Morocco Plans Massive Mosque Expansion: 200 New Houses of Worship Annually

The objective is to "respond to the demographic and urban growth of the country," explained the Minister of Habous and Islamic Affairs, Ahmed Taoufiq, who spoke on the sidelines of the national day of mosques, celebrated at the Mohammed VI Institute.

"My ministry is setting a goal of building some 80 mosques over the next five years," the minister said, adding that he "currently has 2,216 closed mosques in the country. 723 of them are undergoing renovation and should reopen."

In this regard, Ahmed Taoufiq launched an appeal to donors to "support the government’s efforts in the construction of 1,000 mosques over the same five years." According to official figures, Morocco has some 51,000 mosques. 72% of them are located in rural areas.

On the continent, Morocco is financing the construction of the Mohammed VI Mosque in Guinea, for 127 million dirhams (11.66 million euros) as well as the renovation work of the Mohammed VI Mosque in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire, for 9 million dirhams (820,000 euros).