In Egypt, massive funding for new mosques questioned amid economic crisis
The Egyptian Ministry of Endowments has built thousands of new mosques in President Sisi's time in office, despite pressing needs for education, health care, and other services.
CAIRO — From his balcony in al-Qubbah district of the capital Cairo, 20-year-old Mahmoud Abdo can hear the call to prayer from at least five different mosques.
Amid Egypt's dire economic conditions, Abdo is not sure that the excessive spending on all these religious centers is necessary.
“We used to hear people say in the past that money that is needed for [poor] households should not be spent on mosques,” he told Al-Monitor. Instead, most mosques would have boxes to take donations for the development of the mosque or for other charitable work.
However, in November of last year, the Egyptian Ministry of Religious Endowments canceled donation boxes, Sky News Arabia reported, stipulating instead that donations should be made directly to the mosques' accounts via bank transfer.
