His Majesty King Abdullah on Tuesday said he fully supports the Iftaa Department, the official apparatus tasked with issuing fatwas, or religious edicts, on everyday life matters.

To support the mission of the department, King Abdullah, during a visit to the agency, issued directives for the establishment of a permanent headquarters for the department, which started functioning independently a year-and-a-half ago, after it was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs.

The new headquarters will be built in cooperation with the Greater Amman Municipality, the King announced.

King Abdullah has on several occasions called for regulating iftaa in the Islamic world as key effort in fighting extremism.

The Kingdom's Mufti Nuh Qudah, who heads the department, said since the agency started working independently, the number of people contacting it for fatwa has increased significantly, dealing with 500 cases daily.

Work is under way, in cooperation with the Royal Court to create a website for the department, a matter that would enable it to communicate with Muslims in Jordan and the world, said the mufti.

Qudah added that the department has recently allocated a mufti for each governorate, stressing the need for more muftis as the department plans to appoint a mufti in each district, big city or large neighbourhoods within cities.