FNC approves draft law regulating non-Muslim places of worship

ABU DHABI, thirtieth Could, 2023 (WAM) — The Federal Nationwide Council (FNC) has authorized a draft federal regulation regulating locations of worship for non-Muslims.The draft regulation goals to advertise the values of tolerance and coexistence and shall be relevant to all such locations nationwide, together with these positioned in free zones. This got here in a session in the present day chaired by Saqr Ghobash, the FNC Speaker on the parliament’s HQ in Abu Dhabi. The draft regulation additionally proposes the formation of a committee to look at and classify non-Muslim non secular actions, rites, and customs within the nation. Based mostly on the suggestions of related ministries, the UAE Cupboard will resolve on the committee’s composition, working system, and different tasks.A reliable entity will retain a registration of licensed or designated roles and locations of worship, and the info held on this registry should comprise the knowledge supplied within the govt laws of the draft regulation.The FNC launched an article on the allocation of rooms of worship, which stipulates the next: The chief laws of the draft regulation decide the situations, necessities and procedures for allocating rooms for worship by the competent authority. The competent authority points the ultimate licence that grants the place of worship its private authorized standing from the date of issuance. The proposed regulation requires each place of worship to open a checking account with an area financial institution, according to the foundations and standards set by the regulation’s govt laws. In response to the draft regulation, an individual who contravenes any provision of the regulation, its laws, or associated selections shall be topic to a tremendous starting from AED 100,000 to AED 3,000,000. The penalties prescribed within the regulation shall be utilized with out prejudice to a extra extreme penalty stipulated by another regulation. Present locations of worship should adjust to the proposed regulation’s guidelines inside six months of the manager laws’ implementation. This deadline will be prolonged by as much as two years, with every extension lasting six months.