Morocco Closes 200 Mosques Annually for Renovation, Minister Reports

In response to an oral question on "the need to restore mosques in danger of ruin", presented by the Istiqlalien group of Unity and Egalitarianism in the House of Councillors, the minister pointed out that these mosques are closed following the control operations carried out by the walis and governors within the framework of Dahir No. 121-14-1 (25 Ramadan 1435).

In Morocco, there are 52,400 mosques occupying a total area of at least 8.5 million m². These public buildings require maintenance and budgetary mobilization for their rehabilitation, the minister noted. He also specified that it is not only a matter of restoration or renovation, but also of reconstruction of certain closed mosques.

For this mosque restoration operation, his department is requesting an additional financial envelope of one billion dirhams (at a rate of 300 million per year) for the 2020-2022 period. The minister promised that his department will be obliged to freeze most of the new mosque, administrative and cultural complex, and traditional education school projects from this year onwards if no action is taken on this request.