Morocco Bans Fundraising in Mosques, Citing Ramadan Concerns

Fundraising inside mosques, for any reason, is now prohibited. The announcement was made by the provincial delegation of Islamic affairs in Khénifra. Only associations authorized by the prefecture to build mosques are not affected by this measure. This ban is justified by the observation that most of the kingdom’s mosques experience, during the month of Ramadan, the phenomenon of fundraising before the Tarawih prayer, in order to support the imam and the mosque officials during this sacred month, but no one knows the amount of funds collected, their destination, or the entity responsible for their management.

This measure comes after the government council approved the draft decree on the organization of public fundraising operations and the distribution of charitable aid. Its objective is to implement the provisions of Law No. 18.18 on the organization of public fundraising operations and the distribution of charitable aid, promulgated by Dahir No. 1.22.79 dated 18 Joumada Al-Awwal 1444 (December 13, 2022). The text defines the authorization procedure for public fundraising, the declaration procedure for the distribution of charitable aid, and the control procedures for fundraising and aid distribution operations.

This draft decree provides a set of provisions specifying, mainly, the persons authorized to request authorization to launch a public fundraising appeal, according to an annexed model, as well as the competent authorities to which this request must be addressed or filed, but also provisions defining the procedures for declaring the distribution of aid, as well as the procedures for controlling fundraising and charitable aid distribution operations, and monitoring the accounts related to the use of resources collected as part of the public fundraising appeal.