Islamic Minister Asks President For Funds To Open King Salman Mosque Before Ramadan

The Islamic Minister, Dr Ahmed Zahir Ali, has requested for finances from the national budget in order to open the King Salman Mosque; an Islamic Centre and mosque financed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the Yameen presidency.

In a letter sent by Dr Zahir to President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, he had written that many complaints had been received by the Islamic Ministry from the public regarding the government's delay in opening the the King Salman Mosque for public use.

Dr Zahir further wrote that the opening the mosque before Ramadan had been discussed with a Saudi delegation to the Maldives. He wrote that the delegation had said that Saudi Arabia would handle all of the finances required to open the mosque; the Maldivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had said that the Saudi government would pay USD2 million (MVR 30 million) towards opening the mosque.

He wrote that the mosque could not be opened before Ramadan if the work on procuring the furniture for the King Salman Mosque did not begin now. He therefore requested President Solih to grant the Islamic Ministry the necessary finances from the State Budget and mentioned that the cost of that expenditure would ultimately be borne by the Saudi government.