​The Ottoman Sultanate inherited and adopted Islamic law in dealing with Awqāf (endowments) in the Ottoman provinces but during the Tanzimat era (1839-1878), it adopted a new “hostile” policy towards this law, especially with regard to Islamic charitable awqāf. In contrast, it complied with this law regarding Christian awqāf. The study explores the reasons behind this double standard, clarifying the problematic religious and political relationship between the sultanate and the Christian endowments in Ottoman Jerusalem. It advances the assumption that the Christian endowments, both public access and privately distributed, in the Ottoman Empire and particularly in Jerusalem were safeguarded from the same “hostile” policy affecting the Islamic charitable endowments. On the contrary, these legislations served as a shield, providing immunity to the Christian endowments from the new state policies.