Rabat – Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs Ahmed Al-Tawfiq has announced that 6,048 mosques in Morocco are equipped with energy-efficient devices, noting that the development is in line with an energy rehabilitation framework his ministry worked on in 2014.
The energy rehabilitation program was originally set up by the Ministry of Habous and Islamic Affairs and the Ministry of Energy Transition, with a budget of MAD 97 million.
The minister said he hopes there will be another 1,980 mosques included in the project before the end of 2023. Al-Tawfiq announced the latest update on the Green Mosque project during a session at the House of Councillors, the upper house of the Moroccan parliament.
Mosques that follow the framework will have the opportunity to be awarded under five different categories that recognize this green mosque initiative.
To be classified as a Green Mosque there must be evidence that they are utilizing equipment such as low-consumption lamps, solar water heaters, and photovoltaic panels.
Currently, there are 1,000 mosques functioning on energy-efficient equipment, that have been classified as Green Mosques.
Under the same framework, the ministry also emphasized the need to raise awareness of energy-efficient techniques, which involves training staff and administration.
The move aims to prioritize measures that reduce energy consumption, as the “population is being sensitized to the issues of energy efficiency and renewable energy,” Green Mosques’ official website stated.
The work has been possible thanks to the individuals working in the buildings such as imams, women preachers, and the employees at the Moroccan Agency for Energy Efficiency (AMEE), the same source explained.
This is not the first time that mosques in Morocco have implemented a green strategy. In 2016, 600 mosques made the change to use renewable energy.
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