His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, issued Decree Law No. 3 of 2020 regarding the reorganization of the Department of Islamic Affairs in the Emirate of Sharjah.

The decree stipulated in a law that the Islamic Affairs Department has the legal personality and full capacity to carry out the necessary legal actions to achieve its goals and exercise its powers, and it follows the central government of the Emirate of Sharjah.

The headquarters of the Islamic Affairs Department shall be located in the city of Sharjah, and upon the approval of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Sharjah, it may establish branches in the rest of the cities and regions of the Emirate.

The Islamic Affairs Department aims to achieve the following:

1. Preserving Islamic culture and identity and entrenching Islamic values ​​and principles among members of society.

2. Paying attention to the Islamic call and those in charge of it and working to develop its means.

3. Building and caring for mosques and enhancing their role in establishing religious rituals and promoting and raising awareness about society.

4. Organizing fundraising and charitable and humanitarian activities and urging the performance of the Zakat obligation to achieve social solidarity.

According to the law decree, the Department of Islamic Affairs, in order to achieve its objectives, shall exercise the following powers, subject to the relevant legislation:

First: general competencies:

1. Drawing up general policies and developing strategic plans for the Department of Islamic Affairs and presenting them to the Executive Council to decide what it deems appropriate regarding them.

2. Propose the necessary legislation and regulations related to the work of the Islamic Affairs Department and present it to the Executive Council to decide what it deems appropriate regarding it.

3. Establishing moderate Islamic culture and developing religious awareness among members of society.

4. Representing the Emirate of Sharjah in the official Hajj mission of the United Arab Emirates, and coordinating with the competent authorities regarding determining the needs of the Emirate of Sharjah for Hajj and Umrah permits and everything related to Hajj and Umrah affairs.

5. Auditing and reviewing the Noble Qur’an and contributing to the review of written, audio and visual religious works.

6. Preparing and issuing the annual Hijri calendar in the Emirate of Sharjah and distributing it in coordination with the competent authorities.

7. Conclude contracts, agreements, memoranda of understanding and partnerships after their approval by the Executive Council.

8. Use the competent authorities to obtain administrative and technical support, and they may seek the assistance of experts, consultants, and expert houses of expertise in all matters related to their work, and they may cooperate with other bodies on issues that fall within its goals and functions.

9. Any other functions assigned to it by the Ruler of Sharjah or the Executive Council.

Second: Competences related to advocacy affairs:

1. Supporting the Islamic Call and ensuring that it is spread in the community.

2. Inviting non-Muslims to embrace the true Islamic religion and encourage it through the methods, methods and means adopted by the department, in coordination with the competent authorities, and organizing programs for new Muslims.

3. Modernizing the methods and advocacy methods, renewing the language of Islamic discourse and opening the horizons of a civilized dialogue with the other.

4. Clarify Islamic concepts and pay false slanders and suspicions about Islam in coordination with the competent authorities.

5. Providing the necessary sciences, knowledge and references to develop the skills of preachers and the development of their cultures and performance.

6. Urging preachers to use modern technologies in the field of advocacy.

7. Publishing publications and using all available and approved media means and technologies in the Emirate of Sharjah to spread the call and spread knowledge of the Islamic religion.

Third: Competences related to mosque affairs:

1. Mosque construction, management, supervision and control of all mosques and chapels in the Emirate of Sharjah.

2. Issuing permits for the construction, maintenance or replacement of mosques and public chapels in accordance with the regulations established by the Islamic Affairs Department, in coordination with the competent authorities.

3. Establishing, expanding, maintaining and replacing mosques in the emirate with funds from wills, donations and donations from philanthropists.

4. Assign imams, muezzins, and mosque workers in accordance with the regulations in force in the Islamic Affairs Department and in coordination with the competent authorities.

5. Choose speakers and lecturers and organize their work in the mosques.

6. Training the cadres working in the mosques in accordance with the needs decided by the Islamic Affairs Department to raise their level and ensure that they carry out their duties fully.

Fourth: Competences related to organizing charitable and humanitarian work:

1. Promoting the culture of charitable work and organizing it in the Emirate of Sharjah.

2. Educating the community about the importance of zakat performance and its role in the field of development and social solidarity.

3. Coordination with the competent authorities in the Emirate of Sharjah to spend the allocations of endowments and donations allocated to construction, expansion, maintenance, care and replacement projects for mosques.

4. Organizing and managing donations and other charitable work in mosques.

5. Granting permits to entities wishing to collect donations in the Emirate of Sharjah in accordance with the controls and conditions determined by a decision of the Executive Council.

6. Supervising and supervising the institutions and entities authorized to collect donations in the Emirate of Sharjah in coordination with the competent authorities.

7. Authorization for private institutions to carry out their activities in the emirate in coordination with the competent authorities.

Fifth: Terms of Reference related to Fatwa, Preaching and Guidance:

1. Preparing and encouraging Islamic research and studies, realizing and disseminating Islamic sciences, and supervising Islamic research and studies centers.

2. Issuing fatwas on legal matters, responding to religious and juristic inquiries, documenting them through modern scientific methods and making them available to members of society.

3. Organizing preaching, guidance, guidance, religious education and addressing negative phenomena in society in coordination with the competent authorities.

4. Training national cadres in advisory, preaching, guidance and direction, and obtaining their skills through specialized programs and curricula in coordination with academic authorities in the Emirate of Sharjah.

5. Urging obedience and worship such as prayer, fasting, zakat and Hajj.

6. Organizing rituals and events in religious seasons and events in coordination with the competent authorities.

7. Cultivating values ​​and developing religious awareness through giving lectures and religious lessons and encouraging memorization of the Holy Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet in mosques and correctional and punitive facilities in coordination with the competent authorities.

Sixth: Competences related to organizing graves and burial procedures:

1. Overseeing Muslim cemeteries, organizing their affairs and burying the dead, in coordination with the competent authorities in the emirate.

2. Supervising the laundries and everything related to organizing funerals.

3. Selecting the workers and volunteers in the laundries and the graves and preparing them to perform their duties according to the legal requirements and the requirements of public health and safety.

The Islamic Affairs Department shall have a director assisted by a sufficient number of employees and experts according to its organizational structure, and he shall have the necessary powers and powers to manage the affairs of the department and take the necessary decisions to achieve its goals, and in particular may have the following:

1. Proposing the general policies and strategic plans necessary to achieve the department’s goals and presenting them to the Executive Council for approval or taking the necessary measures in their regard.

2. Propose the necessary bills and decisions and present them to the Executive Council to decide what it deems appropriate regarding them.

3. Supervise the work progress in the department in accordance with the applicable legislation and regulations, issue administrative decisions and follow up their implementation.

4. Prepare the annual budget and the final account of the Department of Islamic Affairs in accordance with the procedures followed in this regard.

5. Supervising the exchange mechanism from the budget of the Islamic Affairs Department.

6. Forming permanent and temporary committees and work teams affiliated with the department and defining its terms of reference and work system.

7. Representing the Islamic Affairs Department before the judiciary and in its relations with others.

8. Representing the Department of Islamic Affairs in concluding contracts, agreements, memoranda of understanding and partnerships after their approval by the Council.

9. Delegating some of his powers or competences to senior officials in the department in accordance with the legislation in force in the Emirate of Sharjah.

10. Any other tasks or functions assigned to it by the Ruler of Sharjah or the Executive Council.

And based on the proposal of the Director of the Islamic Affairs Department, and after the approval of the Executive Council, the organizational structure of the department will be issued by Emiri decree.

The decree of the Financial Resources Law for the Department of Islamic Affairs was defined by:

1. Government allocations.

2. The department’s own revenues as a result of exercising its powers.

3. Donations, gifts and bequests approved by the Executive Council.

4. Any other resources approved by the Executive Council.

And upon the proposal of the Director of the Department of Islamic Affairs, the Executive Council shall issue the following decisions:

1. Decisions necessary to implement the provisions of this decree by law.

2. Topics that are not regulated in the text of this decree by law in a manner that does not contradict or contradict its provisions.

According to the law decree, the Islamic Affairs Department is exempt from all local government taxes and fees in all their forms and types, except for consumer fees.

Law No. 2 of 2010 regarding the organization of the Islamic Affairs Department in the Emirate of Sharjah is repealed.

This decree shall be enforced by law from the date of its issuance, and the concerned authorities shall implement it each within its jurisdiction, and any rule that contradicts its provisions shall be canceled and published in the Official Gazette.