Morocco Set to Take Control of Strasbourg’s Grand Mosque Management

Since its inauguration in 2012, the Grand Mosque of Strasbourg has never had its minaret or its cultural space consisting of a training center, a library, a bookstore open to the public and a tea room overlooking the city. Nevertheless, the project has not been shelved, according to Les dernières nouvelles d’Alsace.

The minaret, whose use for the call to prayer is not authorized in France, should serve as a museum of Islamic arts. For its realization, a budget of 11 million euros must be mobilized; which, according to Saïd Aalla, the president of the mosque, was beyond their means at the time.

After its contribution to the financing of the construction work of the mosque, Morocco, in a way, has taken over the project whose initiator, Abdallah Boussouf, has been promoted secretary general of the Council of the Moroccan Community Abroad. Out of the 18 current members of the mosque’s board of directors, 16 are of Moroccan origin. In addition, the imam of the mosque is appointed and paid by the kingdom.

Thus, Morocco, represented by its Ministry of Habous, would become the majority partner of the Société Civile Immobilière (SCI) of the Grand Mosque of Strasbourg, a decision that "is not bad", according to Saïd Aalla who reassures that Morocco, which has "a linguistic, cultural and fraternal proximity with France", will not interfere in the management of the mosque.

Internally, there was no unanimity around Morocco to which the mosque should now pledge allegiance. "Moroccan Islam is the best model for Europe. But we had promised at the outset to maintain our independence from any foreign state, even if it is our second country of the heart," says Saïd Aalla.