DOHA: People building private mosques in residential compounds and other places will soon be required to get approval from the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs for the design, a senior official of the Ministry has said.
Addressing an ordinary session of the Central Municipal Council (CMC) on Tuesday, Safran Abdullah Safran, assistant director of the Mosques Affairs Department at the Ministry said that the department had prepared 20 model designs for future mosques in the country.
All the new mosques, including those built by individuals will have to adopt one of these designs, said Safran. “Private mosques can change the interior if it does not suit their requirements but the exterior design should follow one of the approved models and get sanction from the Ministry,” said the official.
He was responding to a call made by the CMC on the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning not to give approval to private mosques without being approved by the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs.
The CMC also noted that some private mosques are not properly maintained and urged the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs to intervene in this issue.
Safran clarified that the Mosque Affairs Department will not interfere in the management of private mosques unless it receives a complaint from the public.
“The complaints are mostly related to the poor maintenance. In such cases, we appoint an expert team to study the case and carry out the required maintenance at the expense of the owner,” he explained.
Private mosques are owned by individuals but there are cases in which an individual or family would build a mosque and then hand over it to the Ministry.
There are also families who seek support from the Ministry for maintenance of mosques owned by them. Some families having mosques built by their ancestors in their land would demand the land back but such requests are not entertained, he added.
CMC also called on the Ministry of Business and Trade to increase the annual budgetary allocation for maintenance of mosques across the country. The annual allotment currently amounts to QR35m to QR40m for 60 to 80 mosques run by the Ministry, said Safran.
The Peninsula
