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The Islamization of Morocco -- Extremism is displacing moderation in the North African kingdom
The Weekly Standard ^ | 10/02/2006 | Olivier Guitta

Posted on 09/26/2006 9:50:18 PM PDT by Ooh-Ah

A LITTLE MORE THAN three years ago, Morocco experienced Islamic terrorism firsthand. On May 16, 2003, Casablanca was hit with four simultaneous attacks that left 45 people dead and hundreds injured. The attacks were perpetrated by Moroccan citizens who were members of the al Qaeda-affiliated Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (known by its French acronym, GICM).

Needless to say, the kingdom was stunned that its sons had turned violently against it. Now, the dismantling of another extensive Islamist cell in Morocco confirms that extremism is spreading inside what has long been viewed as one of the most moderate countries in the Arab world.

In a series of arrests over the past month, Moroccan authorities have seized 59 people and over 30 kilograms of TNT, more than was used in the 2003 attacks but of the same type. The alleged targets were political and military leaders, along with locations in Marrakesh, Morocco's premier tourist destination, the air force base of Salé, and the U.S. embassy in Rabat.

But the most troubling aspect of this cell by far is its membership. While the suicide bombers of 2003 came from the slums around Casa blanca, the newly arrested suspects are from all walks of life. They include five members of the military, three policemen, a Domestic Security officer, two imams, and four society women. Two of these women, the wives of Royal Air Morocco pilots, had volunteered for suicide missions in Iraq and Israel.

The cell leader, Hassan Khattab, who had spent two years in prison for his support for the 2003 terror attacks, had persuaded the women to finance local jihadi attacks because Morocco is the "ally of the Americans and the Zionists." Coincidentally, these four women had befriended Fatiha Hassani, the widow of the top Moroccan al Qaeda operative who was killed by Saudi forces in April 2005. The indictment accuses the cell members of "planning terrorist acts to overthrow the regime and install an Islamic caliphate."

The potential infiltration of the army by jihadists has clearly alarmed the authorities. As of August 31, they have eliminated compulsory military service in order to avoid giving free military training to potential terrorists. In addition, military officers and troops alike have been forbidden to perform Friday prayers in uniform.

Beyond the army, there are other clear signs of the rapid Islamization of Moroccan society. Nowhere is this more apparent than in women's dress. In just a few years, Moroccan women have gone from the miniskirt to the hijab. Interviewed in the French daily Le Monde a few months ago, a Moroccan high school teacher named Soukaina (she said she was afraid to use her last name) said that she no longer recognizes her country. Twenty years ago her high school had only one veiled teacher. Today everyone is veiled, teachers and students alike. Soukaina resigned more than a year ago under subtle pressure from Islamists, who wanted her to wear the hijab. She concluded: "It is only a matter of time until Islamists are leading the country."

Both in Morocco's big cities and in its villages, street vendors sell Islamist propaganda calling for jihad and the subjugation of women, spewing anti-Semitism and hatred of the West, on audio and video tapes, CDs and DVDs. One of the bestselling CDs is a rant by a salafi preacher named Abdellah Nihari, who teaches that "women are creatures of Satan" even when they are veiled. For him, women's liberation is to blame for every evil in society. Islamists also have their own freelance "religious police" who operate illegally, mostly on beaches, targeting unmarried couples for harassment, assault, and even, in a few cases in recent years, murder.

Another sign of Islamization can be found in opinion surveys of Moroccan youths. According to a January 2006 study by L'Economiste, 44 percent of Moroccans aged 16 to 29 think al Qaeda is not a terrorist organization, 38 percent "don't know," and a mere 18 percent consider it a terrorist group. Furthermore, a July 2006 landmark report ordered by the Ministry of Planning and entitled "Morocco 2030" revealed that lots of high school graduates dream of a liberated Palestine, the destruction of Israel, and the fall of the United States.

In such an environment it's only natural that the leading Islamist party--the PJD (Justice and Development party), closely linked to the Muslim Brotherhood--has been gaining traction. Already the third largest party in parliament, the PJD is projected to win 47 percent of the vote in the 2007 parliamentary elections, according to a recent poll by the International Republican Institute. This would make it the largest party, and the king would be obliged to ask it to form a government.

The PJD is your classic double speak party, carefully presenting itself as a Moroccan version of the German Christian Democrats, the soul of moderation, in order to achieve broad appeal. But its program, history, and membership leave no doubt about its real intentions. In its unofficial newspaper, At-Tajdid (Renewal), the PJD reveals its true nature. The party pretends it has nothing to do with At-Tajdid, but the paper's editors and publishers are PJD leaders, several of them even members of parliament.

At-Tajdid routinely expresses ex trem ist views, especially on moral issues and foreign policy vis-à-vis Israel and the United States. For in stance, At-Tajdid explained the December 2004 tsunami by pointing out that the affected Asian countries were corrupt and were being punished by God for not following the true Islam. The magazine implied that Morocco might be next, for the same reason.

But most worrisome are the PJD/At-Tajdid links to terror. Right after the 2003 attacks, Moroccan police arrested the treasurer of the party in Kenitra for his alleged involvement in the plot. Indeed, at the time, most political parties and King Mohammed VI favored banning the PJD. It is widely asserted in the Moroccan press that the U.S. ambassador pressured the king to give up this idea.

Also, At-Tajdid's website has a permanent link to the Union of Good, an umbrella organization of Hamas-funding charities, five of which are listed by the United States as Specially Designated Global Terrorist entities (SDGTs), and another two of which are accused of supporting al Qaeda.

Last, according to the Moroccan daily Al Ahdath Almaghribia, Hassan Khattab, the terror ringleader just arrested, was initiated into Islamism by PJD members including the director of At-Tajdid, Abdelilah Benkirane.

Considering all this, it is baffling that Mustafa Khalfi, editor in chief of At-Tajdid, was awarded a prestigious 2005/2006 Fulbright/American Political Science Association Congressional Fellowship. This honor has afforded him the opportunity to work for congressman Jim McDermott of Washington, to take a course at Johns Hopkins University, and to be a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Similarly, the head of the PJD, Saad Eddine Othmani, recently visited Washington and met with members of Congress.

It's almost enough to make you think some in Washington are quietly positioning themselves for a PJD victory.

Olivier Guitta is a foreign affairs and counterterrorism consultant in Washington, D.C.


TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: attajdid; islam; morocco; terrorism

1 posted on 09/26/2006 9:50:20 PM PDT by Ooh-Ah
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To: Ooh-Ah
Terrible development if accurate. Morocco has been one of the few moderate Arab countries even allowing Jews and Christians to worship openly.
2 posted on 09/26/2006 9:57:54 PM PDT by ncountylee (Dead terrorists smell like victory)
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To: Ooh-Ah

The CANCER spreads and metatisizes...


3 posted on 09/26/2006 10:04:56 PM PDT by BigFinn
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To: Ooh-Ah

All North Africa will fall to the dark side, and it probably will be a few decades before militant Islam will be completely eradicated from it. They will invade Europe right across Gibraltar again.


4 posted on 09/26/2006 10:20:45 PM PDT by rjp2005 (Lord have mercy on us)
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To: rjp2005

With muslim birth rates what they are in Europe that invasion is nearly complete.


5 posted on 09/26/2006 10:34:42 PM PDT by onedoug
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To: onedoug

Civilization must rapidly and openly become pragmatic enough to save itself......the words used to describe the implementation of that pragmatism are unpleasant, but the alternative can no longer be ignored.


6 posted on 09/26/2006 10:45:14 PM PDT by Vn_survivor_67-68
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To: Fred Nerks; USF; AmericanArchConservative; Former Dodger; Just A Nobody
Very troubling ping!

While the suicide bombers of 2003 came from the slums around Casa blanca, the newly arrested suspects are from all walks of life. They include five members of the military, three policemen, a Domestic Security officer, two imams, and four society women. Two of these women, the wives of Royal Air Morocco pilots, had volunteered for suicide missions in Iraq and Israel.

Interviewed in the French daily Le Monde a few months ago, a Moroccan high school teacher named Soukaina (she said she was afraid to use her last name) said that she no longer recognizes her country. Twenty years ago her high school had only one veiled teacher. Today everyone is veiled, teachers and students alike. Soukaina resigned more than a year ago under subtle pressure from Islamists, who wanted her to wear the hijab. She concluded: "It is only a matter of time until Islamists are leading the country."

Coming to a neighborhood near you in the USA!

Moderate Muslims will NOT be tolerated by islam.

7 posted on 09/26/2006 10:48:21 PM PDT by jan in Colorado ("Show me what Mohamed brought that was new & you 'll find only evil and inhuman")
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To: All

More bad news, the Moroccan university system is now or soon to be required to use only textbooks written in Arab! No more French textbooks will be allowed. That's a huge victory for the Islamists.
On the other hand, it's easier for foreigners to buy flats and settle down so there's a real building boom going on.


8 posted on 09/26/2006 11:05:57 PM PDT by paristwelve (-*/)
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To: Cacique

btt


9 posted on 09/26/2006 11:14:03 PM PDT by Cacique (quos Deus vult perdere, prius dementat ( Islamia Delenda Est ))
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To: ncountylee
Morocco has been one of the few moderate Arab countries even allowing Jews and Christians to worship openly.

Also in the list is Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria. Iraq used to be, before the big secular terrorist's reign of terror was replaced by thousaands of small islamist "insurgents" (terrorists!)

10 posted on 09/26/2006 11:18:58 PM PDT by zimdog
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To: rjp2005
BEING EUROPEAN SHOULD I BE WORRIED FOR THIS
http://www.hukam.net/essay/maps/aghlab05.png

....FOR THIS.....
http://www.hukam.net/essay/maps/almohads2.png


AND THIS?

http://www.hukam.net/essay/maps/morav.png
11 posted on 09/27/2006 2:33:37 AM PDT by Traianus (YES I GOT HIM! MUHAMMAD IS 666....)
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To: jan in Colorado
The same sort of thing is happening in asia, hijabs and islamic religious police are spreading like a bad mold.

From the article:

...44 percent of Moroccans aged 16 to 29 think al Qaeda is not a terrorist organization, 38 percent "don't know," and a mere 18 percent consider it a terrorist group...

Nothing to worry about, just a "tiny minority of extremists."

Also from the article:

...Mustafa Khalfi, editor in chief of [terrorist mouthpiece] At-Tajdid, was awarded a prestigious 2005/2006 Fulbright/American Political Science Association Congressional Fellowship. This honor has afforded him the opportunity to work for congressman Jim McDermott of Washington, to take a course at Johns Hopkins University, and to be a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Sheesh, as long infidels keep ignoring the threat by giving these swine direct help or tacit approval, it's going to get a lot worse in these nations.

12 posted on 09/27/2006 4:05:38 AM PDT by USF (I see your Jihad and raise you a Crusade ™ © ®)
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To: jan in Colorado

Think about it when you go to your appointment with Doctor Raheem. They are some of the best doctors in town but which ones will get the call from their religious conscience? How will they respond to it?


13 posted on 09/27/2006 5:23:41 AM PDT by arthurus (Better to fight them over THERE than over HERE)
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To: onedoug; Traianus
True, but it will happen much sooner and by external and internal violence instead of just overpopulating.

Traianus - be prepared to fight in about six years. Italy and it's capitol will be in their crosshairs first and foremost.

14 posted on 09/27/2006 7:20:42 AM PDT by rjp2005 (Lord have mercy on us)
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To: rjp2005

Traianus - be prepared to fight in about six years. Italy and it's capitol will be in their crosshairs first and foremost.

I KNOW IT VERY WELL did you look the FIST MAP I POSTED?


15 posted on 09/27/2006 9:18:29 AM PDT by Traianus (YES I GOT HIM! MUHAMMAD IS 666....)
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To: Ooh-Ah

global jihad bump


16 posted on 09/29/2006 3:18:29 PM PDT by Dajjal
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