Morocco King inaugurantes center for training imams

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI inaugurated the Mohammed VI Institute for the Training of Imams, Morchidines, and Morchidates in the capital, Rabat.

The religious training center aims to instill the values of Morocco’s open, moderate form of Islam, based on the Maliki rite and Sunni Sufism, in the next generation of Muslim religious leaders (imams) and preachers (morchidines and morchidates) from across the region and the world.

The center is a key element in Morocco’s ongoing efforts to promote religious moderation and tolerance as a shield against extremism in the region. Since late 2013, Morocco has signed accords to train imams from a number of countries across Africa and Europe, including Mali, Libya, Tunisia, Cote d’Ivoire, Gabon, Guinea, the Maldives, and most recently Belgium.

In addition to the Moroccan students enrolled-including 150 imams and morchidines and 100 morchidates, the institute currently hosts 447 foreign students. 212 are from Mali, 37 from Tunisia, 100 from Guinea Conakry, 75 from Côte d’Ivoire, and 23 from France.

The new institute, construction of which began in May 2014, has the capacity to train up to 1,000 students at a time on a modern campus of more than seven square acres that includes a library, a mosque, housing and dining facilities, as well as recreational facilities.