Morocco’s Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs has resolved to send  422 imams to Europe for religious guidance during Ramadan.

Ramadan, which starts either on Sunday or Monday depending on the sighting of the crescent moon, will see scholars being sent to France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, among other countries, in an effort to ensure the unity of their community and the preservation of their mosques abroad, the ministry explained.

The Moroccan authorities are also seeking to ensure that activity within mosques respects European laws.

Morocco has marketed itself as an oasis of religious tolerance and has offered training to imams and male and female preachers of Islam from Africa and Europe on what it describes as moderate Islam.