On Abu Hafs.
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Tag: morocco
In Morocco
One of the strangest things about traveling from Egypt to Morocco is exiting a news maelstrom and entering a low-news-pressure zone. Egypt is so full of news these days, and so the focus of international media, that it is almost shocking to me to be in a country that, when Google-searched, does not even return any news stories. And yet, of course, things are happening here too. I was also shocked, for example, to find out that 80 people have set themselves on fire in Morocco since 2011.
I was traveling last weekend (to Fez, which after the devastation that Aleppo has suffered is probably the most amazing medieval Arab city in the region) so I have just found time to link to this post, for the NYTime’s Latitude blog, about Morocco’s political scene.
Morocco’s Le Journal: “We are all Shia”
This campaign is aimed at asserting the “Sunni malekite nature” of “Moroccan Islam”; its aim is to buttress the pro-monarchy traditionalism of very Morocco-specific institutions such as the “Commandership of the Faithful” (specific in that it argues that the king has the same role as a Caliph, but only for Moroccans), Sherifism (high respect for descendants of the prophet, a very Shia tradition that has since Sultan Moulay Ismail in the 17th century been a key part of governance through a ethno-religious aristocracy) and the prominence of apolitical Sufi tariqat. The campaign to reimpose these traditionalist values is partly a not-so-badly thought out attempt to limit the spread of salafism (I applaud that) but has also spread into paranoia about Iran-funded Shia conversion and as a way to put pressure on Islamic parties, legal and unrecognized. But it’s the kind of thing that the Moroccan regime has long done – asserting a Moroccan Islam that is nice and fluffy vs. the Islam of its opponents – and, moreover, the foreigners usually lap it up.
Fouad Mourtada is free
The Moroccan who was jailed for putting up a fake profile of Prince Moulay Rashid has been freed. This is great news, and while it should have never gotten to this, better late than never. I suppose the king wanted to make sure the message got across that the royal family is a no-go area for satirists and critics.
CASABLANCA, March 18 – Fouad Mourtada was released from Oukacha Prison at approximately 8:00pm local time today, having received a royal pardon.Mr. Mourtada, a 26-year old IT engineer, was taken into custody on February 5th, 2008, and was questioned regarding a fake Facebook profile of King Mohammed VI’s younger brother, Prince Moulay Rachid, which he had created on January 15. During his interrogation, Mr. Mourtada reports that he was beaten, spat on and insulted.On February 22, Mr. Mourtada was sentenced to three years in prison and a fine of $1350 for creating the fake profile. The official charge was identity fraud of an electronic document.Following Mr. Mourtada’s detention, an international online movement arose calling for his release and, following sentencing, for a full pardon. On Saturday, March 1, young activists used a Facebook group to organize worldwide protests opposing Mr. Mourtada’s imprisonment, which occurred in Rabat, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, Washington DC, Montreal, Madrid, and London. A video of the protests was later posted on YouTube.Mentions by international news organizations, such as the BBC, encouraged Moroccan domestic media to take up the story, which increase pressure on the government to act.Tonight Mr. Mourtada is staying at the house of friend in Casablanca. He will retain to his family tomorrow.
Free Fouad
Links February 17th to February 19th
Links for February 17th through February 19th:
- Jazeera slams TV crackdown – FT on new satellite TV restrictions
- TelQuel : Avoir 20 ans à la campagne – Life for young people in the (extremely poor) Moroccan countryside
- Moscou accuse Paris de saborder le contrat des Mig – Algeria-Russia fracas over Mig contract; France suspected of meddling
- Pharaonic Pump Sits Idle as Egypt Fails to Lure Farms to Desert
Bloomberg.com:
Europe – Whatever happened to Toshka? - Middle East Report Online: Disengagement and the Frontiers of Zionism by Darryl Li – "FROM BANTUSTAN TO INTERNMENT CAMP TO ANIMAL PEN"
- The BAE files | World news | guardian.co.uk – Guardian collection of articles on BAE case
- Hamas tells Egypt it is ready to discuss truce with Israel, Shalit deal – "Hamas said Friday it has told Egyptian officials it would consider a cease-fire with Israel if it lifted its blockade of the Gaza Strip and ceased military operations in the West Bank and Gaza."
- UN shocked by 'grim' life in Gaza – "80% of Gaza's 1.5m population now depended on food aid."
Free Fouad Mourtada
The arrest and brutal treatment of Fouad Mourtada, the young man who create a fake Facebook profile of Morocco’s Prince Moulay Rachid, is a sad testimony to the fact that things have not changed as much as the regime would like you to believe in Morocco. Here is the statement his supporters have put out:
Official statement of the Committee of Support for Fouad Mourtada, after a first visit at Oukacha jail.
One week after his disappearance and imprisonment by the Moroccan police force Tuesday February 05, it was finally possible for the family of Fouad to visit him this Tuesday February 12 afternoon at Oukacha jail in Casablanca, Morocco.
Fouad, distraught after one week of detention, stated the following facts:
“I was arrested on the morning of Tuesday by two individuals who embarked me on a vehicle then blindfolded my eyes with a black band. After about fifteen minutes, they changed vehicle, then took me along to some building to undergo an interrogation there. There I was persecuted, beaten up, slapped, spat on and insulted. I was also slammed for hours with a tool on the head and the legs. This calvary lasted such a long time that I lost consciousness several times and also lost the notion of time. I was completely surprised to learn, when I was taken again to another location, that it was Wednesday “.
Concerning the Facebook account, incriminated Fouad indicated:
“I actually created this account on January 15, 2008. It remained on line a few days before somebody closed it. There are so many profiles of celebrities on Facebook. I never thought that by creating a profile of his highness prince Moulay Rachid I am harming him in any way. I, as a matter of fact, did not send any message from that account to anyone. It was just a joke, a gag. I regret my gesture and beg my forgiveness from my whole family for the harm that I have caused them. I am not an evil doer; my ambition in the life was simply to have a stable job and a normal life “.
Fouad Mourtada awaits the starting of his trial, Friday February 15. He could be facing 5 years of prison, to have done what thousands of people throughout the world do everyday: create a profile of a celebrity or a star on Facebook.
For analysis on Morocco’s monarchy-controlled “democratization process” see this analysis from the Middle East Institute, which concludes:
Morocco’s road towards greater democratization remains a project in the making. On the one hand, the climate of greater freedom of speech and accountability on the part of officials is unmistakable, as is the sobering recognition of the enormity of the task ahead. On the other hand, the lingering notion that any reform, constitutional or otherwise, derives from and depends upon the good will of the monarch is a hin- drance to any profound changes to the current system. As he nears his first decade on the throne, Muhammad VI faces the challenge of stirring his nation towards a better future while maintaining the stability and relative tranquility that have made Morocco the envy of other Middle Eastern and North African countries.
A good first step would be that the king ensures that identity theft, if Mourtada’s prank can be described as such, be handled professionally by ordinary police rather than secret service thugs whose beatings are reminiscent of the torture and disappearances of the late King Hassan II’s reign. Even though Mourtada may get off without a jail sentence due to the bad publicity this brings the monarchy, that is not enough: an apology and the disciplining of those responsible for his treatment should ensue.
Bidoun Winter 2008: Souffles and Maghrebi counter-culture
The Winter 2008 issue of Bidoun, the Middle Eastern arts and culture magazine, has been out for a few weeks now. For some weird reason I can never access it directly from Egypt, it only works through a proxy like proxyfellow.com or hidemyass.com, but it’s worth the trouble to check out the striking cover (below) and some of the articles they put online, such as the essay on Moroccan counter-culture in the 1960s/1970s by Issandr El Amrani. Get the print issue (in Cairo from the Townhouse gallery, elsewhere at good magazine stores) to read about Ismail Yassin and much more.
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(No, I don’t think that building really exists.)
Links February 6th to February 7th
Automatically posted links for February 6th through February 7th:
- Moroccan Held for Alleged Royal ID Theft – Moulay Rachid’s identity stolen on Facebook
- Nominee Backs Human Rights in Egypt – Margaret Scobey, future US Ambassador to Cairo, promises to fight for rights, Nour but discount aid pressure
- US admiral confirms secret camp at Gitmo – On secret facility of al-Qaeda suspects (so what does that make the others exactly?)
- Arab state power is on the defensive – Rami Khouri on decentralization and governance
- Be Riberar – Funny column by Magdy Gallad about schizo government
- Project on Defense Alternatives Infogate – PDA, a centrist security policy think tank, has revamped info, document and bookmark collection
- World Leaders Gather To Roast Mahmoud Ahmadinejad | The Onion – “Musharraf went on to update the group on the status of Ahmadinejad’s mouth, opening the floor to debate on whether or not it has sheltered a greater number of fundamentalist Muslim dicks than the Sudan.”
- Qatar focuses on its currency policy – Doha may drop dollar peg
Links January 25th and January 26th
Automatically posted links for January 25th through January 26th:
- The Arab – New London-based magazine on MENA
- MidEast Brief::Egypt – Newish website links to articles on region
- Egypt says will keep border open and help Gazans restock – Unable to stop flow of people, Egypt maintains borders open
- Abbas: No talks with Hamas despite Gaza border chaos – Abu Mazen turns down Cairo talks with Hamas
- PALESTINIANS CREATE NEW BREACHES DESPITE EGYPTIAN ATTEMPTS TO SEAL THE BORDER – Article mentions Egyptian tanks on their way to border
- Gaza source: Hamas planned border wall blast for months – Amira Hass
- Gaza into Egypt Middle East Strategy at Harvard – M. Kramer revives “give Gaza a chunk of Egypt” idea, good response by S. Cook
- The People in Gaza Challenge Sham Peace Process – Juan Cole’s Informed Comment hosts Joel Beinin op-ed
- ANALYSIS: Gaza border breach shows Israel that Hamas is in charge – Haaretz analysis
- ?????????? ?????: ????: ???? ?? ???? ??? ??????? ????? ??? – Mahdi Akef denied that Khaled Meshaal asked him to stage Gaza siege demos
- Furlough Day for Gazans (Prospects for Peace) – Daniel Levy
- Appeal for the defense of individual freedoms – Moroccan liberals call for right to individual freedoms after Islamist gay witch-hunt
- Egypt’s Gaza policy / A pan-Arab consensus? – Haaretz analyzes Egypt’s tough position re: Gaza and Hamas