells Zawia3: &#8220;The state exercised its full right to sell, dispose of, and exploit those lands over long decades, whether before the July 1952 revolution or after it, and the modern cadastral maps and the Egyptian land demarcation since 1906, then the maps of modern Egypt in 1932, entrenched the existing ownership situations.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">He adds: &#8220;The technical circular issued by the Real Estate Publicity Authority caused broad negative effects, most notably the suspension of more than 50,000 reconciliation requests regarding building violations, which disrupts the application of Law No. 168 of 2025, alongside blocking the procedures for regularizing the situations of adverse possessors under Law No. 164 of 2025.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Daoud points out that the decision&#8217;s repercussions extended to a complete paralysis of buying, selling, and renting, and disrupted company formation and sales transactions, warning that the crisis may threaten settled economic and social positions, expose citizens to legal and social risks, and threaten social peace and stability in the concerned governorates.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">He says the Egyptian parliament member that &#8220;a government report prepared in 2001 in 106 pages by a committee of Experts Authority specialists concluded that there is no legal effect of the disputed deed against the state or individuals, and considers this report to have previously resolved similar disputes in favor of citizens and the governorates.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Daoud does not expect the state to permit any assault on individuals&#8217; private property or state property in Damietta, Daqahlia, and Kafr El-Sheikh governorates, and believes it likely that a national committee will be formed to review the endowment deed and its legal and historical validity, and whether the Awqaf Authority exercised any form of actual management over those lands.<\/p>\n<blockquote dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">In a related context, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/1Ev2Xttj45\/?mibextid=wwXIfr\">19 members of parliament announced<\/a> their solidarity with the affected residents of Damietta, Daqahlia, and Kafr El-Sheikh governorates against what they described as the hollow arguments of the Ministry of Religious Endowments regarding the Al-Mannan endowment claims, with a number of them submitting parliamentary notification requests addressed to the Speaker and the Ministers of Justice and Religious Endowments, demanding the immediate cancellation of the technical circular. They considered the decision a threat to the stability of private and public property, causing broad paralysis in real estate and related services, and demanded referral of the file to the competent parliamentary committees, and the summoning of representatives from the Ministries of Justice, Religious Endowments, and Local Development to discuss the legal and administrative bases upon which the decision was based.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">MP Abd El-Mona&#8217;em Imam, Deputy Chairman of the Planning and Budget Committee of the Egyptian House of Representatives, affirms that the decision to freeze transactions on lands connected to the Prince Mustafa Abd El-Mannan endowment caused a complete paralysis of buying and selling, warning that its repercussions are not limited to the real estate market alone, but extend to challenging property rights settled for many years, carrying with it tragic social and legal dimensions.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">He explains that parliamentary objections focused on the timing of reopening the endowment deed and the question marks it raised, especially given the existence of previous rulings and committees that concluded the invalidity of some of the claims connected to the endowment itself, pointing out that these judicial and administrative precedents required dealing with the file differently, rather than suspending transactions on this vast expanse of lands.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">He tells Zawia3: &#8220;The picture is still incomplete regarding the background of the decision, which requires a full presentation of the details, documents, and the surveying history of the disputed lands so that the situation can be accurately assessed, while the absence of this information opens the door to further debate and confusion.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">He explains that parliament demanded the attendance of representatives from the Ministries of Justice and Religious Endowments at the House of Representatives to discuss the crisis jointly, and to examine the legal and administrative bases on which the decision was built, given the broad controversy it generated within the affected governorates. He points out that there are unexploited endowments whose exploitation can be reorganized through legal mechanisms, such as substitution or other procedures that ensure the preservation of the endowment&#8217;s nature and the direction of its proceeds to the purposes designated by its founder.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">In the same context, MP Irene Said, head of the parliamentary bloc of the Reform and Development Party, submitted an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/p\/1BNwPPZ9hJ\/\">urgent notification request<\/a> to the Prime Minister and the Ministers of Religious Endowments, Justice, and Local Development regarding the crisis, asking about an endowment deed dating to the year 1600 CE, despite it being deposited in the National Archives for the first time in February 2026.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">She affirmed that the decision caused broad administrative and real estate paralysis, encompassing the blocking of more than 50,000 reconciliation requests, the suspension of licensing, documentation, and utilities connections, in addition to the freezing of projects and investments worth hundreds of millions, including the development of the Ras Al-Bar Peninsula and the Al-Sinaniyya Corniche.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Irene explains that the decision caused a widespread state of legal and social confusion, especially since the deed the Awqaf Authority relies on is not an official original, but a photocopy that was only recently deposited in the National Archives a few months ago, despite the surveying maps and property rights in the three governorates having been settled for many decades.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">She tells Zawia3: &#8220;Citizens have built stable legal positions on these lands and properties over many years, under constitutional protection of private and public property. The decision created a state of confusion among residents and investors, as citizens became unable to buy, sell, or complete the legal procedures for their properties, despite having legal situations settled for years.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">She points to the occurrence of complete paralysis inside Damietta, Kafr El-Sheikh, and Daqahlia as a result of the suspension of property and land transactions, in addition to the disruption of building-violation reconciliation files and situation regularization, questioning the constitutionality of the decision, especially given the existence of acquired rights and legal positions protected by the Constitution and law.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Irene continues: &#8220;Endowment lands in Egypt are known historically and established through official deeds passed between generations, and the appearance in 2026 of a deed regarding ownership of approximately 7% of Egypt&#8217;s agricultural land area raises numerous question marks.&#8221; She considers the matter requires comprehensive legal and historical verification before decisions are taken that affect millions of citizens and existing development projects.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">She explains that the crisis relates not only to real estate ownership but also extends to the development projects underway in the three governorates, especially in areas such as Damietta and New Mansoura, which are witnessing major urban and investment expansion, questioning their fate.<\/p>\n<blockquote dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">As a result of the parliamentary movements, Minister of Religious Endowments Osama Al-Azhari <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/p\/18RnrU6SmH\/\">held a meeting<\/a> with the governors of Damietta, Daqahlia, and Kafr El-Sheikh, and the head of the State Land Use Planning Center, to address the crisis on May 25. According to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/p\/18RnrU6SmH\/\">statement<\/a> issued by the Ministry, the meeting affirmed that the rights of those with settled legal positions within the endowment&#8217;s scope would not be touched, with instructions to resume building-violation reconciliation procedures urgently to relieve citizens, while it was decided to compensate the Awqaf Authority with alternative lands from state lands to achieve a balance between the rights of residents and the preservation of endowment funds.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">But the crisis is still escalating, especially after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shorouknews.com\/mobile\/news\/view.aspx?cdate=26052026&amp;id=e0977657-eb69-4e9e-8b87-f648e65edfea\">statements<\/a> by Dr. Osama Raslan, spokesman for the Ministry of Religious Endowments, at the end of May, in which he affirmed the validity of the deed and the Awqaf Authority&#8217;s possession of it, with a copy preserved at the National Library and Archives, announcing that a judicial committee formed by presidential decree to adjudicate disputes between government bodies had issued repeated recommendations in favor of the Awqaf Authority after it submitted its original documents, and refusing to recognize the circulating judicial rulings on the invalidity of the deed, considering them to have been issued as a result of challenging photocopies of documents without examining the original.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Between previous judicial rulings that cast doubt on the endowment&#8217;s basis, and parliamentary and judicial movements demanding the cancellation of the decision, the crisis of the &#8220;Prince Mustafa Abd El-Mannan Endowment&#8221; remains open to complex legal and political possibilities that go beyond a mere property dispute, becoming a test of the state&#8217;s ability to balance the protection of endowment funds and the guarantee of stability for private property rights and legal positions established over decades.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Real Estate Publicity Authority issued a circular freezing sales, purchases, and registration on more than 400,000 feddans in Damietta, Daqahlia, and Kafr El-Sheikh, based on a religious endowment deed the Awqaf Authority attributes to an Ottoman prince dating to the seventeenth century.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":15879,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[410],"tags":[17928,17926,17927,17932,17929,17925,17933,17930,17934,17931],"kateb":[1550],"class_list":["post-16524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-investigations-en","tag-al-mannan-endowment-deed","tag-awqaf-authority-real-estate-freeze","tag-damietta-daqahlia-kafr-el-sheikh-property","tag-egypt-property-rights-dispute","tag-egypt-real-estate-transactions-suspended","tag-egypt-religious-endowment-dispute","tag-egyptian-parliament-awqaf","tag-ottoman-endowment-egypt","tag-prince-mustafa-abd-el-mannan","tag-real-estate-publicity-authority-circular","kateb-aya-yasser"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/\u0627\u0644\u0645\u0646\u0627\u0646.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16524"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16524\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16525,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16524\/revisions\/16525"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16524"},{"taxonomy":"kateb","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kateb?post=16524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}