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Ministry of Religious Affairs

ministry · verified (verified 2026-05-17)

Profile

Head
Kazi Shah Mofazzal Hossain Kaikobad
Role
Minister
Annual budget
৳21,830,000,000
Staff
—
Established
1980
Legal basis
Constitution of Bangladesh, Articles 12, 28, and 41 (secularism, non-discrimination, religious freedom); established as a separate ministry on 25 January 1980; Rules of Business 1996

Executing Hajj 2026 operations for 78,500 Bangladeshi pilgrims with structural reforms underway: dedicated traffic routes, Makkah Route Initiative, online agency evaluation, and a new bilateral Madinah airport routing requirement; targeting further cost reductions for Hajj 2027.

Recent activity

Provenance & notes

Established_year is 1980, not 1971: prior to 25 January 1980, religious affairs were handled under Ministry of Education and then Ministry of Sports, Culture and Religion; MoRA became a standalone ministry on 25 January 1980 (renamed 'Ministry of Religious Affairs and Endowment' on 8 March 1984, reverted to current name on 14 January 1985). Annual_budget_bdt is Tk 2,183 crore (FY2025-26, Grant No. 32) stored as 21,830,000,000 BDT. Islamic Foundation Bangladesh established 1975 under MoRA. The four statutory welfare bodies: Islamic Foundation, Waqf Administration, Hindu Religious Welfare Trust, Buddhist Religious Welfare Trust, and Christian Religious Welfare Trust all report to MoRA. Kaikobad is a seven-term MP (not six-term, as earlier TBS reporting had him; Wikipedia and subsequent reporting confirm seven terms). Verification based on 2+ primary sources for all key claims.

Sources