The Ministry of Housing has accused the Endowments Authority of relying on a “forged title deed” to claim vast areas of land in New Damietta city as part of the Prince Mostafa Abdel-Mannan waqf, according to a letter from the ministry to the State Council, reviewed by Al Manassa.
Prince Mostafa Abdel-Mannan is considered the owner of the largest charitable endowment in Egypt’s history. The lands cover more than 421,000 feddans (about 1,750 square kilometers), or around 7% of Egypt’s total agricultural land, including more than 256,000 feddans in Kafr El-Sheikh, around 89,000 feddans in Damietta, and nearly 74,000 feddans in Dakahliya, with the Damietta lands covering most of the governorate west of the Nile, including Ras El-Bar and New Damietta, according to estimates.
A legal opinion issued by the State Council’s General Assembly of the Fatwa and Legislation Departments, of which Al Manassa obtained a copy, records that the Endowments Authority demanded a share of the proceeds from the sale of lands allocated to New Damietta city by presidential decrees, claiming they fall within the boundaries of the “Abdel-Mannan waqf.”
The dispute has recently escalated across the governorates of Damietta, Dakahliya, and Kafr El-Sheikh after the Real Estate Registration and Notarization Authority circulated instructions to all its offices prohibiting any procedures, dealings, or transactions involving the disputed lands.
The authority’s decision to suspend all transactions related to the land was based on official correspondence sent by the Endowments Authority to the Ministry of Justice, in which it asserted its sole custodianship over the endowment and said that any authority to dispose of the land fell exclusively within its jurisdiction.
The decision also relied on a Cabinet decree establishing a committee to inventory endowment lands. The decree recently enabled the Endowments Authority to secure a court ruling halting a public auction that Damietta Governorate had scheduled for May 11, 2026, to sell 57 housing units. The authority objected to the sale on the grounds that the units lie within the boundaries of the disputed endowment land.
Following that ruling, the Ministry of Housing sent a letter to the State Council’s General Assembly of the Fatwa and Legislation Departments requesting a legal opinion on the dispute between the New Urban Communities Authority and the Endowments Authority over ownership of lands allocated to New Damietta city under presidential decrees.
In its submission, the ministry stressed that, despite court rulings upholding those decrees, the Endowments Authority continues to demand a share of the proceeds from land sales. The ministry further argued that the lands are the exclusive property of the state, describing the “deed” relied upon by the Endowments Authority as “invalid and proven forged” under a ruling issued in felony case No. 398 of 1994, registered as No. 25 of 1994 (Cairo plenary). It also cited final court rulings that it said had conclusively established state ownership of the land.
Copy of the fatwa issued regarding the ongoing dispute between the Ministry of Housing and the Endowments Authority, translated by Al Manassa, March 2026The ministry affirmed in its letter that the lands are the exclusive property of the state, and that the “deed” on which the Endowments Authority relies is “invalid and has been proven forged” under a court ruling in felony case No. 398 of 1994, registered as No. 25 of 1994 (Cairo plenary). It also pointed to final court rulings that it said had conclusively established state ownership of the lands.
However, the State Council’s General Assembly of the Fatwa and Legislation Departments said it lacked jurisdiction to rule on the dispute, leaving the question of ownership unresolved and opening the door for the case to continue before the civil courts.
The dispute over the waqf has also found its way to the Egyptian parliament. The House of Representatives is expected to discuss an urgent statement submitted by Damietta MP Diaa El-Din Dawood, in which he called on the Ministry of Justice to cancel the circular issued by the Real Estate Registration and Notarization Authority halting any procedures, dealings, or transactions related to the lands subject to the endowment.
Dawood said the measure constitutes an assault on individuals’ rights to ownership, usufruct, and rent, as well as on the interests of the three governorates in their state-owned properties. He also described it as effectively suspending Laws No. 164 and No. 168 of 2025 on reconciliation in building violations and legalizing the status of squatters.
The statement cited several negative repercussions for citizens, especially in Damietta, including the rejection of more than 50,000 reconciliation requests in building violation cases due to the Endowments Authority’s refusal. The statement said the rejections could lead to demolition orders and criminal rulings in those cases.
In a separate parliamentary move, MP Abdel-Moneim Imam submitted a request for a briefing addressed to the prime minister and the ministers of religious endowments, justice, and local development over the crisis. He said the “deed” on which the Ministry of Religious Endowments relies was deposited at the National Archives last February, despite being more than 400 years old, questioning how it was deposited on that date.
Imam said the dispute over the land has been ongoing for more than 30 years, but was resolved in 2001. He said the prime minister at the time formed a technical committee from the Experts Authority to examine the disputed properties and the contested deed, and that after reviewing documents from the Dar El-Mahfuzat, the National Library, the courts, and the Egyptian General Survey Authority, the committee’s report concluded that the Endowments Authority had no jurisdiction over this land.
Accounts of Prince Mostafa Abdel-Mannan's identity vary. Documents by the Ottoman historian Al-Muhibbi describe him as a prince born in Damascus in 1617 who moved to Cairo and attained the senior rank of “prince of the sultan’s army,” while other accounts describe him as a literary figure mentioned in old manuscripts and poets’ correspondence.
