An interesting analysis and view of a veteran American journalist who witnessed the political changes in Morocco for dacades and used to report from Morocco. The article is published in The Washington Times, online edition.
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Analysis: Islamists and democracy in Morocco
New York, NY, Apr. 6 (UPI) -- Elections in Morocco would probably result in an Islamist victory, according to a veteran American journalist and expert on the North African nation and other sholarly sources.
In the pro-Western kingdom of Morocco, sometimes hailed as one of the most developed and forward-looking of Arab countries, political Islam is becoming more popular said Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Marvine Howe Monday at a forum of the World Policy Institute at the New School in New York.
The 1,200-year-old monarchy of Morocco has incrementally followed a direction of democracy. Women's rights have also grown in Morocco. However, the rise of Islamists have complicated both matters.
Each is addressed in a soon-to-be released book by Howe, a former correspondent who has witnessed over a half-century of changes in the country.
Howe began her career as a free-lance journalist in 1950, shortly after arriving in the country and working as an au pair for a French military family to perfect her French. She subsequently witnessed Moroccan independence from the French in 1956, working as a part-time reporter for The New York Times and Time-Life. She frequently returned to the country for long periods of time, and noted the challenges and changes it faces in her upcoming book, "Morocco: The Islamist Awakening and Other Challenges."
Howe, who shared a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, has been described as a tenacious reporter.
"When Marvine was covering the revolution in Algeria, she got on a plane by saying she was a nurse for the wounded," said Claudia Dreifus, a New York Times reporter and friend of Howe's. "She also got into a Colombian prison dressed as a nun."
Howe's upcoming book has elements of a memoir, but is largely a work of reportage. Howe writes about a slow road toward democracy taken by King Hassan, who was succeeded by his son Mohammad VI, the present leader of Morocco.
Howe had left the country, but she returned in 2000 to "the freest Arab country I have ever visited," she told United Press International.
"Moroccans I have known were devout, but open. It was a very relaxed situation there," Howe said. In the book, she recalls the ways of the previous king, remembered for suppression followed by an emergence of reform at the end of his reign.
But that all changed for the reporter in May 2003, when suicide bombers who struck in Casablanca marked the rise of Islamic extremism in Morocco.
The situation was exacerbated by bombings that followed in Madrid as well as a rash of other terrorist activity in Morocco catalogued in Howe's book.
She said that the situation in Morocco was not as free as it had appeared, a conclusion she reached through various investigations. "In several off-the-record conversations with high-level security cadres during the summer of 2003, I learned that Moroccan intelligence services had been tracking Islamists for six years, ever since some jihadists began to form cells in the main cities around the country," she wrote.
Howe also referred to controversial statements made by sources she quotes in the book. Ahmed Toufiq, the minister for Islamic affairs, made a "daring" suggestion in an interview, Howe wrote. Toufiq spoke in connection with the discovery of a connection between the perpetrators of recent Moroccan terrorist attacks and al-Qaida.
She wrote: "The challenge we face is how to adapt our religious traditions to a modern reality," Toufiq said, emphasizing that this would entail a dialogue between "extremists" and "moderates."
In the book, Howe explains the Islamist movement becoming resilient and strong. "To my surprise, the main Islamist organizations were not cowering in fear of public hostility or the harsh crack-down," she wrote.
Howe also describes slum neighborhoods, known as bidonvilles, and college-educated youths affected by the high rate of unemployment in the country both feeding the extreme Islamist organizations.
"Nepotism, cronyism and corruption" run the Moroccan government, she told UPI. The next parliamentary election in the country is scheduled for 2007, but if held today, Howe said, "The moderate Islamists would win."
Other North African experts have a different take.
Mainstream Islamists would win such an election due to a government moving too slowly on reforms, said Fawa Gerges, Christian A. Johnson Chair in International Affairs and Middle Eastern Studies at Sarah Lawrence, preferring use of the term "mainstream" over "moderate" Islamists.
"The authoritarian government has declined in making a social fabric of secular forces," Gerges said.
"In the last few years, Hassan introduced legislation to empower women and that has been a divisive issue," said Gerges. "The ruling forces are trying to empower and give women a bigger share in the political process."
Howe agreed that the reforms addressing women's issues could have the most potential for positive change in Morocco. "For me, the most hopeful dynamic force is women," she told UPI.
In her book, Howe profiles a number of women, from activists to government cabinet members, who represent some of the changes that have occurred in terms of women's rights. Women were first recognized for their participation in the nationalist struggle that led to Morocco's independence, but Howe acknowledges that progress has been slow.
"Some four decades later, things have changed for women, but not nearly to the extent that I had expected or that most Moroccan women desired," Howe wrote.
In terms of democracy in Morocco, change is also slow, but encouraging, according to Jim Ketterer, director of the Center for International Development at the State University of New York. "... Building a democracy is a slow process."
Ketterer noted recent political appointments to the government, which have included women, and the allowance of a more vocal press.
"The Moroccans have been making incremental changes, but real progress in terms of democratization," Ketterer said.
Alximo, my man! I don't even know what to tell you after I read this article, I need to read it again tomorrow when I'm not tired, but I can tell you one thing, while I have nothing against Islam, and nothing against people who do not use Islam to spread hatred and terrorism, I hope and pray that people in Morocco think real hard about what kind of country they want to live in before they vote, It is, nonetheless, a real good article, Thank you for sharing it with us.
Alximo, The minister is limiting his dialogue to just 2 groups:
She wrote: "The challenge we face is how to adapt our religious traditions to a modern reality," Toufiq said, emphasizing that this would entail a dialogue between "extremists" and "moderates
How about the others ? They have nothing to say......... Do we need absolutely our religious traditions to run a modern Morocco???
Can modern reality match our religious traditions ??
can modern reality put any thing in question ?
Oh boy ????
Sorry I am just a little confused and these creasy questions did show up in my mind.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/07/2005 03:22 by Krim.
chargement...
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