Morocco: Update to MAR33289.E 8 December 1999, MAR33357.F of 29 December 1999, MAR34797.E of 7 July 2000 and on the Justice and Charity Association (Jamâat Al Adl Wal Ishane) and the treatment of its members by the authorities

On Friday 29 January 2000, Abdessalam Yassine, leader of the Justice and Charity Association (Jamâat Al Adl Wal Ishane), released a memorandum in which he suggested that the fortune of Hassan II be used to pay off Morocco's foreign debt (Le Monde 1 Feb. 2000). He also questioned the capabilities of the new king, Mohammed VI, to implement real changes in Morocco (ibid.). For the complete text of the memorandum, please consult the Website of Abdessalam Yassine.

On 14 March 2000, the members of Justice and Charity participated in a rally which gathered hundreds of thousands of militants in the streets of Rabat to demonstrate against the Moroccan government's proposal to give more rights to women (Le Monde 14 Mar. 2000; arabia.com 14 Mar. 2000). The Justice and Charity Association constitutes the most important Islamist movement in Morocco but is not allowed to form a political party (Le Monde 14 Mar. 2000).

On Friday 19 May 2000 at 11:00 the authorities ended the house arrest imposed more than 10 years earlier on Abdessalam Yassine (Le Monde 22 May 2000). Le Monde quoted Abdessalam Yassine's daughter, Nadia, who stated that her father was now a free person, nevertheless the same day, according to her, the newspaper of the association was seized by the authorities (ibid.).

On 20 May 2000, Abdessalam Yassine gave a press conference which was attended by major Western media such as Le Monde and Agence France Presse (AFP) (Yassine 20 May 2000). According to Yassine, Justice and Charity Association is still "under arrest": they are prevented from visiting their members in prison (five of them have allegedly received life sentences); they cannot circulate freely; and the association itself is banned (ibid.). For the complete text of the press conference, please consult the Website of Abdessalam Yassine.

In an interview given to the Moroccan magazine Maroc Hebdo International, the Moroccan Minister of Interior, Ahmed Midaoui, specified that the Islamic leader is now free, but if he does something illegal or does not respect Moroccan institutions, the law will be applied as is the case for any Moroccan citizen (19-25 May 2000). In particular, as reported by the Manchester Guardian Weekly quoting a statement from Ahmed Midaoui to Le Monde: "'Unless [Yassine] respects the sacred laws of the kingdom, he will suffer the consequences. Any spoken or written statement that is not in keeping with our institutions will be punished. The state has its rules, and freedom is not the same thing as anarchy" (31 May 2000).

According to Middle East International, in June 2000, the ministry of Islamic affairs proclaimed the reopening of the mosques in Morocco "from dawn until last prayers," a demand that Al Adl Wal Ishane had made earlier, however a few days later the Moroccan authorities reversed their decision and cancelled the reopening of the mosques (14 July 2000, 16).

Middle East International notes as well that: " ... Morocco's Islamists are gaining prominence in the public arena, but they are struggling to find places to congregate openly" (ibid.). At beginning of June, the Moroccan government formally forbade the Islamists from camping on the beaches (Maroc Hebdo International 14 June-20 July 2000). The security forces intervened twice at Mehdia, a beach north of Rabat, to dismantle the Islamist gatherings (ibid.). Middle East International reported that on 2 July 2000, the Moroccan police forces arrested 22 members of Al Adl Wal Ishane in Mehdia (14 July 2000). The police accused the followers of "violating the recent prohibition on 'traditional bathing', i.e. both men and women swimming with their clothes on" (ibid.). On 4 July, the police also dismantled a camp in Kenitra, 40 kms from Rabat, and arrested 22 Muslim followers gathered there (MET 14 July 2000). Moroccan officials accused the Islamists of using these camps to recruit young followers (ibid.). Middle East Times quotes an independent analyst saying that:

Over the past seven years Muslim fundamentalists have set up summer camps near the beaches of Tetouan, Nador and Saaidaya on the Mediterranean coast and others near Casablanca and Agadir. Dubbed Al Mukhayamat Al Islamiya Al Sayfiya (Islamic summer camps), they gathered more than 200,000 people, mainly supporters of Al Adl Wal Ishane, including veiled women and young girls (4 Aug. 2000).

After the ban was imposed on beach summer camps, Nadia Yassine tried to plan some other types of activities for members of the Association, but in Tangiers, for instance, buses were not able to leave the city for the forest outings that had been organized (ibid.).

Fathallah Arsalane, a prominent member of Al Adl Wal Ishane claimed that the Moroccan authorities " ... are launching a large-scale war against all our activities and banning even religious activities that had been authorized by the government ... The security forces are engaging in provocative hot pursuits after our leader, wherever he goes. In fact, the heavy security presence around his house in [Rabat's twin city] Sale had never been lifted. It only moved further away from his house." (ibid. 14 July 2000).

In a July 2000 article, Le Monde diplomatique quotes Mohamed Tozy, specialist on Islam in Morocco and professor at Hassan II University in Rabat, who stated the following concerning the importance of the Islamist movement in Moroccan society:

The Islamists are a convenient distraction, enabling the government to justify its inaction and non-existent reforms, and easily accuse its critics of being provocative. Plans to reform women's status have been shelved because they would help the Islamists. There will be no early, truly democratic elections because they would benefit the Islamists. Nothing will really be done to modernise social mores for that, too, would play into their hands. But they're not really as important as all that. And in political terms, since the accession of Muhammad VI and his popularity with the poor, they've even been on the defensive. Yassin's supporters were far from unanimous in their reception of his memorandum. Many saw it as sudden and ill-judged. The pious middle classes thought it was a crime of lèse-majesté. Even the talk about repatriating Hassan II's fortune is old news. Yassin just dug up a widespread rumour that's been around for months. In the end, the memorandum had very little effect. The Islamists are most concerned about what will happen to their own movement if and when Yassin, who is very old, dies. The main issue is who will be his successor.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

arabia.com. 14 July 2000. "Morocco Islamists Flex Muscle at Rally." 14 March 2000. [Accessed 7 Nov. 2000]

Manchester Guardian Weekly [London]. 31 May 2000. Jean-Pierre Tuquoi. "Morocco Lifts House Arrest of Islamist Leader." (NEXIS)

Maroc Hebdo International [Rabat]. 14 June-20 July 2000. Noureddine Jouhari. "La guerre d'été." [Accessed 10 Nov. 2000]

_____. 19-25 May 2000. Abdellah Chankou. "L'islamisme est une hérésie." [Accessed 8 Nov. 2000]

Middle East International [London]. 14 July 2000. Nick Pelham. "Image and Reality."

Middle East Times (MET) [London]. 4 August. "Morocco to Control Radicals." [Accessed 10 Nov. 2000]

_____. 14 July 2000. Rawhi Abeidoh. "Morocco Said Tightening Noose Round Islamist." [Accessed 10 Nov. 2000]

Le Monde [Paris]. 22 May 2000. Jean-Pierre Tuquoi. "Au Maroc, la première sortie d'Abdessalam Yassine; le leader islamiste, assigné à résidence depuis plus de dix ans, a pu quitter son domicile pour se rendre dans une mosquée." (NEXIS)

_____. 14 March 2000. Jean-Pierre Tuquoi. "Au Maroc, les islamistes gagnent du terrain face aux partisans de la modernité; deux grandes manifestations pour et contre un nouveau statut de la femme ont eu lieu dimanche." (NEXIS)

_____. 1 February 2000. "Affecter la fortune d'Hassan II au paiement de la dette extérieure." (NEXIS)

Le Monde diplomatique [Paris]. July 2000. Ignacio Ramonet. "New Hope, Old Frustrations. Morocco: the Point of Change." [Accessed 8 Nov. 2000]

Yassine, Abdessalam. 20 May 2000. "Conférence de presse." [Accessed 7 Nov. 2000]