Dahir Governing Missions Of Religious Employees, Turning Point In Regulation Of Religious Matters In Morocco

The Dahir related to the organization of the tasks of religious employees and the definition of their situation is a turning point in the process of regulating religious matters in Morocco, said minister of endowments and Islamic affairs Ahmed Taoufiq on Wednesday in Rabat.

Speaking at a press conference on the presentation of this Dahir which was promulgated on May 20, Taoufid noted that this text, which is an addition to a series of measures seeking to preserve religion, is part of the integrated and inclusive strategy for restructuring the religious field, launched in 2004 in Casablanca by HM King Mohammed VI and which made religious employees one of its broad lines.

The organization of the missions of such employees witnessed several phases mainly the census of mosques which stand at 50,000 (some 110,000 employees), the elaboration of a program for the training of Imams (religious leaders), and Murshidines and Murshidates (preachers), and increasing the salaries of Imams, preachers and muezzins (who call for prayer), he said. 

An addition to this is the integration of imams into the system of basic and complementary medical coverage, financial allocations for working inability or on the occasion of Eid Al Adha, the Ulema Pact, and the adoption of a decree on the missions and duties of imams and preachers, he added.