Rural mosque rehabilitation in Morocco: Ahmed Toufiq presents progress report

Wednesday 07 January 2026 - 10:00

By: Sahili Aya

Rural mosque rehabilitation in Morocco: Ahmed Toufiq presents progress report

Morocco’s Minister of Habous and Islamic Affairs, Ahmed Toufiq, presented on Tuesday an overview of the progress made in the national program to rehabilitate mosques in rural areas, highlighting significant advances in restoring places of worship that had been closed for safety or structural reasons.

Speaking before the House of Councillors, the minister stated that the situation of more than 2,000 rural mosques has been regularized out of a total exceeding 3,000 that were previously shut down. He noted that nearly 1,500 mosques have already been rehabilitated and reopened, at an estimated cost of 1.9 billion dirhams.

Rehabilitation work is currently ongoing at hundreds of additional sites, supported by substantial public funding. The ministry has also planned further restoration projects for the remaining mosques over the coming years, with additional financial allocations already identified.

Toufiq stressed that rural mosques receive the same level of attention as those in urban areas, underlining the government’s commitment to gradually addressing disparities in infrastructure and public services. According to the minister, these challenges extend beyond religious buildings and affect multiple sectors in rural Morocco.

He added that annual investment dedicated to rural mosques represents a significant share of the ministry’s overall budget, reflecting the importance of these places of worship, which account for nearly three-quarters of all mosques nationwide.