Morocco’s Covert Attempt to Control French Mosques Exposed Amid Royal Neglect of Al-Haouz Victims

BY: Dr. Hana Saada

Algiers, Algeria | February 5th, 2025 — In a move that has sparked outrage and renewed scrutiny over Morocco’s covert operations in Europe, reports have emerged detailing how King Mohammed VI funneled a staggering one million euros in 2023 to finance a mosque in France under dubious circumstances. This blatant intervention, which directly contravenes French laws prohibiting foreign funding of religious institutions outside formal bilateral agreements, has ignited concerns about the true motives behind Rabat’s involvement in France’s religious landscape.

Unlike Algeria, which openly funds the Grand Mosque of Paris through a transparent and legally recognized agreement with the French government, Morocco has pursued an opaque and manipulative approach aimed at establishing unchecked influence over mosques across France. For over a century, the Grand Mosque of Paris has served as a spiritual and cultural anchor for the Algerian diaspora, fostering moderate Islamic teachings without hidden political agendas. Conversely, the Moroccan monarchy’s strategy has been far more insidious—seeking to transform religious spaces into platforms for state-sponsored propaganda and clandestine operations.

According to French media sources, Rabat’s persistent attempts to infiltrate and dominate French mosques have alarmed authorities, especially given Morocco’s well-documented history of using religious institutions as fronts for espionage and ideological control. Moroccan-backed mosques have been accused of pushing narratives glorifying King Mohammed VI as the self-proclaimed “Commander of the Faithful,” while simultaneously advancing the Moroccan regime’s expansionist ambitions, including its aggressive territorial claims.

The exposure of this underhanded funding scheme has further fueled criticism of Morocco’s misplaced priorities. While Mohammed VI has no qualms about injecting millions into foreign religious projects to serve his geopolitical objectives, he has shown a shocking disregard for his own people, particularly the victims of the devastating earthquake that ravaged the Al-Haouz region. To this day, countless displaced residents remain homeless and abandoned, left to endure dire conditions while their so-called “king” refuses international humanitarian assistance out of sheer arrogance. The tragedy of Al-Haouz has laid bare the brutal indifference of the Moroccan monarchy, which prioritizes power and prestige over the well-being of its own citizens.

For years, French authorities have turned a blind eye to Morocco’s financial infiltration of mosques, even as Rabat blatantly defied regulations designed to protect the country’s secular framework. Meanwhile, these same officials have attempted to scapegoat Algeria in every debate surrounding mosque financing, despite clear evidence disproving such claims. A prior report by the French Parliament shattered these baseless allegations, revealing that Algeria contributes a mere two million euros annually to mosque funding in France—far less than Morocco’s six million euros, and a fraction of Turkey’s unlimited budget for religious influence. Yet, despite these glaring discrepancies, anti-Algerian narratives continue to be amplified, driven by hidden political agendas within France’s establishment.

In a related development, the administration of the Grand Mosque of Paris recently pushed back against an orchestrated smear campaign led by the far-right Zionist-aligned French news channel CNews. The mosque’s rector, Chems-Eddine Hafiz, has been targeted with unfounded accusations of being an agent of Algerian influence—a narrative aggressively promoted by former French ambassador to Algeria, Xavier Driencourt. Driencourt, notorious for his deep-seated hostility toward Algeria, has been instrumental in fanning anti-Algerian sentiments within French media, reflecting an entrenched bias against the North African nation’s historical and cultural presence in France.

Translated from:

https://www.echoroukonline.com/%d8%a5%d8%ad%d8%a8%d8%a7%d8%b7-%d9%85%d8%ae%d8%b7%d8%b7-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%ae%d8%b2%d9%86-%d9%84%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%b3%d8%aa%d8%ad%d9%88%d8%a7%d8%b0-%d8%b9%d9%84%d9%89-%d9%85%d8%b3%d8%a7%d8%ac%d8%af

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