Rabat – Out of a budget of MAD 765 million, the Ministry of Endowment and Islamic Affairs has spent MAD 665 building, equipping and restoring mosques, and another MAD 100 managing and maintaining places of worship.

The ministry’s budget, which did not exceed MAD 60 million in 2004, is more than MAD 1.226 billion to date.

In 2017, some 166 mosques were built, according to the ministry. However, the ministry is not the only establishment to grant the expenses of construction.

According to a cmmunqué by the ministry, “a number of donors” have also bestowed a share of funds to construct the mosques.

In this document, the ministry said that 36 mosques have opened this year, for an overall investment of MAD 351 million.

“To strengthen the religious infrastructure and meet the needs of the urban and rural population,” the ministry said that it continues to work on constructing, reconstructing and renovating 48 mosques, for MAD 209 million  budget.

A total of 891 mosques have been rehabilitated since 2012 and are now open for the public.

368 mosques are being rehabilitated for MAD 833, while studies are underway for 565 others.

The ministry continued to say that 864 mosques are closed and require MAD 643 to be rehabilitated.

MAD 81 million were spent on equipping 1,954 mosques with carpets, while another MAD 30 million were allocated to equip 880 mosques with economic lamps, 600 with solar water heaters and 300 with photovoltaic panels.

God Will Reward the Faithful

The current salaries of religious clerks remain overwhelmingly low. Imams are paid about MAD 1,400 per month, while preachers are paid between MAD 400 and 1,000, said the Minister of Endowment and Islamic Affairs, Ahmed Taoufiq on Tuesday.

In 2016, Toufiq has vowed to allocate MAD 50 million for religious staff. He said that Imams would receives a premium of MAD 1,400 per month.

An Imam who both teaches and preaches would receive a monthly salary of of MAD 1,900, while an Imam who serves as a muezzin and a preacher would be paid MAD 2,500 per month.

Though his vow is yet to be fulfilled, Taoufiq indicated that more than 245,000 religious staff benefit from medical coverage services, and more than 70 percent of them receive remunerations from their communities, while others benefit from housing.