Melilla provides a 15,000 euro subsidy to the Abu Bakr mosque

The Ministry of Culture, Cultural Heritage, and the Elderly of the Autonomous City of Melilla has approved a collaboration agreement with the Abu Bakr Asseddik Islamic Community, through which the City will provide 15,000 euros to finance, during the 2026 fiscal year, the hiring of a part-time imam, the repair of the sanitation in the ground floor bathrooms, and the ordinary expenses of the mosque. The agreement was signed on October 13, 2026, by the Minister Fadela Mohatar Maanan and the representative of the entity, Abderrahman Tahrichi Dabbou, and is published in the Official Gazette of the Autonomous City of Melilla (BOME) no. 6424, of October 20, 2026, with the official reference BOME-A-2026-1182.

The agreement is registered in the Registry of Agreements of the Autonomous City of Melilla under number CON2600243 and was approved by the Ministry under file number 2026000960, dated October 13, 2026. The beneficiary entity is listed with CIF R5200059C and address at Carretera Hidúm, 54, Melilla.

Direct grant charged to the 2026 budgets

The text is supported by the direct grant regime provided for in articles 22.2 and 28 of the General Grants Law 38/2003, of November 17, and in article 19 of the General Grants Regulations of the Autonomous City of Melilla. The reason is that there is a nominative provision in this year’s municipal budgets: budget application 2026 04/92411/48000, named “ABU BAKR MOSQUE”, assigned to the Ministry of Culture, Cultural Heritage, and the Elderly.

The agreement is included in the Strategic Grants Plan of the Autonomous City of Melilla for the 2024-2026 period, whose last modification was published in BOME no. 6410, of September 1, 2026. The Ministry’s competence derives from the distribution established by Government Council Agreement no. 538, published in the extraordinary BOME no. 54, of July 31, 2023, which assigns it the collaboration with religious entities and the Interfaith Table.

An imam, the bathrooms, and the electricity bill

The purpose of the agreement is to guarantee religious and community assistance and the ordinary operation of the temple. The economic breakdown presented by the entity totals 15,041.20 euros, of which the City will accept up to 15,000 euros as a justifiable amount; the difference must be covered by the Islamic community with its own funds, as required by article 30 of the General Grants Law.

• Repair of the ground floor bathroom plumbing: 5,855.20 euros.
• Fees for the management of the building permit: 936.00 euros.
• Personnel (part-time minister of religion): 3,750.00 euros, with 2,100 euros in gross salary, 900 in social security contributions, 300 for labor consultancy, and 400 for occupational risk prevention.
• Electricity supply: 1,600.00 euros.
• Materials, cleaning and hygiene products: 1,400.00 euros.
• Maintenance and minor repairs due to wear and tear: 1,500.00 euros.

The entity’s report also foresaw the hiring of a cleaning laborer and the carrying out of religious, educational, and sociocultural activities, although the breakdown of justifiable expenses included in the agreement is limited to the aforementioned concepts. The repair includes inspection and diagnosis of the network, replacement of defective elements, restoration of coatings and flooring, leak tests, and waste removal.

Annual validity and obligation to justify

The agreement is valid from January 1 to December 31, 2026, both inclusive, and does not establish a guarantee regime given the nature of the entity. The Islamic Community must justify the grant through a justification account within three months following the end of the term, submit to the financial control of the City Comptroller, and publicize the public nature of the funding.

Failure to comply with the clauses requires the reimbursement of the amounts received along with the corresponding late payment interest. A joint monitoring commission may be established with two members per institution, and disputes shall be resolved before the contentious-administrative courts of Melilla.

Impact for the local Muslim community

This is nominative public money assigned to a specific denomination, meaning the detail of the expenses—from the imam’s salary to the electricity bill—is exposed to neighborhood scrutiny and the auditing of the municipal Comptroller. The agreement also reveals the state of conservation of a place of worship in the Hidúm neighborhood, whose ground floor bathrooms required plumbing work valued at nearly 6,800 euros, including the permit.

Source: Official Gazette of the Autonomous City of Melilla (BOME), no. 6424, of October 20, 2026, section I, pp. 5218-5224 (official reference: BOME-A-2026-1182).