Recently in Morocco Category

Al-Qaeda is only the best-known brand name. They did not invent violent jihad themselves. "Morocco's problem: Freelance jihadis, not al-Qaida," by Paul Schemm for the Associated Press, October 15:

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — After years of promoting jihad in online forums, Muadh Irshad was ready to take his fervor to the real world.

"I spent beautiful years tasting hope and pain in these forums ... Today it is time for farewell," he wrote in his final post. "Jihad is the solution."

Two weeks later, on Sept. 23, Moroccan security forces raided his Casablanca apartment, allegedly finding plans to attack Jewish businessmen, French journalists and police stations. He was arrested with two accomplices. Soon afterward, a second raid in Casablanca netted another cell plotting attacks.

The two cells reflect a form of terrorism that experts say is one of the greatest dangers facing the world today: Freelance jihadism.

Morocco's vigilant internal security forces and tightly guarded borders have kept al-Qaida at bay in this North African kingdom, which attracts millions of tourists worldwide. But it hasn't stopped the lone wolves who are inspired by al-Qaida to carry out copycat attacks. As post-9/11 surveillance routinely busts up organized cells and terror networks, these self-styled jihadis are gaining more prominence around the globe.

Lone-wolf plots in Europe and the United States are increasingly the focus of international anti-terror operations. In March, a Kosovo Albanian acting alone fatally shot two American airmen in Frankfurt, Germany. And a former U.S. Army psychiatrist is the sole suspect in deadly shootings at Fort Hood, Texas in 2009.

In the Middle East, small homegrown cells have been cropping up in countries like Morocco and Egypt that don't have a strong al-Qaida presence.

In some ways Morocco's single cells are less daunting to fight than the coherent al-Qaida network in neighboring Algeria and Mauritania, an implacable, well-armed and well-funded enemy with a strategic agenda. For the most part, the amateur jihadi outfits are nipped in the bud, like the ones over the last two weeks.

However, just as in plots in the West, it can be hard to pick up on lone jihadis in tiny cells that are not part of an organization. On April 28, for example, a remote control bomb exploded in a Marrakech cafe popular with tourists, killing 17 people, mostly foreigners. [...]

The discussion rooms of militant websites provide a glimpse at the seething rage found across much of the Muslim world as would-be mujahedeen trade tips on how to strike blows against the "Crusaders and Zionists," especially if they are unable to make it to the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan on their own....

Allah guarantees Paradise to those who "kill and are killed" for him (Qur'an 9:111).

"Blast kills 14 in Marrakesh cafe," from AFP, April 28 (thanks to Block Ness):

MARRAKESH, Morocco (AFP) – A powerful blast ripped through a cafe in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh on Thursday, killing 11 foreigners and three Moroccans in what authorities suspect was the work of a suicide bomber.

"According to the information I have, it could have been perpetrated by a suicide bomber," an official in the regional governor's office told AFP.

"We found nails in one of the bodies," added the official, who was in a hospital where some of the bodies were taken.

And an interior ministry official said that indications pointed to a terror attack on the Argana cafe in the main square of Marrakesh, a favourite haunt of foreign tourists.

But there were contradictory reports on exactly how the blast occurred.

One witness who was inside the cafe but escaped unscathed said: "An individual entered, ordered an orange juice and a few minutes later blew himself up."

But another witness, quoted by several Moroccan radio stations, said the bomber dropped a suitcase and immediately walked out of the cafe....

Last January, Moroccan Interior Minister Taib Cherkaoui said 27 suspected terrorists recently arrested in the country's south had ties to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), an Al-Qaeda-linked regional offshoot, and to Europe-based. [sic] ...

Cherkaoui then said the network had planned bank robberies in Casablanca and Rabat "to finance its terrorist actions."

And his ministry said the network was led by "a Moroccan national who is a member of AQIM and who wanted to create a rear base in the country for terror attacks."

Six "extremists." We're not told what they're being extreme about, but we can tell you they're extremely... extreme. Not "moderates." "Morocco arrests six planning terror attacks," from Agence France-Presse, December 27:

RABAT -- Moroccan authorities said Monday they recently arrested six extremists suspected of using the Internet to plan acts of sabotage involving the use of car bombs both inside and outside the country.

"Ring members developed considerable expertise in bomb-making" through the Internet and planned to "carry out acts of sabotage involving the use of car bombs," according to a statement issued by the interior ministry.

It said the suspects were targetting "some foreign interests in the kingdom as well as several key national installations and security posts."

Authorities did not say exactly when the ring was dismantled, but an official speaking on condition of anonymity said the six were arrested around December 10 in the northeastern towns of Oujda and Nador as well as in Casablanca.

He said this marked the first time a cell "specializing in terrorism via the Internet is hunted down and arrested" by Moroccan security.

And they accuse city authorities of -- horror of horrors! -- "using invitations to Israelis to attend cultural and intellectual events to normalise relations with the Jewish state." Islamic Tolerance Alert from modern, moderate Morocco: "Morocco: Israeli guests at culture fest rile Islamists," from AKI, October 22 (thanks to C. Cantoni):

Rabat, 22 Oct. (AKI) - Israeli intellectuals, artists and scientists attending a series of conferences in the southern beach resort of Agadir have angered Islamists in Morocco, according to daily al-Tajdid.

The Islamists, many from the country's hardline Justice and Development party accuse Agadir's authorities of "seeking to normalise relations with Israel."

"They are using invitations to Israelis to attend cultural and intellectual events to normalise relations with the Jewish state," the Islamists said in a statement cited by al-Tajdid.

"Meanwhile, the occupation of Palestine continues and cruel crimes are carrried out by the Zionists," the statement continued....

Israeli scientist Naomi Tilzer's attendance at a cactus conference has especially rankled with the Islamists, al-Tajdid said without elaborating.

Last week, a group of Israeli athletes took part in an international meet and a Jewish singer gave a concert in Agadir.

A demand for respect: "We demand you remove the crosses off the façades of your pharmacies and to respect our religion." Islamic Tolerance Alert from modern, moderate Morocco: "Moroccan pharmacies threatened over cross symbols," by Naoufel Cherkaoui for Magharebia, August 23 (thanks to Ray):

A recent web post warned Moroccan businesses against displaying signs in the shape of the cross.

A self-proclaimed "lover of al-Qaeda and Jihad" has given Moroccan pharmacy owners one month to remove cross symbols from storefronts or else face beheading.

"In 2009, crusade France lured owners of pharmacies with financial benefits and discounts in medications in return for placing the green cross along the green crescent," said a letter published in late July by several online forums. "We demand you remove the crosses off the façades of your pharmacies and to respect our religion," the web threat continued.

"Forewarned is forearmed," the unnamed writer said. "We give you and those who work with you an interval of one month to return to your true nature and nation."

The deadline expires August 28th....

Surprising? Not at all, but newsworthy nonetheless. It is but one more example in the broader pattern of disturbing conduct by the Obama administration in its drive to gain the approval of the Muslim world at seemingly any cost.

It will not make us safer. It will not make us, or anyone else, freer.

An update on this story. "Stop preaching or get out: The king is unamused by Christians who proselytise," from The Economist, July 29 (thanks to Twostellas):

Evangelical Christians in the poor world are rarely accused of undermining public order. All the more surprising, then, that in recent months around a hundred have been deported from Morocco for just that. The Christians, mostly from the United States and Europe, have been accused of trying to convert Muslims to Christianity, a crime punishable by imprisonment under Moroccan law, which protects the freedom to practise one's faith but forbids any attempt to convert others.

In accordance with Sharia.

Rules against proselytising are quite common in Muslim countries but Morocco has long enjoyed a reputation as a bastion of religious tolerance in the region. Almost all the country's 32m citizens are Sunni Muslims but churches and synagogues exist, alongside mosques, to cater for the 1% of the people who are Christian or Jewish.

Such open-mindedness presumably appealed to the Christian missionaries who ran the "Village of Hope" home for children 80km (50 miles) south of Fez, a former capital known for religion and scholarship. The 16 aid-workers had cared for abandoned children for over a decade when, in March, the Moroccan authorities sent inspectors to the orphanage, then gave the workers a few days' notice to leave the country. Witnesses reported distraught farewells between the Moroccan children and the foreigners who had acted as foster parents.

Morocco's communications minister, Khaled Naciri, said the missionaries "took advantage of the poverty of some families and targeted their young children". The aid-workers deny pumping the children with Christianity. But sympathisers say that even if they did, a few hours of preaching was a small price to pay for education and pastoral care. There have been further expulsions since then, most recently of an evangelical Spanish teacher.

"Moral rape," and "religious terrorism," the Moroccan officials called the alleged evangelization activities in the prior story linked above.

Local residents are quick to point out that it is not only Christians who have been targets; last year a similar campaign was waged against Morocco's even smaller population of Shia Muslims. But the motivation for the crackdowns is probably political more than religious. Morocco's constitution is based on the hereditary position of the king as "commander of the faithful". Any drift of Muhammad VI's subjects away from the dominant stream of moderate Sunni Islam might, his advisers fear, diminish his authority.

A false dichotomy of politics and religion, where there is clearly no such distinction here, with Islam active in its capacity as a political system claiming divine sanction.

The American branch of an evangelical organisation, Open Doors, which speaks up for persecuted Christians across the world, is backing a campaign by a Republican congressman, Frank Wolf, to press the Moroccans to be kinder to the evangelicals. Seeing that Morocco is one of America's closest Arab allies, the American administration has been notably silent.

"In April nearly 7,000 Muslim religious leaders backed the deportations by signing a document describing the work of Christians within Morocco as 'moral rape' and 'religious terrorism'."

If we had a prize for ridiculous moral equivalence, that would be hard to beat. An update on this story, in which Modern, Moderate Morocco continues to enforce Sharia's prohibition on the propagation -- or even the alleged propagation -- of non-Islamic religions. "Morocco Continues to Purge Nation of Foreign Christians," from Compass Direct News, July 1:

ISTANBUL, July 1 (CDN) -- Moroccan authorities expelled eight more foreign Christians from the country last weekend, bringing the total of deported Christians since March to 128.

Two foreign women married to Moroccan Christians were included in this third wave of deportations since March, raising concerns that local authorities intend to harass the country's small but growing Protestant community.

"They are all in fear," a source told Compass, "because this happened to people who are married."

One of the women, a Lebanese national married to a Moroccan, was diagnosed with cancer last month and is the mother of a 6-year old girl whom she was forced to leave behind.

A Spanish national, Sara Domene, 31, was also deported on Monday (June 28), according to news sources. Domene was working as a language teacher in the Western Sahara, a territory under Moroccan sovereignty.

Authorities called the foreigners to police stations across Morocco on Friday (June 25) and told them they had 48 hours to leave the country on grounds of "threatening public order."

Other nationals who were forced to leave the country over the weekend came from France, Egypt, Lebanon, Switzerland, Nigeria and Spain.

A source explained that Moroccan authorities are essentially deporting Christians for "proselytism," which is illegal in Morocco, but in order to justify the deportations they have claimed that the foreigners pose a threat to the state.

In April nearly 7,000 Muslim religious leaders backed the deportations by signing a document describing the work of Christians within Morocco as "moral rape" and "religious terrorism." The statement from the religious leaders came amid a nationwide mudslinging campaign geared to vilify Christians in Morocco for "proselytism" - widely perceived as bribing people to change their faith....

But wait! I thought all the learned analysts had assured us that Muslims who left Islam were under no threat! Isn't that right, Dr. Bassiouni? Mr. Kruse? Ms. Heagney?

"Moroccan Islamists Use Facebook to Target Christians," from Compass Direct News, June 17:

RABAT, Morocco, June 17 (CDN) -- Moroccan Christians say Muslim extremists in the country are aiding and encouraging the government to pursue them by exposing and vilifying them on social networking site Facebook.

Facebook user Gardes Maroc Maroc has posted 32 image collages featuring dozens of Christian converts, calling them "hyena evangelists" or "wolves in lamb's skins" who are trying to "shake the faith of Muslims." That terminology on the website, which is in Arabic, matches that of Morocco's anti-proselytizing law, which outlaws efforts to "shake the faith of Muslims."

The online images depict Christian converts and their families from across the country and include details about their roles and activities in churches, their personal addresses and anecdotal stories attempting to malign them.

"These are some pics of Moroccan convert hyenas," reads one image.

Since March, the Moroccan government has expelled more than 100 foreign Christians for alleged "proselytizing." Authorities failed to give Christians deportation orders or enough time to settle their affairs before they left.

Observers have called this a calculated effort to purge the historically moderate Muslim country, known for its progressive policies, of all Christian elements - both foreign and national.

Amid a national media campaign to vilify Christians in Morocco, more than 7,000 Muslim clerics signed a statement denouncing all Christian activities and calling foreign Christians' aid work "religious terrorism."

On the Facebook page, Gardes Maroc Maroc makes a particularly strident call to Moroccan authorities to investigate adoptive parents of children from the village of Ain Leuh, 50 miles south of Fez. The user claims that local Christians under orders of "foreign missionaries" were attempting to adopt the children so missionary efforts would not "go in vain."

On March 8, the Moroccan government expelled 26 Christian foreign staff members and parents working at Village of Hope in Ain Leuh.

Now efforts against national Christians have gained momentum. One image on the Facebook page challenged the Islamic Ministry of Religious Affairs and Endowments, saying, "Evangelist hyenas are deriding your Ministry." The page with the images claimed that Christians had rented out an apartment belonging to that government ministry.

An entire page was dedicated to a well-known Christian TV personality in the Middle East, Rashid Hmami, and his family. The user also inserted pictures of hyenas next to those of Christians, presumably to indicate their danger to the nation.

National Christians Threatened

Moroccan Christians told Compass that authorities had begun harassing them even before the forced deportations of foreigners, and that pressure from officials only intensified in March and April.

Since the deportations started in early March, it seems that authorities, extremists and society as a whole have colluded against them, local Christians said. Dozens of Christians have been called to police stations for interrogation. Many of them have been threatened and verbally abused.

"They mocked our faith," said one Moroccan Christian who requested anonymity. "They didn't talk nicely."

Authorities interrogated the convert for eight hours and followed him for three weeks in March and April, he said. During interrogation, he added, local police told him they were prepared to throw him in jail and kill him.

Another Moroccan Christian reported that a Muslim had taken him to court because of his Christian activities. Most Moroccan Christians that spoke to Compass said the attitudes of their Muslim relatives had shifted, and many have been kicked out of their homes or chosen to leave "to not create problems" for their families.

Moroccan converts meet in house churches. Some of them have stopped meeting until the pressure subsides....

Congressman Frank Wolf (R-Va.), co-chairman of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, said that the Moroccan government has deported nearly 50 U.S. citizens.

"In spite of this, the U.S. government has pledged $697.5 million to Morocco over the next five years through the Millennium Challenge Corporation," he said. Wolf is advocating that the United States withhold the nearly $697.5 million in aid that it has pledged to Morocco.

"It is inappropriate for American taxpayer money to go to a nation which disregards the rights of American citizens residing in Morocco and forcibly expels Americans without due process of law," he said....

Indeed.

"Morocco is an Islamic state where stages should not used to allow a person with such a degree of debauchery to perform, because we have to shield the young from such influences." "Sir Elton John Faces Down Islamic Protest to Play Morocco," by Chris Mugan for Spinner, May 19:

Sir Elton John is to headline Morocco's largest music festival, despite calls from Islamist political parties that the government should deny him entry.

Opposition politicians argue the ivory-tinkling performer would harm the image of the North African kingdom should he be allowed to perform at the Mawazine World Rhythms Festival in the country's capital, Rabat.

Despite the outcry, Sir Elton will headline the festival -- which begins on May 21 -- and brings together musicians from 50 countries. This follows news earlier this month that the openly gay artist has been banned from Egypt over remarks about Jesus, as was previously reported in Spinner....

Mustapha Ramid, from the opposition Islamist PJD party said, "Morocco is an Islamic state where stages should not used to allow a person with such a degree of debauchery to perform, because we have to shield the young from such influences."

"Hlal wanted to kill the Vatican's head of state (the pope), saying he was ready to assassinate him and gain his place in paradise," in accordance with Qur'an 9:111, which promises paradise to those who "slay and are slain" waging jihad for the sake of Allah.

"Italy: Deported Moroccans 'plotted to kill Pope'," from AdnKronos International, May 13:

Rome, 13 May (AKI) - Two Moroccan terrorist suspects deported from Italy last month were allegedly plotting to kill Pope Benedict XVI, Italian weekly Panorama claims in its latest issue to be released on Friday. Mohammed Hlal and Errahmouni Ahmed were students at the University of Perugia until their repatriation to Morocco on 29 April.

"Hlal wanted to kill the Vatican's head of state (the pope), saying he was ready to assassinate him and gain his place in paradise," Italy's interior minister Roberto Maroni wrote in the expulsion order authorising Hlal and Ahmed's deportations, cited by Panorama.

Anti-terror police in Perugia intercepted Hlal discussing his plans to carry out attacks and readiness to obtain explosives for the attacks during a series of tapped telephone conversations, according to Panorama.

Moroccan authorities on 6 May released Hlal and Ahmed, who had been receiving legal assistance from a local human rights association.

The pair have denied any wrongdoing and said they intend to challenge their expulsions in the administrative tribunal in Italy's Lazio region surrounding Rome.

In a media statement issued at the time of their expulsion, the Italian interior ministry described the men as "dangerous" and a "threat to national security".

The interior ministry claimed they had links to an international network of Islamist miliists [sic] and were prepared to carry out "extremist acts".

Hlal and Ahmed's deportation followed a probe begun by anti-terrorism police in October 2009 into a group of radical Muslim foreign students in Italy, most of whom came from the Moroccan city of Fez. Several were studying at Perugia.

The interior ministry said Hlal and Ahmed belonged to this group.

The propagation of non-Islamic faiths is forbidden under Islamic law, and "moderate" Morocco seems to be taking the opportunity to purge Christian aid workers in general. "Christian aid worker purge? Morocco orders dozens in five cities to be deported," by Eric German for the Christian Science Monitor, March 11:

Rabat, Morocco - Moroccan authorities have ordered dozens of foreign Christian aid workers deported in at least five major cities this week, calling into question an unspoken but long-standing truce between missionaries and their Muslim hosts.

"This is a change in policy from the top of the government," says Jack Wald, who has spent 10 years as pastor of Rabat International Church, a protestant congregation here in the capital. "It's like going to sleep, waking up, and all of the sudden you're in a different country."

The largest incident took place at an orphanage for 33 abandoned children in the Middle Atlas mountains on Monday. Moroccan police showed up in the village of Ain Leuh, located 50 miles south of the ancient city of Fez, and separated orphans from their adoptive parents before delivering a grim piece of news: the Moroccan authorities had accused the volunteers of spreading Christianity - a crime in this overwhelmingly Muslim nation.

Witnesses described an anguished scene as Dutch, British, Kiwi, and American volunteers hastily emptied households under stormy skies and hugged weeping Moroccan kids for the last time. [...]

Moroccan officials say they're merely targeting isolated instances of law-breaking.

"This is not a move against Christians, it's a move against people who don't respect the law of this country," said Morocco's Communication Minister Khalid Naciri in a telephone interview.

But Christians see a sudden, coordinated campaign that has reversed an unwritten understanding. [...]

Another wave of expulsions?

In the past week, police have expelled foreign Christians suspected of seeking converts from the cities of Fez, Tangiers, Essaouira, Rabat, and Marrakesh, according to interviews with pastors in several cities.

In recent days the Moroccan government has marked at least "several dozen" foreign nationals for expulsion, said one Western official who requested anonymity.

The spokesman for the US Embassy in Rabat, David Ranz, confirmed that Americans are among those Christians whom Morocco has declared unwelcome. Mr. Ranz declined to release specific numbers or names, but said Moroccan authorities have told the embassy "additional people will be expelled."

Orphanage office manager: 'We weren't proselytizing'

Mr. Naciri, the government spokesman, said people of all faiths remain welcome to worship freely in Morocco so long as they don't seek to "undermine" Moroccan Islam.

He cited recent moves the government has made against Islamist groups as evidence Christians aren't being singled out, saying "the Moroccan government today deals harshly with anyone who manipulates the religion of the people."

Equating jihadist groups with Christian aid workers: impressive.

Once again, it wasn't the militant wing of the Salvation Army (with apologies to Mike Meyers). "Morocco dismantles active terror cell," from the Associated Press, March 2:

RABAT, Morocco (AP) -- Authorities have dismantled a six-member terror cell that was planning attacks in the North African kingdom, Morocco's official news agency says.

The six suspected Islamists were active in several cities and "planned to commit terrorist acts inside national territory," the MAP agency says, quoting a statement from the national police.

The cell's members will be tried after an investigation, the report says.

Morocco has led a crackdown on suspected terrorists since 2003, when al-Qaeda-linked extremists killed 45 people in a string of attacks in Casablanca, the country's economic center.

Moral equivalence alert: when was the last time a Muslim preacher was expelled from a Western country for proselytizing? "Morocco: Five Foreign Evangelists Expelled," from ANSAmed, December 29 (thanks to Insubria):

(ANSAmed) - RABAT, DECEMBER 29 - Five Evangelist foreigners (two South Africans, two Swiss and one Guatemalan) have been expelled from Morocco accused of "unauthorised gathering and evangelist proselytism". Twelve Moroccans who were taking part in the meeting were arrested and eventually released after being questioned. The order of expulsion was issued by the Prefecture of Oujda (in the country's north-east). Last March, fiver missionaries (four Spaniards and one German) were expelled accused of "gathering with Moroccan citizens living abroad for the purpose of proselytism".(ANSAmed)

The PR machine has been very successful in burnishing the image of modern, moderate Morocco. Reality, however, is more in line with Sharia. "Right to religious freedom under fire in Morocco," by Mohamed Amezian for Radio Netherlands, December 9 (thanks to Alexandre):

A group of five foreigners, was arrested last week in Morocco on suspicion of proselytising. The Christian missionaries - two South Africans, two Swiss and one Guatemalan - were expelled from the country for holding "undeclared meetings", said police. This is not the first such incident. Proselytising (attempting to change someone's religious or political beliefs) is a crime in Morocco, even though the constitution guarantees individual freedom.

Mohamad Reda Benkhaldoun, member of parliament for Morocco's main opposition party, says the geopolitical location of Morocco between Africa and Europe makes it accessible to all ideas and movements. However, this regularly leads to friction. In theory, freedom of religion is guaranteed by the constitution and Islamic Sharia laws, but the MP says there are limitations:

"When missionaries proselytise among Moroccans, particularly among young people who have no resistance to certain ideas, the state has an obligation to take the necessary steps to prevent a sort of legal destabilisation of the Islamic faith in Morocco."

Social cohesion

Professor Mohamed Darif has found that Morocco not only penalises missionary zeal, but also has a long history of punishing Moroccan citizens for changing their religious beliefs. In the 1960s and 1980s a number of converts to the Bahá'í faith was convicted. Morocco recently broke off diplomatic relations with Iran because of its alleged "spreading of the Shiite doctrine" among Moroccans. The government denies it wants to limit individual freedoms, and says it only wants to safeguard "social cohesion".

King

Notably, the constitutional guarantee of individual freedoms is negated and contradicted by that same constitution. The king is the "Commander of the faithful". As such, he is the protector of Islam but also of people of other faiths living in Morocco, including Jews and Christians. This means Morocco is not a secular state, as explicitly confirmed by King Mohammed VI (in the Spanish paper El Pais in January 2005). Mohamed Darif, an expert on political Islam, said the king's message was loud and clear:

"Freedom of religion can be openly and fiercely discussed in the framework of a secular state which draws a clear line between religion and politics. However, in a non-secular state the subject is approached with great reserve".

Paradox

Morocco often sends messages of religious tolerance to the West, and a not particularly perceptive tourist travelling through Morocco may arrive at the conclusion that is indeed the case in the country. However, human rights activists, independent journalists and Islamists often face repression under the guise of maintaining the unity of Sunni doctrine, or the prevention of social unrest.

In the past month, a plea for the right to be an atheist seriously embarrassed the Moroccan government. A group of young journalists announced they wanted to hold an 'open' breakfast in a recreational park. The police and security services were quick to intervene. The Moroccan organiser of the event, a young woman working for a French-language magazine was arrested and was deported to France shortly afterwards. She now lives in Paris.

...especially for their reporting about the Fort Hood jihad. And for their focusing on the imaginary backlash instead of on what the Muslims in America are not doing to ensure there will be no more jihad terror attacks. Oh, and for their witless denial of Islamic apostasy law and cheerleading for the destruction of Rifqa Bary in her honor killing/apostasy case. In fact, the mainstream media publishes "news and statements that do not correspond with the truth" regarding pretty much any story that has to do with jihad activity.

"Morocco: Magazine Director Gets 1-Year Prison Sentence," from ANSAmed, November 11 (thanks to Insubria):

RABAT, NOVEMBER 11 - Idriss Chahatane, the director of weekly magazine Al Michal, has been sentenced to a year in prison by the court of appeal of Salé, on charges of having published news and statements that do not correspond with the truth....

Two embassy workers. As apostates from Islam. From AP, with thanks to Sr. Soph:

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- The al-Qaida in Iraq militant group said Thursday that it has sentenced to death two Moroccan embassy employees kidnapped last month in Iraq.

The group said in a statement posted on an Islamist Web forum that its ''Islamic court'' had judged the two men as ''apostates'' who were waging a ''war on Islam.''

''Based on this, the court decided to issue God's verdict upon the apostates and sentenced them to death,'' it said. The statement, whose authenticity could not be confirmed, did not say whether the two men had been killed.

Despite the differences in ideologies, these Moroccan activists work together to define the woman's role in Islam. From WeNews:

In a nation that has outpaced its neighbors in liberalizing Sharia family laws, two female scholars in Morocco--Latifa Jbabdi and Nadia Yassine--are swaying the religious debate about women's role in Islam.

Jbabdi is an ex-Marxist and has fought for women's rights in Morocco for a quarter century. Yassine is the daughter of the founder of the Justice and Charity Group, a banned Islamist organization that seeks to establish an Islamic state governed by Islamic Sharia.

While Jbabdi presses for a secular future, Yassine sees the world ahead in religious terms.

Theirs is a debate that is occurring throughout the Islamic world, between religious conservatives and Islamists on one side, secularists and those seeking an Islamic reformation on the other.

That debate is thriving in Morocco, where the young King Mohammed VI has, more than any other Arab ruler, taken concrete steps towards democracy since assuming the throne in 1999.

Increasingly, women are moving to the forefront of this discourse.

As became apparent last month in Saudi Arabia--when a group of Saudi women gave U.S. Undersecretary of State Karen Hughes a tongue-lashing--not all women living in Islamic states share the West's view of women's freedom.

In their own ways, however, women in the region are taking more control of a debate that vitally affects them.

Secularist women are educating themselves in Islam, and challenging the religious status-quo about what the Koran does and doesn't say about women. And conservative Islamist women are starting to penetrate official male bastions such as Al-Azhar University in Egypt, and popular grassroots organizations like Yassine's.

For years Muslim activists such as Jbabdi waged their battles with ideological help from Western pioneers such as Betty Friedan and later with international accords like the 1979 United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

Relying on foreign points of reference such as these, however, they made little progress. The international language of gender equality exerted little sway over their traditional, religious societies.

"A religious fundamentalism began to confront us, calling us infidels, and we wondered, how is this possible?" said Jbabdi, from the headquarters of the Union of Feminine Action in Rabat, the organization she founded in 1983. "We started asking, is Islam truly against the rights of women?"

Jbabdi and her colleagues decided to find out. They took classes and held dozens of study sessions. Today, women such as Jbabdi are abandoning their secular approach, immersing themselves in the Koran and the hadith--the principle sources of Islamic law--and proffering their own interpretations of Islam.

If the modus operandi doesn't spring from Islam, then it must be abandoned. Please read it all.

From the Dutch Expatica, with thanks to Dutch Cares.

AMSTERDAM — Moroccan and Turkish groups in the Netherlands have set up a new action committee named "Genoeg is genoeg" (enough is enough) to organise a campaign against the Dutch government's tough immigration and integration policies.

The organisers are calling for a national demonstration on 17 September in Amsterdam. Two spokesmen for the new organisation outlined the plans for the demonstration during a press conference in the Moroccan capital of Rabat on Monday.

Dutch Immigration and Integration Minister Rita Verdonk arrived in Rabat for an official visit on Monday. She toured the Dutch embassy where modifications have been made to house the new integration tests that are to be introduced for would-be immigrants to the Netherlands.

While there was news on Monday that other European countries are interested in the immigration policies being pioneered by Verdonk, the spokesmen for the new action committee described her policies as discriminatory and racist...

One of those policies is to change the practice of retaining duel citizenship for THIRD generation Moroccan immigrants. Morocco is not cooperating. See Expatica here.

The dhimmi forum we discussed here in January has become a "permanent committee. A broken-English article from Arabic News, with thanks to Skeetstreet:

The Judeo-Muslim Permanent Committee, convened Tuesday in Marrakech, called for associating the political action to the efforts of the clergy to promote relations between Islam and Judaism.

This meeting, meant to assess the results of the first congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace, which took place in January in Brussels, will look into setting up action mechanisms to consolidate tolerance between religions to the benefit of peace, said the founder of the foundation "Hommes de Paroles," Alain Michel.

Michel stressed that Morocco is a true plate-form for dialog between religions and civilizations, as was evidenced by the organization of the 1st Rabbis and Imams congress under the patronage of King Mohammed VI.

Representatives of the two religions highlighted the need to integrate the religious dimension in all forms of dialog, calling for taking measures to encourage the coming together of religions.

On January 3 through 6, the Belgian capital hosted the first congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace under the aegis of King Mohammed VI and King Albert II of the Belgians.

The congress, held on the initiative of the Swiss foundation "Hommes de Parole" (Men of Word), had brought together a hundred imams and rabbis to discuss issues related to the co-existence of Islam and
Judaism...

This kind of thinking is common: if you point out the Islamic bona fides of the terrorists, you are just helping the terrorists. But it is not actually true. The Islamic world has a massive problem; to ignore, deny, or sugarcoat is what actually helps the terrorists, because it does nothing to stop them from operating in a panoply of Islamic contexts. To shed light on how radical Muslims recruit and motivate terrorists is not to help the terrorists, but to identify the source of the problem. Until the non-Muslim world at large is ready to do this, the problem will continue.

Also, of course, Azoulay is talking about "those who blame the whole Islamic world," which is a misstatement and mischaracterization if he is indeed referring to those who point out how terrorism arises from Islam. From ArabicNews.com, with thanks to Nicolei.

Those who blame the whole Islamic and Arab world for the tragic developments in the world could "turn into the most reliable aides of the most dangerous extremists," underscored Andre Azoulay, adviser to the Moroccan king.

Before the Ambrosetti Forum, held over the weekend in the Italian lake region of Come under the Peace, Security and Terror, Azoulay reviewed the historical and spiritual realities of more than a billion Moslem faithful who cannot be blamed for the acts of individuals or groups who chose to act contrary to ethical values.

Azoulay stressed the Islamic religion must be respected the same way other religions are respected and underscored the nature of modernity, creativity and openness that mark the Moroccan society under the leadership of King Mohammed VI.

He called the participants in the forum not to ignore Islamic realities and stressed the need to hold a global discussion where political, economic and cultural issues should be treated with the same importance and priority.

That is just what I am trying to do here at Jihad Watch and in my books, Azoulay: not ignore Islamic realities.

Hamidou Laanigri

New signs of increased activity from an emerging jihadist base in Morocco -- leading to frustration with Europe's lax anti-terror laws. From the New York Times, with thanks to Nicolei:

Morocco has been among the West's closest Arab allies and has long been instrumental in pursuing Arab-Israeli reconciliation. Although Moroccan and European officials now agree that there is a new Moroccan threat, they disagree over its nature and origin -- and how to contain it.

One problem is simply identifying major Moroccan terrorists. Two months after the Madrid train bombings, Spanish investigators believe that its mastermind may still be at large.

The French and Belgian police successfully dismantled Moroccan cells in their countries after the Madrid attacks, but they are convinced that other cells may have burrowed further underground.

Moroccan terrorists, intelligence and police experts say, know how to blend in.

"There are cells in which the Moroccans are well integrated into the population," Pierre de Bousquet, the head of the Directorate for Territorial Surveillance, France's counterintelligence service, said in an interview. "So they do not seem suspicious. They work. They have kids. They have fixed addresses. They pay the rent. The networks are dispersed throughout Europe and are very autonomous."

In addition to uneven cooperation among law enforcement and intelligence agencies within Europe, there is the problem of tensions that have surfaced between European and Moroccan officials.

Although the two sides are working together to investigate the Madrid bombings, the Moroccans have complained that their pleas for help after the Casablanca attacks were largely ignored until terrorists struck the heart of Europe.

They also have expressed frustration that laws in many European countries are not tough enough.

In April a court in Hamburg, Germany, allowed a Moroccan who was the only person convicted in connection with the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States to leave prison pending a new trial.

Three weeks later a court in Rome acquitted 12 people, including 9 Moroccans, who were arrested in 2002 and accused of being associated with a terrorist organization.

"The Madrid bombings finally have forced the Europeans to make their investigations more serious and their cooperation quicker and more operational," Gen. Hamidou Laanigri, Morocco's chief of security, said in an interview. "But we are victims of laws and guarantees that protect the rights of individuals at the expense of cracking down against organized crime."

Intelligence and law-enforcement officials in Spain, France and Belgium say that their Moroccan colleagues have refused to face the fact that Moroccans have banded into autonomous terror cells that can carry out attacks without outside organization, logistical support or money.

Aziz Mekouar (Photo: The Washington Diplomat)

Aziz Mekouar, the Moroccan ambassador to the United States, writes in today's Washington Times of his country's great strides with democracy. (Thanks to scooterdw.)

The times in which we live serve to direct the attention of many of the world's governments and people toward the Middle East. But the intense focus on the Middle East has, unfortunately, often been accompanied by misunderstandings and prejudices concerning Islam. Some even suggest it is inherently at odds with democracy that true self-government simply cannot exist in Muslim societies.

But Morocco is quietly proving otherwise.

In the early 1990s, Morocco set out on a democratic, reform-minded path to which we have remained steadfast. Today our country is creating a free, democratic society on the foundation of self-government and democratic institutions. King Mohammed VI and parliament have enacted comprehensive reforms in the economic, social and political spheres reforms that are entirely consistent with the spirit and tradition of Islam. Despite opposition to change within our society and the wider Islamic world, as evidenced by a spate of suicide bombings in May 2003, our resolve remains strong, as does our commitment to an advanced and open society.

Among the elements of this unique Islamic democracy:

Gender equality: In January, both houses of parliament unanimously approved legislation that essentially establishes full equality between men and women in Morocco. The new Mudawana (family law), which draws its basic provisions from the Koran and the Hadith (the Prophet's sayings and practices), was drafted through a long process of careful consultation with prominent Moroccan religious scholars.

The legislation also gained unequivocal support from all political parties, as well as human rights and women's rights organizations, proving that Islam and modernity can go hand in hand. Under the new laws, obligations once solely enjoyed by the husband will now be shared by the husband and wife, as these new laws set an equal minimum age of marriage, establish equal prerogative to initiate divorce, and, in general, ensure better protection of women's and children's rights.

Unfortunately, the Ambassador's bland assertion that these laws are compatible with Islam, and indeed derived from it, is a bit overstated. Indeed, Dominique Pettit noted in Middle East Online just last month that in Morocco "the status of women has become the subject of a pitched battle between modernisers and radical Islamists."

Also, while the "prime mover" behind Morocco's new law guaranteeing women's rights "was King Mohammed VI, who has stressed it is in line with the tenets of Islam," nevertheless "such a move would likely meet fierce resistance in many Muslim countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia." And this resistance would be on Islamic grounds.

I applaud the Moroccan King's efforts to reform Islam, as that is just what is needed on a large scale, but the proof of the pudding will be the general acceptance of these women's rights laws by Muslims in his own country, as well as their adoption as principles for reform by other Muslim countries. Instead, so far we have seen resistance, including suicide bombings.

The Ambassador also says that Morocco guarantees human rights for all:

Human Rights: In January 2003, King Mohammed VI formally inaugurated the Equity and Reconciliation Commission to ensure the protection of basic human rights for all Moroccans and make amends for past violations. The commission's mandate institutionalizes a procedure previously led by an independent arbitration authority to provide just compensation to victims of past human-rights violations. This program has already provided tens of millions of dollars in reparations. Led by a former political prisoner, the new commission will make available to the public all government files from the past 40 years.

The process of reform and reconciliation that Morocco has been pursuing for more than a decade has enabled the country to make tangible gains in promoting economic, social and political modernization, facilitating our integration into the global community and building a society of hope and prosperity for our people. These reforms have been undertaken with the explicit purpose of improving the lives of all Moroccans and in a spirit inspired by an interpretation of Islam that combines a proper respect of Muslim traditions with a willing embrace of the opportunities and obligations for development offered by the modern world.

There is nothing in the Islamic faith inconsistent with human rights, democracy and the equality of men and women. Indeed, when King Mohammed VI proposed the new family law in a speech before parliament last autumn, he repeatedly invoked language from the Koran to provide a moral foundation for the reforms.

Great, but do these human rights include religious freedom? That is as yet unclear. The State Department's International Religious Freedom Report for 2003 suggested that some old dhimmi laws still exert an influence in Morocco:

The Constitution provides that Islam is the official religion, and designates the King as "Commander of the Faithful" with the responsibility of ensuring "respect for Islam." The Constitution also provides for freedom of religion; however, the Government places certain restrictions on Christian religious materials and proselytizing, and several small religious minorities are tolerated with varying degrees of official restrictions. . . .

Any attempt to induce a Muslim to convert is illegal. According to Article 220 of the Penal Code, any attempt to stop one or more persons from the exercise of their religious beliefs, or attendance at religious services, is unlawful and may be punished by 3 to 6 months' imprisonment and a fine of $10 to $50 (115 to 575 dirhams). The Article applies the same penalty to "anyone who employs incitements in order to shake the faith of a Muslim or to convert him to another religion." Foreign missionaries either limit their proselytizing to non-Muslims or conduct their work quietly. The Government cited the prohibition on conversion in the Penal Code in most cases in which courts expelled foreign missionaries. . . .

Citizens who convert to Christianity and other religions generally face social ostracism, and a small number of persons have faced short periods of questioning or detention by the authorities. Voluntary conversion is not a crime under the Criminal or Civil Codes; however, until 4 years ago, the authorities had jailed some converts on the basis of references to Islamic law. Christian citizens sometimes still are called in for questioning by the authorities. . . .

The Government permits the display and sale of Bibles in French, English, and Spanish, but confiscates Arabic-language Bibles and refuses licenses for their importation and sale, despite the absence of any law banning such books. Nevertheless Arabic Bibles have been sold in local bookstores.

Morocco seems to be a society in transition. I hope that in coming years we will read no more about such discrimination and restrictions on religious freedom and the freedom of conscience.

"A court in Rabat sentenced 15 militants to 20 years in prison yesterday for plotting terrorist attacks while 26 other defendants were given jail terms ranging from two to 15 years, a judicial source said. Three of the 45 defendants in the so-called 'Agadir terrorist cell' were acquitted and another one was fined 3,000 dirhams (33 euros).

"The defendants, all from the southern city of Agadir, were accused of conspiracy to commit terrorist acts, offering lodging to a criminal, failure to denounce and attempting to collect funds to commit a terrorist attack. Prosecutors had requested heavy sentences for 12 of the defendants but said 23 others were considered less dangerous.

"The prosecution claimed that the Agadir cell was part of the banned militant group Salafist Jihad, which is blamed for the May 16 attacks in Casablanca that killed 45 people. Defense lawyers had argued that their clients were innocent and pointed to the lack of evidence against them."

Dr. Badawi! Salam Al-Maryati! Where are you? Where are you to explain to these men that they are misunderstanding the concept of jihad, that peaceful spiritual struggle within the soul of the believer?

"In a separate case, the court sentenced nine radicals to sentences ranging from two to 20 years in prison and acquitted two others in connection with the Sept. 11, 2003, murder of a Jewish shopkeeper in Casablanca."