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| Hassan II Mosque: Casablanca,
Morocco |
|
Michael
S. Lee
|
The Casablanca terrorist attacks of May 16, 2003,
and the fact that the attackers were young Moroccans,
forced the Kingdom and its people to enter into
a period of deep soul-searching. How was it that
ideas so anathema to Moroccan history and social
mores were able to make such significant inroads
into elements of the country’s society? This
and many other questions are weighing heavily on
the mind of Morocco’s Minister of Habous and
Islamic Affairs, Ahmed Toufiq. An educator by training,
Minister Toufiq is determined to excise the deviant
thoughts that inspired the bombers from Morocco’s
religious life. He has already warned the populace
against turning mosques into “places for propaganda.”
The Minister recently announced that the government
will begin to review religious affairs in a comprehensive
context that embraces “political, cultural and
doctrinal branches” of faith.
Morocco is 98% Muslim, yet its major cities are graced
by beautiful Cathedrals and ancient synagogues. This
is a testament to a land that is the inheritor of
the Moorish culture and that has welcomed Christians
and Jews for centuries as honored “people of
the book.” To this day, Moroccans are fiercely
proud of their diversity and tolerance. According
to Toufiq, Morocco is “one of the best examples
of this long-lived experience of political, social
and cultural integration within one Islamic society.”
Toufiq explained that “for centuries they (the
Jewish community) were considered to be part and parcel
of the social fabric in Morocco, “and that “the
scientific, religious and philosophical legacy of
Moroccan Jews is equal in number” to the history
of Moroccan Muslim scholarship.
As for the Christian presence in the Kingdom, “the
intimate contact of Muslims with Christianity through
the Andalusian civilization (of southern Spain)…and
their peaceful interaction with the northern cities
of the Mediterranean…led to a deeply rooted feeling
of tolerance and co-existence in Moroccan tradition.”
In the modern era, Toufiq stressed that the democratic
evolution of the Kingdom and its focus on individual
freedom should become an “example to be followed…of
tolerance, cooperation, and respect of shared human
values.”
The place of women in Islam has been a topic of intense
debate throughout the Muslim and wider world for many
years. “Women in Morocco, from all social layers,
are physically free and liberal,” according to
Toufiq. The problem that women run into, he explained,
is the current “economic and social underdevelopment,”
in Moroccan society, and the burden this places on
women. Many want to have more freedom but at the same
time are determined “to enjoy the advantages
of the traditional family, such as having a certain
number of children.” He adds that there are two
camps in Moroccan society with regard to the empowerment
of women. The first views the “happiness sought
by women” as achievable through “changes
on some paragraphs in the law.” The second camp
sees such activities as “targeting religion more
than defending women’s rights.”
Minister Toufiq, like most Moroccans, was deeply affronted
by the events of May 16. Not simply the physical act,
but the attack on the progressive, tolerant Islam
that has always guided the Kingdom’s population.
By attacking this societal anchor, a deep anger was
kindled. The one million person march on Casablanca
the week after the attacks was the most dramatic physical
manifestation of this anger. Minster Toufiq stated
that “extremist ideas that harm culture and democracy
through practices and behaviors that are alien to
the Moroccan society” cannot be tolerated and
must be confronted.
The resounding popular response against the May 16
bombings and what they stand for is a strong signal
that Morocco’s age-old history of openness and
religious tolerance will not only survive but will
undoubtedly emerge stronger than before. |
