Morocco's King Mohammed VI is not the ruthless brute his father was, but his thin skin and paranoia mean that Morocccan minorities still pay a heavy price. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
It's not clear what Shiites and homosexuals have to do with each other. Some Shiites are homosexuals (don't tell Mahmoud Ahmadinejad). Some homosexuals are Shiites. Nothing new, unusual or assailable there.
Except in Morocco.
That relatively tolerant country (relative, that is, to Saudi Arabia or Egypt, which is not saying much in the Middle East) has suddenly decided to launch a targeted crusade of repression against homosexuals and Shiites. Go figure. Either the worldwide economic crisis is severe enough in Morocco that the country is trying for more efficient repression by way of package deals, or the alternately reclusive and far-flinging King Muhammad VI is getting even more paranoid than usual and taking it out on easy and visible victims.
"Certain media are taking a stand for certain ignominious behaviors, which is a provocation for the national public opinion," a statement by the Moroccan Interior Ministry read on Saturday. "Any act contrary to moral or religious values will be repressed."
Where do the Shiites come into play in this? Morocco's Shiites who, in a country of 34 million, amount to fewer people than could fit in a good-size stadium. (More than 99 percent of Morocco is Sunni Muslim, and the next two largest minorities are Christians and Jews. Shiites are distant fourth in demographic groupings.) Well, earlier this month I noted that Morocco was engaging in an odd war of words with Iran over Iran's verbal slight of Bahrain. Iran has historically considered Bahrain part of its Persian realms, but it has also generally behaved enough to keep its ambitions rhetorical. When a high Iranian official reminded Bahrain of its history recently, Bahrain got upset and threatened to sever a few business ties, but the spat was quickly settled. Morocco took Bahrain's side--or, rather, the Bahraini government's side, which is Sunni Muslim, although the majority of Bahrain's population is Shiite.
What we had there was a curious proxy war between the Middle East's two ideological powers: Sunnis and Shiites, or, if you prefer, Saudi Arabia (Sunni) and Iran (Shiite) playing it out over Bahrain. But Saudi Arabia doesn't make its proxy fights too public. It likes pawns. Its pawn, in this case, appears to be Morocco, which is happy to oblige. So Morocco's been accusing Iran of attempting to destabilize the Moroccan kingdom by fomenting trouble by way of Morocco's six and a half Shiites. Absurd, but true.
And now Morocco is rounding up the usual Shiites. "Rights groups," AFP reports, "say about a dozen people have since been arrested in working class neighborhoods of northern Morocco towns on suspicion they had converted to Shiite Islam. The Moroccan Association for Human Rights warned that "the war being waged by Morocco against belonging to the Shiite rite" is against the country's strong move recently toward democracy and civil liberties."
But should we really be surprised by Morocco? This is a country where, last September, a blogger from Agadir, Muhammad Erraji, was sentenced to two years in prison for questioning Muhammad VI's habit of doling out gifts on cross-country trips designed to regain the favor of the Moroccan people (the king has a habit of leaving the country for months at a time). This is a country where journalists are routinely jailed for political reasons, where Nadia Yassine, daughter of the leader of Morocco’s largest Islamist group, al-Adl wa al-Ihsan (Justice and Benevolence), faces trial for remarking casually that she wouldn't mind seeing Morocco become a republic.
Maybe the crackdown against gays and Shiites isn't unusual after all. It's all of a piece: the latest expression of a regime's foibles and phobias. Maybe the king should take another trip--to the Magic Kingdom. On Gay Days, He might learn something about true tolerance, to say nothing of true, mouse-eared royalty.
Comments
well, you can ask the US and UK government any question regarding Morocco as King Mohammed VI does not even move before informing them.
The target is Shiites (because of Iran) and Homosexuals are the flavour
The national Morocco gay group is Kifkif. Their website is http://www.gaymaroc.net. Islamic countries aren’t any different than non-Islamic countries when it comes to politics so never let the word Islam or Christianity or Judaism or any other religion reduce your expectations for governments to uphold human rights. Moroccans deserve full human rights protection by birthright, not popularity.
i can feel certain frustration and objectless opinions in this article, is for this i will simply not give any importance to an article writer who belong to the Guy community, which I am not against, but for sure I am against atacking by fabulations and deductions my king and my country, Morocco from far is the most open islamic country, and I am proud of it, and regarding chiism, you can see the last Iranian move ” yesterday in Mauritania” this is just a confirmation that shiism is really spreading in the region, and I don’t think that Europe will be happy to have the most important ally turning tu a chiit country, ‘ who knows once iran became a nuclear bomb owner, the world powr balances will change’ so you have to be more than worry about this.
Well what Western countries tend to forget is that their closest neighbour is an Islamic country hence the bother with gay issues.
You can not simply impose western values onto a sunni society. You can however remind them their duty as to protect all its national subjects Gays included from public fallout.
All the ruling kings of Middle east are Slaves of US and its allies and ready to accept all the proposals of the US.But there is one Dauntless Lion in the region and its people who want US to bow down in front of them.So I guess it good to call these kings as gays and not the particular community stated in the above topic.
Well, sorry to burst your bubble BUT MOROCCO IS NOT IN THE MIDDLE EAST IGNORANTS!!!
Study geography first before attacking political science!!
James, I’m glad you bring up that point, though could do without the yelling. There is no such thing as a “Middle East.” Middle east according to whom? to what? It’s an arbitrary concept. Like other irrational, arbitrary concepts (race, religion, hair color) it’s a definition of history and customs rather than fact. But it’s generally agreed upon that, for whatever reasons (Eurocentrism chief among them) there is such a thing as a Middle East, at least to make the reading of newspapers and About.com sites easier: we need certain agreed-uppn parameters if we’re to ever have fairly coherent discussions.
Now, you may fairly argue that the Middle East, by those Eurocentric standards, is only the lands between the Nile and the Tigris and Euphrates. Fine. But I define the Middle East more broadly as a political, cultural and social world, interlaced and politically interbred, from Mauritania to the West (since Mauritania is, oddly, part of the Arab world) to Pakistan to the East, since Pakistan is fatally linked to Afghanistan, itself fatally linked to Middle East and central Asian dynamics. It’s kind of like North Dakota: is it the Midwest or the West? I happen to think of the Dakotas as Western states when, technically, they’re Midwestern, but who really cares in the end, when issues and ideas matter more than geography?
The real question is: what has your concern got to do with the issues raised by Mohammed VI’s bigoted repression of Shiites and homosexuals?
This article is a waste of server space and bandwidth. Let me contribute to the silliness.
So OK, there’s a big “war on drugs” going on in Morocco right now, let’s link that to the Iranian issue. Oh, Morocco has seen a good rainy season this year, maybe it has something to do with gays being repressed.
Yeah, exactly…WTF!!
Nice picture you chose! It shows what message you are trying to communicate. I see your article along the same lines as the garbage that comes out the mouths of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and the likes. Yes, hate speech.
You spoke of the Dakotas, I am sure they are very accepting of homosexuality up there…NOT. The MAJORITY of Americans fall into that same category. Maybe you should take a road trip around the “Bible Belt”. Forget about Daytona, Miami or…hah, Key West. Go to the heartland, the people that pride themselves the most on being Americans. Those type of feeling are common among politicians too, it’s not just the public.
Why should countries in “the middle east” be held to higher standards? Journalists like yourself have repeatedly criticized different practices and sometimes rightfully so. However, the blame has been put on “middle east”, Islam, foreign goverments…
I understand your area of concentration is “the middle east” but the next time you wake up feeling like trashing some “middle eastern” country, take a look at your own backyard. Chances are it’s just as filthy if not worse.
Mon cher Pierre, I am sorry to say you have failed miserably on this article. You showed a total lack of logic and coherence. I hope you do better next time.
BTW, According to some NSA employee. If one is from a Muslim, Arabic speaking country; that person is from the middle east. Middle east is a geopolitical term, kind of like “the west”.
Could I just remind everyone that Morocco is a sovereign country. It is the duty of its government to enforce law and protect its citizens against immorality, drug abuse, and foremost above all, its national security againt extremism. Surely Europe will not be happy to see another mini-Iran at its borders …
Like any other civilzed country, Morocco is a tolerant society, and its people will never allow their country to become another scene for Iran to fund extremist groups like hizbullah or Hamas.
Have the world forgotten about Lebanon?
Freedom has limits!
Moroccan, a couple of points.
First, let’s go by facts, not assumptions: The majority of Americans are not intolerant of homosexuality. The very latest Gallup poll on that matter found Americans evenly divided, 48-48, on the “morality” of homosexuality. That’s not a compliment to Americans. In my book it merely means that 48 percent are still bigoted enough to think homosexuals immoral, which is no different than saying (as so many at one time did) that blacks are not the equal of whites, and just as absurd as suggesting that blue-eyed people are morally superior to brown-eyed ones. (I have brown eyes, and I know I’m superior, at least in height, to some blue-eyed specimens, being 6 feet tall.)
Second, that bigotry exists in the Dakotas, or the entire United States regarding gays, doesn’t justify it in Morocco or Beirut or your subdivision. Bigotry is not the standard. Human rights are. In matter of gay rights, there is no such thing as “local customs” overriding rights. There’s rights, and there’s the absence of rights. End of story. If it bothers you that I’m “trashing” a Middle Eastern country over human rights, too bad. No apologies from this end, but one suggestion: get used to it. This site is in part dedicated to documenting (and denouncing) bigotry and repression in all its forms. These days, the Middle East, including Israel and Morocco, is a daily black hole of both.
Justifying Morocco’s sudden squirt of homophobia by way of calling attention to other countries’ homophobia is like saying that Israel’s demolishing of Gaza is acceptable since the United States did the same to Iraq. Convenient sophistry, but not a just argument.
Finally, I’d suggest we not take our cues from the NSA on geography or any other definitions. It’s a spying agency. Not a reference.
Yamanda, what on earth has Lebanon got to do with it, and how does repressing gays and Shiites play into liberties of any kind? Incidentally, your Orwellian phrase, “Freedom has limits,” is the reigning oxymoron of Middle Eastern authoritarianism.
No my dear, freedom does not have limits when it comes to individual rights that in no way infringe on others. And it isn’t up to you, me or any government on earth to define those limits. Only to ensure freedom’s protection against those who would want to set limits.
I’m amazed, simply amazed, by the outpouring of defenses for bigotry in this thread, though really not surprised: repression’s endurance depends on its accomplices. A place even as allegedly tolerant as Morocco obviously isn’t lacking for them.
I :heart: pierre.
michaelben, I see you heart and raise you a hug. (Or a handshake.)
Morrocco is an Islamic country.Regardless of how well the population or the king and government officials practice it in their own homes is irrelevant. It is an Islmic country and Islam is clear on homosexuality. Wether or not you like it, it is something that is forbidden in Islam. So when some media groups are trying to push for the Morroccan government to allow gays to openly say “Hey we are Gay and we want “Gay” Rights” then this is obviously something that is going way over the line. How can they go against their own religion and show support for that?
Yes, there are Muslims who are gay or bisexual… that still doesn’t negate the fact Islamic law clearly is against it. We can not let people’s wants and whims define religious laws; this is how cults and different sects begin.
Futhermore, you have no right to say what should be tolerated in another society. What is the norm in one society is not always the case in another. This is why there is a such thing as culture shock! The United States and Morrocco have similarities between them but I am sure there are still big differences in the two cultures and their values. I am sick of people from the “West” thinking that it is their way or the high way!
Another thing– Shiites and gays how did you lump those two together? Those are obliviously two seperate issues and should have been discussed as such.
Mom, Islamic law is wrong. The Koran is wrong.
More than that: it’s inhuman, because how can something as human as homosexuality be termed against anything, be it religious or civil? If it is, whoever terms it so is blaspheming human dignity far more gravely than any presumed act of blasphemy against a mere prophet or his teachings. We must respect Islam as a religion. That doesn’t mean we should respect some of its abjectly revolting and inhuman teachings anymore than we should accept the Catholic church’s similarly regressive bulls on that and other matters. To the contrary. It’s our responsibility as thinking, feeling, justice-loving human beings to be outraged and to reject and reform in no uncertain terms inane prohibitions, whatever their provenance. When a law is wrong, it must be opposed, rejected and changed. When a religious teaching, or a religion, is wrong, as religions often are (and with devastating effect), it’s our responsibility to change it.
It’s a cop-out to hide behind the Koran or “Islamic Law” when it is our responsibility, yours and mine, to demolish those veils for what they are: bigotries, impure and unacceptable.
As for the pairing of Shiites and homosexuals: I suspect you did not read the post too closely. It wasn’t my pairing, but that of the right honorable regime of Morocco. You are obviously a thoughtful being with heart and mind to spare: I look forward to your reply.
pierre… how can u say dat islamic law is wrong?or quran is wrong? i pity u and ur so called knowledge…..indeed ALLAH has put a seal on u and ur so called knowledge and indeed ALLAH does not guide a hypocrite like u………there r millions of enemies of islam and ur 1 of them but u all are helpless creatures who can only show ur hatred towards islam but u can never harm islam…..and an ignorant person like u can never understand quran unless my lord ALLAH guides u and i guess ur not lucky enough 2 understand de word of ALLAH……ALLAH HU AKBAR…..ALLAH IS GREAT….
Pierre, pierre pierre…Why don’t you do some research, and lots of reading before you start attacking the Kingdom of Morocco, The King of Morocco, and the people of Morocco…
First of all, and this is to correct your information from your other articles you wrote about Morocco: Mohamed VI is not the 3rd king of the Alaouite Dynasty, his ancestors had been ruling Morocco since 1666, and Islam widely spread in Morocco since 780… and NO he is not a Dictator, and YES we Moroccans Love and respect him…and NO he is not going anywhere…Long Live The KING..
Morocco has always been a Kingdom, a constitutional Monarchy, our religion is Islam Sunnis …so yes shiites are not welcome to spread germs of chaos and discord in our unity, and yes it is the state’s duty to keep this unity and the peace of our country…and we do not need your permission or your opinion about the way or the manner we protect our INTERNAL union and Harmony…
Second, as an Islamic country, just like in the Bible and in the Thorah Gay people are not really alloed to be different, let alone express their differences in the open -if they managed to get this freedom in the West. Good for them- …In an Islamic country, the parameters are totally different…
The constitution of our country clearly stipulates what is permissible and what is not, gay rights is not part of what is permissible…I do not expect you to understand that either, you are not Muslim, so keep your Islamophobia, and your judgments to yourself, and do not try to construct out of your erratic, subjective, impartial, and inconsistent thoughts a pathetic -so called- journalistic article…do not even attempt to hide behind Freedom of speech or Human rights… Respect Morocco’s RIGHTS to conduct its internal policy the way they see it fit for them…
Freedom is not the same everywhere, if it is ok in the West to be freely naked, it is not considered ok in Islamic countries…Freedom is subjective, and what works for certain cultures does not necessarily work for others…
So please stop wasting your time and energy and space…Kindly refrain from criticizing our KING, you are not Free or welcome to do so -remember Freedom is subjective- kindly refrain from comparing him to a bunch of nouveau riche, arriviste, social climber, power sick Arab presidents, HE is Royalty not a commoner like them (I am sure you cannot understand that as well)…
When Morocco and the people of morocco will decide to think differently, we will do it without your help…so thank you for your insight but it is useless speech…
So I leave you in peace being a journalist and suggest that
you write more about Lebanon, It is really located geographically in The Middle East and it is more into your expertise….HIS MAJESTY the KING of Morocco is out of your league…and so are Moroccans
Carpe Diem
About Shiism in Morocco: If you are talking about the Iranian brand of Shiism, that should definitely be curbed in Morocco and, indeed, in any other Arab country. This is for both theological and socio-political reasons. Nobody wants Iranian influence and an eventual dominance of Iran in the Arab world.
Regarding gays in Morocco, it is unfortunate that actually many people, gay and straight, anywhere in the world abuse the human rights concept and go as far as claiming that it is the right of gays and lesbians to adopt babies and raise them in a gay or lesbian “family” environment, as is the case in the US, for example. It is a crime that certain human rights activists condone. I don’t think this situation applies to Moroccan gays … yet. That is why it is prudent to control it from the very beginning before it becomes, some day, a pervasive and uncontrollable cancer in Moroccan society.
It is naïve to criticize Morocco for cracking down on gays without first trying to understand the reasons behind it. It is equally naïve to start brandishing the banner of human rights and not see the realism and wisdom behind such a move. Do you think Morocco is a western society where fear of religious extremists is never a threat to either the gays themselves or the government? Giving too much freedom and blindly adopting human rights a la western in an Arab Muslim country could be political suicide and would mean trouble from terrorist fundamentalists lurking in the background.
Islam is not and has never been against just any western influence. There is nothing wrong with selectively and constructively emulating certain positive aspects of western culture and behavior where ethics and moral values are upheld. But publicly declaring one’s frowned-upon sexual orientation in a predominantly Muslim country and doing it probably because it is common practice in the West these days is an abrupt and unwise affront to Moroccan Muslim feelings and mores.
Very well put, Maya!
Incidentally, Pierre … why are YOU, a non-Muslim, defending “the right of Moroccans” to be Shiites when the whole world (Arab World, US, Europe, etc.) dreads Shiites? Before you take positions, educate yourself about Islam and Shiites instead of blindly following western main stream negative propaganda set on defaming True Islam, its great Prophet, and the wisdom of the Moroccan King. VIVE LE ROI Mohammed VI … regardless of your destructive and naive criticsm!
homosexulity is not accepted in our culture and fullstop.they have the right to choose what they are , and we have the right not to accept them.I am against,as they are for , I don t like, in the same way they like … those who do not understand the muslim -arbic culture and custom , can´t give opinion about things they ignore,as I can not criticise cristians for many things they practise.