During its meeting today, Wednesday, the Council of Ministers approved a decree that includes the recognition of the Mauritanian Scholars Association as a public benefit body.
The decree was approved in accordance with Articles 30 to 40 of Law No. 004-2021 relating to associations and bodies.
The Mauritanian Scholars Association was established in mid-February 2020, after the government approved a decision to dissolve the bodies of the Association of Mauritanian Scholars and the Forum of Scholars and Imams to Support the Prophet of the Nation, and the establishment of the new body that included dozens of Mauritanian scholars in its ranks.
The government took its decision after following up on the statement of the Minister of Islamic Affairs and Original Education, Al-Daa Sidi Amar Taleb, during which he reviewed the most prominent steps taken in this regard, denying the existence of any political motives behind the decision.
The body of Mauritanian scholars includes dozens of scholars, including the head of the Association of Scholars, Sheikh Hamda Ould Al-Tah, the scholar Abah Ould Abdullah, the scholar Sheikh Muhammad Al-Hassan Ould Al-Dado, the scholar Muhammad Al-Hassan Ahmed Al-Khadim, and others.
Article 39 of the Law on Associations, Bodies and Networks stipulates 4 privileges granted to a body declared to be of public benefit.
Among the privileges is granting the Authority the right to own all movable or immovable property, in addition to allowing it to receive donations and gifts of any kind from national or foreign persons.
After obtaining the status, the Authority is also allowed to conclude partnership agreements for encouragement and financial support with the state and with other partners and organize demonstrations to collect funds, as well as to benefit from exemption from expenses and fees on materials and tools necessary to carry out its activity.