I believe the President should have more seriously considered Morocco to address the Muslim world last week, and the University of Al-Karaouine in Fez would have been the perfect place. It is an Islamic Learning center – over 100 years older than Al-Azhar in Cairo– and historically has played a leading role in cultural exchanges between the Muslim and Christian worlds. Pope Sylvester II (Gerbert d'Aurillac), studied there in his youth, later bringing Arabic numerals to Europe by the end of the first millennium, and Moses Maimonides, a Jewish physician and philosopher, taught at Al-Karaouine for many years.
It’s just my two cents, but this university, historically tolerant for accepting Jewish students when others closed their doors on them (circa 1492), would have been one good reason the choice of location may have made the Israelis more receptive to what President Barack Obama had to say.
While Cairo was an understandable venue for the president’s speech–the country’s large population of 83 million alone make it a demographic giant of the Middle East and truth be told it is also a center of Arabic Learning for Sunni Muslims– in my opinion the choice also had its drawbacks.
As written in the Washington Post last month, “by selecting Egypt, Obama could expose himself to criticism in the Arab Middle East for showing tacit support for President Hosni Mubarak, who has governed the country for nearly three decades with scant tolerance for political opposition. The 81-year-old Mubarak… has used his security services to harass and detain political rivals and is preparing for his son to succeed him.”
Furthermore, Mubarak’s push to make his current minister of culture, a painter named Farouk Hosny, the next director general of the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) - despite the candidate’s open comments in parliament that Israeli books should be taken out of libraries and burned - shows that anti-semetic sentiments are prominent in Egypt.
Journalists and editorialists have been saying so much, albeit receiving little attention. Commentary magazine’s JonathanTobin, for example observes that “the overwhelming majority of Egyptians have rejected any notion of normalization with the Jewish state”.
Causing more of an uproar last month, an open letter in the French daily Le Monde (co-authored by philosopher and writer Bernard-Henri Lévy, filmmaker Claude Lanzmann, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel) reproaching numerous statements made by Hosny, including a claim that Israeli culture is “inhuman” and that the “Jews are infiltrating into international media…” shows that anti-semetic sentiment in Egypt is generally grossly understated.
In addition, had Egypt proved to be a more reliable ally of the United States in the fight against global terrorism, I may have better understood the strategy to choose Cairo to deliver a message to the Muslim world. Alhtough it is not fair to say that Egypt and Syria have encouraged the destruction of Israel, it is safe to say that neither of these countries has done much to put an end to the growing anti-semetism in their countries.
In this matter, Morocco has recently proved it can embrace a serious approach in the fight against extremist ideology and terrorist violence. The Moroccan government has done this in its own country as well as throughout the North African region.
The overall success of these efforts would have been acknowledged had Obama picked the Kingdom to deliver his speech. In addition, other governments, including the United States, should take a closer look at what they can learn from Morocco’s approach to fighting terrorism.
Indeed Muslim countries are far from immune to the global terrorist threat. The attack in Casablanca on May 16, 2003 proved this when 12 suicide bombers simultaneously hit several targets in the city, (a hotel, a restaurant, a Jewish community center and cemetery, and a country club for Casablanca’s Westernized middle class) leaving 45 dead—including the terrorists– and more than 100 seriously wounded. Comparing populations between Morocco and the United States, Casablanca’s 9/11 situation in the US would have left more than 400 dead and 900 injured.
These initiatives have proved successful, and in April this year the U.S. State Department commended the Kingdom of Morocco in its Country Reports on Terrorism 2008 for its innovative and bold approach to counter terrorism :
“…the Government of Morocco, and frequently King Mohammed VI, regularly and strongly condemned terrorist acts, wherever they occurred.”
The annual report to Congress goes on to acknowledge:
“The Moroccan government pursued a comprehensive counter terrorism approach that, building on popular rejection of terrorism, emphasizes neutralizing existing terrorist cells through traditional law enforcement and preemptive security measures, and prevented terrorist recruitment through comprehensive counter-radicalization policies. Morocco aggressively targeted and dismantled terrorist cells within the Kingdom by leveraging policing techniques, coordinating and focusing the security services, and expanding and bolstering regional partnerships. “
The success the Kingdom of Morocco has seen, the report explains, also comes from the social reforms they have implemented. Specifically, the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH), launched by the current King, Mohammed VI, in 2005, is a $1.2 billion program designed to generate employment, combat poverty, and improve infrastructure, with a special focus on rural areas. These measures are aimed at ameliorating the socio-economic factors that terrorists exploit.
As noted by the Moroccan American Center for Policy : “since its launch the INDH has been responsible for some 16,000 project benefiting more than four million people. Two years ago, the U.S. government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation signed a five-year, $697.5 million compact with Morocco that will indirectly assist the INDH efforts by stimulating economic growth through increased productivity and improved employment in high potential sectors including investments in fruit tree productivity, small-scale fisheries, and artisan crafts.”
The news laws are bold because they go as far as to charge anyone caught promoting terrorist acts through religious sermons or through posters and audio, visual, and other electronic media, with two years in jail. Such measures, yet to be enacted in other Middle Eastern or Muslim countries, show good faith and cooperation in the battle against terrorism.
The legislation also gives authorities the ability to seize the assets of terrorists and their accomplices, and a newer anti-money laundering law, passed in 2007 and implemented last year, facilitates the freezing of suspicious accounts, thereby permitting the prosecution of terrorist-finance related crimes, and establishing a financial intelligence unit.
Despite these hardened rules which have already halted several nascent terrorist cells (most recently last month), it is important to note that the report to congress emphasizes that “the Government of Morocco made firm public commitments that the struggle against terrorism would not be used to deprive individuals of their rights and emphasized adherence to human rights standards and increased law enforcement transparency as part of its approach,” noting that “non-governmental organizations were granted unprecedented access to prisons where individuals convicted of terrorism-related crimes were held… and terrorist suspects and convicts were generally accorded right and due process of law.”
In other words, if there have been human rights violations, they are most obviously an exception rather than the norm – which is a lot more than can be said of most other Middle Eastern regimes, not to mention our own Guantanamo.
The new laws encourage citizens to beware of terrorist activity and to provide the government with information which would help break up further terrorist activity. For instance, if convicted terrorists voluntarily agree to testify against accomplice Jihadists, they can reduce their prison sentences to half, including commuting death sentences to life terms.
The King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, direct descendant of the prophet Muhammad, a privilege belonging only to one other leader in the Arab world, the King of Jordan, benefits from the title of “Commander of the Faithful”. This gives him added respect and a firm grip on the masses of fervent Muslims in his country, in particular the poorer demographics more likely to be immersed in extremist ideology.
The fact that King Mohammed VI harshly condemns violent acts associated with Islam stating that they go against the country’s efforts to remain an open and tolerant, acts as a real deterrent to anyone sanctioning terrorist plots.
Morocco also has longstanding ties to the United States and its allies, including Israel. Last month, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised this enduring alliance with the Kingdom.
As President Obama stated in his speech in Cairo (also mentioned by Bill Clinton before him), Sultan Mohammed III was, in 1777, the first foreign sovereign to recognize the independence of the United States. In a treaty established diplomatic relations between Morocco and the United States, forming the oldest such ties between America and any Middle Eastern country.
Re negotiations followed in 1836, but the treaty is still in force, thus being the United States’ longest unbroken diplomatic accord.
In June 2004, in recognition of the Morocco’s strategic support for the war on terrorism, President George W. Bush formally designated Morocco a “Major Non-NATO Ally of the United States,” making it one of only fourteen states to be accorded that status.
And while there are no full diplomatic relations with Israel, the Kingdom has high-level contacts with representatives of the Jewish state since 1986, when the late King Hassan II became only the second Arab ruler to openly host a senior Israeli leader, inviting then-Foreign Minister Shimon Peres to the royal palace at Ifrane for formal talks.
King Mohammed VI has also awarded the Royal Order of Al-Alaoui – a military medal of High merit and prestige - to several prominent Jews of Moroccan origin, including Dr. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, current director of the International Monetary Fund; Dr. Yehuda Lancry, former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations; and Rabbi David Messas, chief rabbi of Paris.
Moreover, during deportation in World War II, Morocco’s then-Sultan Mohammed V refused to provide Nazi Germany with lists of Jews for deportation, stating that the Jews in Morocco were Moroccan above all, and could not be separated from the rest of the population. This is a little known fact that holds a great deal of importance. Although there are no numbers showing exactly how many Jews were saved on behalf of the King’s refusal to submit to the Germans, many Moroccan Jews were later able to immigrate to Israel in 1948.
Morocco also stands distinguished for a Royal Decree, issued three years ago : a pioneering initiative to train 50 Mourchidates or female spiritual guides, alongside the usual 150 male Imams who study and graduate each year. Their role is to promote moderation and religious tolerance in mosques across the Kingdom and in Moroccan immigrant communities abroad. In addition to memorizing the Koran and the study of Islamic law, the training program also forms candidates in psychology, communications, and foreign languages. Students earn a secular baccalaureate degree at the end of their training. Egyptian religious authorities have already implemented a Mourchidate program, similar to the Moroccan curriculum.
Last month, a delegation of Mourchidates visited the United States, participating in an interfaith forum on religious understanding in New York City that included female Jewish rabbis and Christian ministers. ALthough religious Muslim scholars insist that women have always held an important place in Islam (citing for example Aisha, one of the Prophet’s wives who was instrumental in spreading the religion after his death), this initiative to legalize female guides is a first in the Arab world.
Unbeknowst to many Americans, last week, Fez hosted the 15th International Festival of Sacred Music. This year the theme was “The Tree of Life”, and the celebration was officially inaugurated by Princess Lalla Salma, the bride of King Mohammed VI.
Highlights of the festival included Muslim, Christian, and Jewish musicians from around the world. Among these were French jazz violinist Didier Lockwood, a Spanish band (Curro Pinana) who sang Arabic poems to Flamenco music, a Canadian singer and composer Loreena McKennitt, a Lebanese singer and composer Marcel Khalifa, an Iranian percussionist Keyvan Chemirani and other artists from Morocco, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Senegal, Egypt. This international event would have been the perfect follow-up to President Obama’s speech in Fez.
Following President Obama’s visit, Egypt has every reason to be happy, but Morocco can also celebrate its own successful and historic relationship with the United States. Although the battle against extremism will most likely be an ongoing one, the Kingdom can be proud of its achievements in this regard both for itself and for other countries in the world. Like their fellow Americans, Moroccans proudly embrace their unique culture of diversity – built on a long tradition of Arab, Berber, Muslim and Jewish co-existence. Let’s hope these two heterogeneous countries built on unity will encourage the rest of the Arab world to mend their own differences.
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