Morocco seeks control over new mosques

Rabat, Jan 17: Morocco's Parliament passed a law late on Monday giving the government more control over the construction of mosques.

Ahmed Toufiq, the Government Minister who deals with religious affairs, told Parliament the law was designed to put an end to the exploitation of places of worship for 'unhealthy ends', while denying it was motivated by security fears.

Under the law, groups wanting to build a mosque or a Koranic school must first register with the state as an association and building permits will be required before construction begins.

Suicide bombings that killed 45 people in Casablanca in 2003 drew attention to the spread of unofficial mosques in slums and poor neighbourhoods, where high unemployment and despair among the young have brought radical preachers a ready audience.

Officials blamed the bombings on youths influenced by Imams who told them martyrdom would bring eternity in paradise.

The government says it has broken up more than 50 radical Islamist cells and arrested thousands of people since the Casablanca attacks. Most of them were released but rights groups say many were jailed after unfair trials.

The authorities have stepped up checks on mosques and dozens of Koranic schools set up in recent decades.

To take greater control over religious life and promote a moderate form of Islam espoused by the kingdom's establishment, the government has appointed women state preachers and began connecting mosques to a religious TV network.

REUTERS