Marshad Barry has been appointed Chairman of the Waqf Board, the statutory body that oversees Muslim charitable trusts and endowments in Sri Lanka, by Buddhasasana, Religious Affairs and Cultural Affairs Minister Dr Hiniduma Sunil Senevi.
The official charter for the newly appointed members of the 27th Waqf Board was presented by Religious and Cultural Affairs Deputy Minister Munir Mulaffer.
Barry is a senior official at Amana Bank, the country’s largest fully Shariah-compliant licensed commercial bank, where he also serves as Deputy Head of the bank’s #OrphanCare project. He currently chairs the Sri Lanka Malaysia Business Council and is an active member of several civil society organisations, including the Sri Lanka Muslim Media Forum and the Rotary Club.
The Waqf Board is constituted under the Muslim Mosques and Charitable Trusts or Wakfs Act and registers, supervises and regulates mosques and waqf properties dedicated to religious, educational and charitable purposes by members of the Muslim community. Its responsibilities include adjudicating disputes over waqf assets, approving trustees and ensuring that endowed properties are managed in accordance with the donors’ stated purposes.
The board’s membership is reconstituted by the Religious Affairs Minister at fixed intervals, with the 27th board now taking office. The new chairman’s appointment comes as the government continues to roll out a wider set of religious-affairs and community board changes following the Cabinet reshuffles earlier this year.
