Bayt Mal Al-Quds Asharif Agency (BMAQ) was established in 1998 on the initiative of His Majesty the late King Hassan II, may his soul rest in peace, and with the blessing of the leaders of Arab and Islamic Countries, it was charged of raising donations and mobilizing resources in order to achieve the objectives for which it was created, and were defined in its statute:
- Saving the Holy City of Al-Quds;
- Assisting the Palestinian population and institutions in the Holy City;
- Preserving and restoring the Holy mosque of Al-Aqsa and the other holy sites in the city and its religious, civilizational, cultural and urban heritage.
Accordingly, the BMAQ Agency, the executive arm of the Al-Qods Committee, emanating from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), works on fulfilling its mission in protecting Al-Quds and supporting the steadfastness of its persistent people, following the high instructions of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, King of the Kingdom of Morocco, Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee, and under the direct supervision of his Majesty.
In order to finance the projects and programs set within the framework of a five-year plan, approved by its deciding bodies, namely the Trusteeship Committee and the Administrative Council, the BMAQ Agency’s regulations and statute provide for taking the necessary measures to mobilize resources and establishes appropriate governance mechanisms to manage and disburse resources, according to an approach based on integrity, transparency, tracking, accountability and evaluation of achievements, in consultation with the people of Al-Quds and their institutions.
Despite the limited funding and its restriction in recent years, the regular and annual pace of achievement places the Agency at the forefront of institutions working in Al-Quds; owing to the fact that, since its establishment, it has funded several vital projects in the social and cultural fields, education, health and housing that have had a direct and tangible impact on the people’s live.
Among the founding projects implemented by the Agency in the framework of the ongoing social assistance programs:
- Al Aych Al Kareem (Decent Living) Program: whereby the Agency distributes 20 thousand loaves of bread daily for 2600 beneficiary families, and creates an important economic cycle not less than 100.000 dollars monthly, from which 21 bakeries benefit;
- Kafalt Al-Yateem (Orphan support) Program: provides a monthly sponsorship of 80 $ for the benefit of Al-Quds orphans. The program began with a list of 500 orphans from Al-Quds, updated regularly according to the standards set by the BMAQ Agency for this purpose.
- Summer Camps Program: Organized annually in Moroccan regions under the high patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Chairman of Alqods Committee from which benefit 50 children from Al-Quds;
- Beautiful Schools Program: Whereby new schools and kindergartens are built and equipped, in addition to restoring and rehabilitating the existing schools; and ameliorating the educational conditions in them;
- Scholarships Program: Under which the Agency provides scholarships to students from Al-Quds to pursue their studies in Palestinian universities, and others to pursue their studies in universities, schools and higher institutes in Morocco.
- Housing and Restoration Field: The Agency granted interest-free loans to the poor from Al-Qods with the aim of restoring and rehabilitating their houses, with an amount of 5.3 million $ by the Palestinian Housing Council.
- Health Field: The Agency has equipped hospitals, established advanced medical clinics and laboratory departments in Al-Qods, it has also provided support for each of Al-Makassed Islamic Charitable Society Hospital, Al Motalaa Hospital and St. Joseph Hospital.
- Protection of heritage and authentic Palestinian arts: The Agency continues its support for projects that aim to protect heritage and preserve collective memory by encouraging projects of Jerusalemite women in the field of knitting traditional costumes and jewels, and contributing to marketing their products, and organizing exhibitions for that purpose.
In addition to that, the Agency works on encouraging the protection of authentic Palestinian arts to preserve the local folklore with its distinctive costumes, colors and dances, by holding a permanent exhibition at its headquarters in Rabat for the heritage and arts of Al-Qods, to encourage this sort of activities.
- The Moroccan Cultural Center Project: The Agency rehabilitated, restored, equipped and managed the building of the cultural center that was bought by the Kingdom of Morocco, with an area of 2100 m2, and it occupies a strategic location in the center of the Old City of Al-Quds, at the intersection of Via Dolorosa and Bab Al-Gawanmah Street, with the aim of helping Al-Qods associations to carry out their cultural activities, also it presents a space for dialogue and exchanging cultures;
- Investing scientific efforts to highlight the civilizational identity of Al-Quds, in order to preserve its various cultural heritage: In this framework the Agency organizes, in cooperation with institutions from Morocco and outside of it, specialized seminars on Al-Quds, with the participation of researchers from Morocco and Palestine.
- Attending publishing activities and political and legal advocacy: by bringing together experts to defend Al-Quds, as it works on funding specialized studies in several social issues included within the framework of its interests.
To conclude, the Agency of Bayt Mal Al-Quds Al-Sharif (BMAQ) has succeeded in achieving significant accumulation in the service of Al-Quds Al-Sharif and its people, and has been able to establish mechanisms and entrench working by administrative systems that ensure the delivery of support to those who deserve it in safe and transparent ways, in accordance with standards accredited in various international organizations, which depend on donations for funding.