CAIRO — Egypt inaugurated over 300 new mosques in several governorates across the country in September. This step comes in response to accusations by the Muslim Brotherhood and the foreign-based opposition that the Egyptian authorities have been demolishing mosques in a crackdown on illegal buildings, which caused widespread anger in several governorates. 

In a Sept. 3 statement, Minister of Religious Endowments Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa said the government would open and renovate 314 mosques in September and October.

The foreign-based opposition and the Muslim Brotherhood had launched a vicious attack on the Egyptian authorities, whether through their satellite channels or social media, after the demolition in May of nearly 30 mosques in Alexandria to make way for the construction of roads and bridges.

At the time, the Egyptian authorities said these mosques were built on state lands, whose demolition is part of its campaign against illegal construction, and squatting public and agricultural lands. The demolitions had raised the ire of Egyptians in several governorates.