By Tarik El Barakah

Morocco World News

Agadir, July 8, 2013

Months of escalating tension between the Istiqlal Party (IP) and the party of Justice and Development (PJD), the major components of the ruling coalition in Morocco, have come to an end after the executive committee of the IP decided on Monday to implement its suspended decision to withdraw from the PJD-led government and join the opposition.

Adil Ben Hamza, the spokesperson of the IP announced in a video posted on the party’s official page on Facebook that Hamid Chabat, the Secretary General of the IP, made a phone call with King Mohammed VI to inform him of his party’s final decision to withdraw from the government after what he described as “desperate” attempts to avoid this outcome.

According to the same source, the decision will take effect tomorrow when all of the party’s ministers participating in the coalition will resign their government posts.

By Youssef El Kaidi

Morocco World News

Fez, July 8, 2013

Morocco had its own ‘Arab Spring’, political parties should propose practical reform plans instead of repeating old slogans, the term ‘Arab Maghreb’ is exclusionary, and Algeria floods Morocco with smuggled consumer goods and dangerous products.

In an interview with Al-Charq Al-Awsat newspaper, Dr.Saad Eddine Al-Ottomani, Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and head of the National Council of the Justice and Development Party, said that Morocco went through its “Arab Spring” its own way and made political reforms under stability and the continuity of its constitutional policy.

 Dr. Al-Ottomani stressed that the king’s pre-emptive measures and proposal of a “bold” constitution calmed down the angry masses and opened the door on new reforms, describing the battle against corruption as a long-term battle and not a matter of one day or one year.

Dr. Al-Ottomani, who gave the interview on the sidelines of his participation in the International Conference on Nuclear Security hosted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, called on political parties in Morocco to go beyond the conventional ideological slogans and propose practical reform programs that would advance Morocco at the social and economic levels.

Regarding the decision of the Independence Party to withdraw from the government led by the Justice and Development Party Dr. Al-Ottomani said: “There is no doubt that there are problems, and we cannot pretend that everything is going well. It’s true that a political party within the coalition resigned from the government, but, practically, it did not officially submit its resignation. The government continues operating in a normal way. Now there is no cabinet reshuffle on the table, but if the Independence Party officially confirms its resignation change is likely to happen.”

Answering a question on the suitability of the designation of the “Arab Maghreb,” Dr. Al-Ottoani said that this designation doesn’t go in line with the new constitution because it excludes the Amazigh people of North Africa.

 “In the countries of the Maghreb Union, there are many Amazigh. In Morocco, the Amazigh constitute the majority, and the new constitution also speaks of the Maghreb, and recognizes Tamazight as an official language alongside Arabic. Thus, I called before for to use the “Maghreb Union,” because it’s more appropriate,” said El Ottomani.

Concerning the relationship with Algeria and the closed borders since 1994, Dr.Al-Ottothe Minister said that Algeria’s allegations against Morocco are “unacceptable and baseless”

. Algeria accuses Morocco of lenience with drug traffickers while, in fact, it’s Morocco that suffers from cross-border smuggling of different items like gasoline and psychiatric drugs that flood the markets of eastern Morocco, he said.  

When asked about the time the borders between Algeria and Morocco will re-open, he said: “Good question, but it should be directed to our brothers (in Algeria) who closed them. From our part, the borders are open.”

By Yassmine Zerrouki

Morocco World news

Rabat, July 8, 2013

It is taken for granted that media is a very biased source of information and news. When thinking about this matter, one finds it totally illogical and unfair not to have a neutral media. Nowadays, and with all the mess and the chaos in different parts of the Arab world, specifically in Syria and Egypt, it has become so difficult to fully understand what’s going on. We get different news and hear countless versions of the same events on a daily basis. When reading newspapers and watching news on TV, one finds oneself very confused and the real question that comes to mind is: what should one believe and what should one ignore?

A concrete example is the media coverage of today’s inhumane massacre in Egypt. Some channels like CBC, Al-Hayat, and Dream seem to be victimizing anti-Morsi protesters, who are supporting the Egyptian armed forces. On the other hand, other channels like Al Jazeera and Al Quds seem to be portraying pro-Morsi protesters as the victims of the military’s heavy hand.

In this context, we speak about the same videos spreading here and there, but with different readings and analyses. Each channel shows footage and gives it a meaning that fits its political agenda to influence the viewer.  But who should one trust? And if you are a passive consumer, you’ll readily just swallow what you are being fed.

Today, the political scene in Egypt is more like a play with no script. Every channel wants to write it itself, name it and even sanctify it. Each camp is discrediting the other to serve its ideology. This is done to purportedly achieve democracy, which itself is being given a totally different connotations by the two sides. One might just wonder if the ouster of an elected president by the majority of the people is called democracy, or was it rather better to call for an urgent referendum that could have spear Egypt all that suffering and blood.

Democracy seems to be swinging between ideologies. What makes things worse is the unprofessionalism of Egyptian media and its bias against the Muslim Brotherhood. Egyptian channels have been cheering for the absence of the voice of Islamic channels, which were shut down immediately after General al-Sisi announced the toppling of the President Mohammed Morsi and what he called the road map for the future of the country.

The military has exercised an embargo on the Muslim Brotherhood since the moment the head of the Egyptian army was delivering his statement. This has paved ground for the anti-Morsi and anti-Muslim-Brotherhood channels to monopolize the representation of the events. What is more troubling is the total denial on the part of the anti-Morsi camp of the fact that Morsi was made president by the polls and has a large majority of supporters among the people.

In the face of the incessant flow of information we receive on a daily basis, it is necessary that the foreign viewers be cautious when reading from different sources in order to avoid any manipulation. Here media literacy plays a pivotal role in that it allows the viewer to differentiate between what information is credible and what other is baseless.  It is up to the reader to dig for news in different news outlets before making up his mind about the events unfolding in Egypt.

By Larbi Arbaoui

Morocco World News

Taroudant, July 9, 2013

According to the official website of Prix-villegiature, three Moroccan hotels are nominee for the GRAND PRIX of the Best Hotel in Africa 2013.

The 24 journalists and correspondents of major news media covering five continents, who make up the judges for the honor, selected three Moroccan hotels, namely Sofitel Agadir Thalassa Sea & Spa, Palais Namaskar and Selman Marrakech among the four best hotels in Africa for the year 2013.

The Residence Hotel, Johannesburg in South Africa is also among the nominees for best hotel in Africa.

For the 11th anniversary of the Villegiature Awards, the “Grand Prix of the Best Hotel in Africa” will be revealed on October 14.

The Palais Namaskar in Marrakech has been awarded "Best Hotel of the year 2013" by the famous American magazine Robb Report and was also awarded "Best of the Best Hotels 2013" by Só Safari magazine.

Created in 2003, the Villegiature Awards are presided over by a voting jury comprising

journalists from the world's leading travel media. They reward the best of the best hotels in Europe, in exotic islands and in Africa.

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By Rachid Khouya

Morocco World News

Smara, Morocco, July 9, 2013

Women of the Sahara are not only queens of the tents, they are queens of words as well. Though society does not permit them to write and to speak poetry in public, the princesses and the queens of the desert have escaped to the shadow and created a realm of forbidden poetry that is special, merely for the daughters of Eve.

In the desert, humans are born poets by nature. They use Hassani dialect to depict the eternal moments they live with their relatives, tribes, women, animals and with other elements of culture and nature.

Poetry and the Sahara are twins that go hand in hand and side by side. The Sahara is poetic because of its dunes, herds, sunsets, moons, stars, camels, ships and wolves. On the other hand, poets are an unlimited desert of feelings, tales, adventures and words.

When a child is born, women celebrate his/her birth in poetry and when a person marries, travels, lives, dies, his /her life is written in spoken verses and poems. Poetry is the book of creation and the book of history in the middle of the unlimited Sahara. It is the only means that nomads have to depict their mental and emotional moods.

Tribes poetically write their victories and defeats, their stories and knowledge, their proverbs and games, and their puzzles and spaces. At night, when the moon is shedding its light upon the open deserts, near the rivers or the oasis, mothers gather their kids and teach them the language  of the ancestors and the culture of grandparents in poetry.

Definitely, a woman that learns poetry and teaches it to her sons and daughters must be a poet too. Yes, in the Sahara every girl is a project of a poet, but this conservative society that considers women queens of the tents and golden turbines on the heads of the noble men, paradoxically does not permit women to say poetry in public.

In the Sahara, women have to listen and enjoy male’s poetry and poems. They do not have the right to express their feelings and emotions, to talk about their love stories, to put their love in verses and words, as it is considered a source of family shame and defame. Only males can say and sing in the language of poetry.

But females could not let males of the tribes cut their tongues and deprive them of their existential cultural and literary right to compose verses and poems about the people they love. They revolted against the tribal norms and escaped to their own secret world far from the presence of men and males. They fled to their imaginative tent where they built a beautiful poetic universe: only by females, for females, between females and about males.

According to many scholars from the south of Morocco and Mauritania, 'Tabraa' is a special poetic female gender in the Sahara where women flirt to their beloved boyfriends, and husbands. It is their own refuge to speak freely and frankly in front of other females about their beloved ones. Within this gender, ‘Tabraa’, women get rid of their repressed emotions, desires, love, pain and sufferings, and they compete with each other to see who can say the best verses about their males.

‘Tabraa’ are short poems composed by women, but where they are not allowed to mention the names of their male lovers. They use only symbols and signs and they describe some physical traits of the men they love. They talk about places where they used to meet in pastures, near wells, the rivers or the oasis. They also voice their painful and passion and longing to be beside the men who dwell and own the tents of their hearts.

They talk boldly, plainly, and frankly about their lovers or ex-boyfriends in case they are married to other men. They put the forbidden love in words and depict the unacceptable voices in verses. They break the cages and the shackles of taboos and they bravely express their love and physical and sexual desires. Their poems are sweet small dishes of words cooked on the fire of tree’s leaves, boughs and coal.

These silent burning fires of love and the verses of silent voices are said and heard only inside women’s meetings and the women community. They are not said in public and only women keep saying them as they memorize them by heart and keep passing them from one generation to another, without mentioning the name of the poet or the name of the men they are said about.

Inside these verses that challenge any faithful translation, Sahraoui women wish to be the camel their lovers ride, the clothes they wear, the teeth inside their mouths, the watch in their hands, the camel they milk, the milk they drink or the dish from which they eat or drink, the tree under which they sleep or the turbine they put on their necks and heads. Beautiful images taken from the diction of the Sahara that only men and women of the Sahara feel and understand as they are taken from their natural and cultural contexts.

In brief, the Sahara is full of unwritten poems said by unknown female poets who died and left behind their words. Writers and scholars must collect and save these verses from being lost and put them in books and words.

The beauty of love in the desert has been challenged by the voices of females who talked about their beloved ones far from the eyes and the ears of the males of the authority of tribes. They succeeded to create their own female poetry and to give life to the love they felt inside their hearts. Women in the Sahara are real poems that write, live and breathe poetry. What a beautiful journey inside the kingdom of female poetry of the queens of the tents!

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By Larbi Arbaoui

Morocco World News

Tinejdad, Morocco, July 9, 2013

The South-east of Morocco has been sweating through a summer heat wave for a week before the start of Ramadan.

On the eve of the month of fast, people in the south-east region, known for its extremely hot and dry weather, are concerned that this heat wave would last for more weeks.

The well-to-do families have already rented houses in the Moroccan cities and mountainous areas that are famous for their cool weather during the summer in order to spend the holy month away from the scorching sun of these regions.

“I can’t bear the high temperature in this area during summer. For this reason I prefer to spend this holy month in Imilchil, a small town in central Morocco, in the Atlas Mountains, where the air is cool and fresh,” Ali Darroug, a teacher, told MWN.

Others who can’t afford the expensive travel charges have nothing to do but spend the holy month at home with the help of fans and air-conditioners despite the costly electricity bills.

“In very hot weather like this, a lot of rich people resort to cool areas to spend Ramadan while the less-to-do families, like us, have recourse to God seeking his grace and mercy on such a hot summer,” an old woman told MWN.

The temperature of the region during the summer is usually 40 °C (104 °F), but it goes up to 45 °C (113 °F) especially when the “Shergui,” a very hot wind coming from the east, swept the region.

Now that people are going to fast tomorrow, faith is the only equipment that will help the thirsty people stand about 16 hours of fast.

The World Meteorological Organization defines heat waves as when the daily maximum temperature of more than five consecutive days exceeds the average maximum temperature by 5 °C (9 °F).

By Youssef Sourgo

Morocco World News

Casablanca, July 9, 2013

Fadhel Shaker, the former big-name Lebanese singer, was sentenced to death in absentia on Monday by his country’s military court, according to the Lebanese news website Annahar.

In a video on YouTube Fadhel Shaker had admitted murdering two soldiers and injuring four, during bloody events in Lebanon. The former singer is reported to have formed alongside his brother Abdel Rahman, a militia that targets the Lebanese army and Hezbolllah.

After the siege of Ahmad el-Assir’s mosque by the Lebanese army in 2012, Fadhel Chaker took the arms alongside supporters of Sunni Imam Ahmad el-Assir against the army.

Fadhel Chaker had allegedly threatened to kill Samih el-Zein, the president of the municipality of the city of Sidon in June 2012:

"I'll kill you next time I see you. I consulted my Sheikh (Ahmad al-Asir) who supports me and I'll kill you soon," Fadhel Chaker had told Samih el-Zein, as quoted by Huffpostmaghreb.

Prior to 2012, Fadhel Shaker’s became one of the most acclaimed artists throughout the Arab world. The Lebanese pop star’s music embraced fame since the release of his album Walah Zaman in the 1990s.

In Morocco, Fadhel Shaker’s music was an artistic paradigm and his performance in 10th edition of Mawazine Festival attracted a large number of fans.

He was known as a shy person and a very sensitive artist with an amazing voice. He participated in most famous Arab festivals and had a huge number of fans all over the Arab world.

However, Fadhel Shaker’s inclination to politics was also discernible in his exploitation of the 10th edition of Mawazine to voice his opposition to Bashar Al Assad.

“Allah yakhdu” he said during the concert, which means May God take him away, referring to Bashar Al-Assad.

Fadel Shaker was shot kissing the head of Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir during an anti-Assad Salafi rally in Beirut on Sunday March 4, 2012.

As to his fervent religious activism, the first sparks appeared when rumors of him denouncing art and music prior to his performance in Mawazine were seen as foreshadowing his recent actions in the name of religion.

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By Youssef El Kaidi

Morocco World News

Fez, July 10, 2013

After two years at the head of the government, and despite the harsh criticism directed at him with or without occasion by the opposition and members of the coalition, Morocco’s Prime Minister, Mr. Abdelilah Benkirane, continues to be trustworthy for the majority of Moroccans. The discord created by Hamid Chabat, the Secretary General of the Istiqlal Part, only increased the popularity of the Chief Executive and his team, as revealed by the first political barometer published by Averty Institute.

The results of the investigation conducted by Averty Institute show that 68.5% of respondents trust the head of the government and 65.9% consider him a man of dialogue. Moreover, 55.3% said they were satisfied with the work of the head of the government. By contrast, dissatisfaction vis-à-vis Abdelilah Benkirane was more remarkable in the higher socio-professional categories.

The results of the first political barometer in Morocco produced by Tariq Ibn Ziad Initiative and the Institute of surveys and opinion Averty Market Research & Intelligence survey show that 65.9% of respondents believe that Mr. Benkirane is “a man of dialogue,” 69, 2% find him “close to the concerns of Moroccans,” 55,6% see that he “leads a good social policy,” and 53,7% believe that Mr. Benkirane “manages well the action of his government.”

However, Mr. Abdeilah Benkirane was less valued on his economic management. As a result, the rate of his popularity dropped to 46.8% of the respondents. Besides, the results show that only 45.3% were satisfied at Benkirane’s use of his constitutional prerogatives.

Concerning the Istiqlal Party’s decision to withdraw from the government, 62.1% of respondents believe that it is a bad decision. Among them 44.7% said “this is a very bad decision from the part of the Istiqlal”, against 22.4% who see it as a good decision. The rest of the respondents did not take a position.

As to people’s attitudes towards the opposition, the results show that the level of trust is very low. Only 13,1% of respondents expressed their trust in and support of the opposition. This low score attests to the lack of credibility, seriousness, and efficiency of the opposition. Paradoxically, the minority who trusts the opposition is mainly composed of high and medium socio-professional categories, with an over-representation of women.

Concerning the popularity of Cabinet Ministers, Mr. Saad Eddine El-Othmani, minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, was placed on top of all ministers (86.8%) followed by the minister of Equipment and Transport Mr. Aziz Rebah, then the minister in charge of relations with parliament and civil society Mr. Lahbib Choubani.

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By Youssef Sourgo

Morocco World News

Casablanca, July 10, 2013

Positive political change has been the aim of almost all nations worldwide. Yet, such a common goal has engendered controversy and dissension among nations. But since the goal is one, where does such dissonance emanate from? It is certainly not the subtle shades of gray that an attempt to conceptualize positive change generates. Rather, the disparate political means deployed to achieve such positive change are where parallel roads tend to diverge.

One might argue that the two predominant political methodologies deployed to achieve positive change today are gradualism and revolution. Gradualism is positive change at a “snail’s pace.” Change systematically takes place, and is felt among the people. Yet, the pace of change usually frustrates people who aspire for immediate development. Criticism against gradualism, which is mainly a governmental methodology, unlike revolutions (the people’s means), holds that such theory of positive change is nothing less but a cynical dogma against its own objective.

Is Morocco a country in favor of gradualism? It emphatically is one, since no revolution demanding abrupt and radical change has taken place on its soil. The Kingdom has opted for incremental reforms against the unknown repercussions of post-revolutions. Morocco’s latest constitutional adjustment reverberated the tenets of gradualism, as it brought about a relatively significant change at the executive level, without uncompromisingly altering the entire executive makeup.

Though reforms might sometimes seem relatively hasty in nature, change sought by such methodology usually stretches for a long-term span of time. The justification for gradualism is that any abrupt alteration of a political or economic structure, which has germinated and become rooted in a county’s grounds, would shake its stability and create unbalance in the government. In natural diction, it is obvious the havoc that can erupt if we abruptly eliminate a natural element that had existed since the beginning of existence. The natural cycle of life would, in this case, unquestionably lose its balance.

Gradualism, however, should not always be seen in an idealistic light: The snail does not unremittingly move onward, as it might sometimes stop for a long while before either proceeding onward or turning 360° to go back to where it came from. Some would argue that gradualism, as a political theory of change, did not always produce what it was meant to in Morocco. We are now witnessing a sort of “sleeping snail phase”, in which political parties are undergoing abrupt reconsideration, while they were practically supposed to continue eying the target, which is gradual change. Some seem to have lost track of this target for the time being.  

Nevertheless, gradualism does not always lack the disorganization and subjectivity of its anti-thesis: revolution. Gradualism is also sometimes grounded on empty political platitudes and unrealistic prospects. In a desperate bid to produce a sluggish, yet consistent change, some governments hastily constitute their political foundations, casually appointing officials, ministers and decision makers, regardless of the blatant incongruence in their experiences and background. Gradualism in this case might head straight to civil frustration, and, eventually, implements the seeds of its counter-theory, which is revolution and upheaval.  

What can we say about Egypt in this context? Is Egypt gradualist in its political conceptualization of change, like Morocco’s? Axiomatically not! Egypt opted for the anti-thesis of gradualism the day massive upheavals demanded not reforms, but the downfall of an entire despotic regime. Today, a great segment of its population opted for a complete change, once again, via uncompromising upheavals against the recently discharged president Morsi, who has not yet terminated his presidential term.  

Most recent debates on Egypt’s latest upheaval are now torn between whether to consider it a revolution or a coup. Debates have even reached the stage of tension among representatives of Egypt’s neighboring Muslim and Arab countries. Among these nations are those that were once gradualist in their conception of positive change, but decided at a certain point of time to target change in a rabbit-like pace. The legitimacy of those nations’ involvement in the debate is their experience of revolutions, which thus induces them to relate to the Egyptian plight today.

But what about Morocco? Moroccans also seem similarly divided into two camps on the issue: those in favor of Morsi’s ouster—thus automatically in support of revolution—and those against it. The latter are not necessarily in support of Morsi in person, but rather see in his ouster as a violation of the highest source of legitimacy in any well-established nation, the constitution. This camp also favors gradualism and sees Egypt heading towards a chasm for not having adopted gradualism with the recently toppled president. But is gradualism necessarily the ideal post-revolution phase?

Whether Moroccans legitimize or incriminate current upheavals in Egypt is certainly not an issue. What might seem alarming is to project Morocco’s conceptualization of positive change on that of Egypt or vice versa. Some Moroccans fervently argue in favor of the downfall of Morsi’s regime; yet, they are intrinsically inclined to gradualism as the ideal political theory of positive change. Such contradiction might potentially stir animosity between Moroccans and Egyptians, for it is clearly ironic to support what does not resonate personally.

A small segment, on the other hand, has unthinkably gone the other way around, projecting the Egyptian case on the Moroccan grounds. Facebook pages borrowed the name of Egyptian counter-regime group, “Tamarod,” calling on Moroccans to mimic what is occurring in Egypt, unmindful of the contextual disparities between both nations.

In history, revolution as a theory of change proved to be serviceable in cases where despotic regimes were intolerant of not even the tiniest, sluggish change in their nations. Revolutions in this case were not hasty, nor abrupt. The oppression and local colonization that preceded them had already foreshadowed upheavals stemming out of social hopelessness and frustration. Revolution in this case was the last option, since gradualism was unwelcomed by those tyrannies.

Gradualism also made history. Between 1890s and the early 20^th century, the U.S. resorted to progressive change through radical reforms addressing the plurality of social and political issues that had impeded its development (women’s marginalization, racial segregation, corruption and poor labor, and so forth)[1]. Though protests inevitably erupted afterwards, the democratic dimension of such reforms eventually rendered those new rights constitutional amendments.

Both gradualism and revolution are implementable theories of positive change, and both also have side effects. If Morocco’s was an exception to one theory of change while the bulk of neighboring countries opted for the other theory, this does not necessarily mean that the Kingdom has gone the wrong way. If Egypt opted for revolution over gradualism after the downfall of Hosni Moubarak’s regime, this does not forcibly denote lack of tactic or an inclination to anarchism. Both cases are contextually disparate and have idiosyncratic reasons for favoring one theory of change over the other.

Projecting one’s conceptualization of positive change is nothing less than another sort of colonization, one that is less direct, yet strips one of the right to decide on what best suits his or her context. Through our intervention in political debates external to our context enriches and widens the perspectives of the concerned people, any tendency to force our concepts on those of the other are to be considered illegitimate and even self-centered.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Morocco World News’ editorial policy

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By Youssef Sourgo

Morocco World News

Casablanca, July 10, 2013

What is the day preceding Ramadan like? Overly crowded shops are the first unusual thing one might notice here in Morocco. Consumerism is at its peak, as people do around 10-day to 20-day shopping, packing up their trolleys with all sorts of basic alimentary products.

While streets in Casablanca start being deserted at around 12:00 in normal days, the day before Ramadan is quite an exception. Lights are on, cars and all sorts of vehicles are numberless and streets are more vivid than in daytime.

Shops remain open for two or three hours longer, as people almost unceasingly flock to them to get their last primordial ingredients for the first day of Ramadan. One could almost hear phone ringtones and message rings as people send and receive wishes of a blessed Ramadan from their friends and relatives.

You could also hear kids chatting in the street about who will fast the first day of Ramadan, who will fast more days, or who will barely hold on until a specific hour of the day. Ramadan is in everyone’s talk, and nice wishes are the first couple of words you hear in all conversations you start, and form all people in your neighborhood.

Mosques radiate a new air of enchanting spirituality and worship. Imams offer a series of religious lectures mostly related to Ramadan as a whole, and particularly to certain practices characteristic of the holy month. Street mosques made of tents are set up thanks to the financial contribution of generous Moroccans and to the collective handwork of community representatives.

The homeless and the impoverished become more visible as Ramadan opens its doors. Some Moroccans do not only shop for themselves, but also for the destitute and the orphans. Generosity, a typical trait constituting "Moroccanhood", is best manifested in these very moments.

The majority of people become discernibly more forgiving, tolerant and grateful. You might get a smile from the least person you would expect that from. You might also get a wish message from the person with whom you had a dispute a couple weeks ago, or a helpful hand from the person you’ve always considered a foe.

Spiritual and religious start echoing and all corners of your street, and verses from the enchanting holy book reverberate in almost all houses. Pleasant odors and a vivid atmosphere invade the streets of Morocco, and people seem more than zealous to begin their first day of fasting.

The last day before the first day of Ramadan already foreshadows a month of spirituality; a month of forgiveness and self-actualization; a month of self-redemption; a month during which all inner and external conflicts appear as banalities before supreme causes; a month in which even the most Utopian ideal, equality, becomes nothing less than another reality.   

By Youssef El Kaidi

Morocco World News

Fez, July 10, 2013

Thousands of white people in South Africa are subjected to atrocious acts of racist violence by black population while South African authorities and media keep silent and reticent. Somehow, the same media stirs tumult over human rights when it comes to the Sahara conflict, usually accusing Morocco of human rights abuse and lobbying against its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“If your house is made of glass, don’t pelt others with stone.” It seems that South Africa doesn’t apply this golden rule when it goes blind to the increasing ‘black on white’ violence and deaf to the cries of hundreds of children, women, and men killed, tortured or raped by the black people.

It’s blatantly hypocritical of the South African government to claim it is defending the rights of the Sahroui people while human rights have been continuously abused since 1994, when the National African Congress took over government of South Africa. Maintaining the apartheid practices at home and claiming the defense of human rights abroad is simply a double standards and hypocritical approach.

Since the eve of 2013, 230 ‘black on white’ attacks were reported on the South African soil according to CNNiReport. 97 were murdered, 17 women and 2 men were raped usually by a whole gang, 3 people were left with permanent brain damage and one person paralyzed.

There were also 102 farm attacks during which 30 people were murdered. Morocco World News has obtained a detailed list of 55 white women murdered by unknown black males since 15 May 2012 to date in South Africa. This appalling genocide, white South Africans claim, has been going on for the past 20 years while the world kept quiet and enjoyed the show.

On July 6, 2013, a petition was launched on Avaaz.org to “save the white people and stop the genocide.” Only three days after its launch, the petition was signed by 2,027 from around the world. Some activists have also created a Facebook page named “Please help stop rape and genocide in South Africa” to raise consciousness towards racism in SA and expose what local media choose to hide. The page posts graphic pictures and videos of victims being tortured, mutilated, or murdered.

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Morocco World News with MAP

Fez, July 10, 2013

True and loyal to its reputation as a land of peace, tolerance and cultural diversity, the city of Fez, again, gives the world a lesson in what should be the relationship between followers of monotheistic religions. A few months after the inauguration- a highly symbolic act - of the synagogue Slat Al Fassiyine, Fez last week lived a moment of intense emotion with the distribution of several wheelchairs by Moroccan Jews to their Muslim compatriots.

The event is indeed rare in these times of exacerbation of intolerance, ostracism, fanaticism of all stripes and religious conflicts. And in this context, it is perhaps only Morocco, such an exceptional country, which can offer this virtuous and saving model of living together, of civilizational dialogue and coexistence between cultures and religions.

The place of the event also has got a symbolic value and speaks to the tradition of tolerance and communion between men of different cultures and religions in the imperial city of Fez. As for the context, it is also of paramount importance. The Maimonides center, a gathering place for the Jewish community in Fez which witnessed this act of solidarity with people with special needs, was built in memory of the great Jewish theologian and philosopher, who was forced to leave Andalusia to find refuge in Morocco.

The ceremony of the distribution of wheelchairs was organized a few days before the start of Ramadan a month of fast and devotion, support and solidarity with the poor. Indeed, the distribution of wheelchairs was a very symbolic act.

 As they have done many times and throughout history, the Jews of Fez showed on this occasion how they are sensitive to the sufferings of their fellow Muslims, especially those who have special needs, who are sick or do not have the means to live a normal life. Last year, the same Jews of Fez had distributed a large batch of medical and paramedical equipment to emergency services centers and units of the Moroccan Red Crescent. These actions say that the solidarity of these Moroccans is deep rooted.

“We just continue this solidarity between Muslims and Jews for whom Fez is the city of predilection and the favorite haunt par excellence,” Armand Guigi, president of the Jewish community of Fez, Oujda, and Sefrou told MAP.

This solidarity with people with special needs “is part of coexistence and cohabitation that has lasted for centuries between Jews and Muslims,” ??he added.

Indeed, this sublime example of coexistence among believers is not isolated in the history of the spiritual capital of the Kingdom. A few months ago, the international community shared with Morocco an event of great human significance when prominent representatives of the three monotheistic religions attended the inauguration, placed under the patronage of King Mohammed VI, of the synagogue Slate Al fassiyine.

It was indeed a moment of great emotion to see, in one place, the head of government, Abdelilah Benkirane, alongside the President of the Bundestag, Norbert Lammert, the Advisor of King, André Azoulay, and many other Muslim, Christian and Jewish leaders, for the inauguration of the temple of the memory of the Jewish community in Fez and the affirmation of the Moroccan plural identity.

The message sent by the King to the participants in the inauguration rightly points out that the Hebrew feature “is today, as stated by the new Constitution of the Kingdom, one of the tributaries of the secular national identity.”

André Azoulay considered the opening of the Jewish synagogue in Fez as “a moment that expresses strength, rich history of Morocco and the diversity of all its components.”

What other country could present today such a combination of symbols to project to the world this beautiful image of tolerance, coexistence, harmony and respect for differences of religious beliefs?

Translated by Youssef El Kaidi

By Rachid Khouya

Morocco World News

Smara, Morocco, July 10, 2013

When  we talk about Ramadan, the first thing that comes to the minds of non-Muslims is that it is a month where Muslims do not eat, drink, or sleep with their wives from sunrise to sunset. This is not right.

Ramadan is a month where our lives are well organized. Everything is done according to a schedule. We pray, eat, wake up and work at the same time every day. The night is for eating, worshipping and sleeping, and the day is for working, worshiping and fasting.

Ramadan is a month where we do not only fast, but we eat as well. It is the only month where special tables are prepared for thirty days, the month where all kinds of food and drinks are served and the month where women show their skills and artistic cooking talents.

Muslims are asked to eat and  fast. Those who are healthy have to fast, but not for the sake of fasting, being hungry or starving. God does not want to make us  suffer as some people make it sound. This is not the objective behind Ramadan.

When Muslims fast, it is an opportunity to control their whims and instinctive  desires. This is a chance where we are put to a real test to see to what extent we can enslave the calls of desires and whims, and to what extent we can control ourselves.

It is hard for someone feeling hungry to stand in a kitchen full of food  and control his hands without daring  to take some of the sweets and cakes and put them in his/her mouth.

It is even harder for a person being alone at his home to open his fridge and find all kinds of drinks and fruits, cold water and cold juices and alcohol, being both hungry and tirsty, and still  challenges his nature and his addiction and says no to drinking and no to eating.

Another objective behind Ramadan is to let those who eat for a whole year and those who have never felt what it means to be hungry or thirsty,  to discover the sufferings and the pain of the poor people who die of starvation, poverty and drought.

This is the month where we sympathize with those who do not have, we share with them, we feed them, we invite them, we help and support them, and we understand their social status and their pain.

On the other hand, as God asked healthy humans to fast, he ordered those who are unhealthy and those who cannot  fast to eat. Thus Ramadan is a month where the sick people, the pregant women, the small, the old, and the travelers are given a divine permission to eat.

God ordered us to execute his orders as well as to  perform his permissions. It is a sin to fast when you are given an order to eat. So, if you are travelling for more than eighty six kilometers, if you are sick, pregnant, or old, then you must eat your daily dishes as you usually to do. This is a permission not from the doctor or the nurse, it is a permission from your creator.

This is why  true believers feel so happy to eat as they are surrendering to God's orders. They eat because God wants them to eat. But they should feed a poor person every day or give the price of a dish for those who do not have it. This is to strengthen the social ties between the poor and the rich, the ill , and the healthy.

Frankly, this is the best month of the year where we eat, fast, practice sports, worship God, share with our neighbors, spend more time with the family, visit our friends and  relatives, forgive each other, reflect on our lives, our past, present and future and we think about our purpose and mission in life.

Only in Ramadan, do we dare to stop our bad habits and  give up our addiction. It is the best time to stop smoking, and drinking. In Ramadan, a lot of people give up this bad and unhealthy habits in the Muslim world. People defy themselves and stop drinking and smoking. Something they can only do in Ramadan.

Normally as humans, we should live all the other months of the year the way we live in Ramadan. A month where we wash our hearts, minds and bodies from the filth of sins and the darkness of evil, corruption, greed, selfishness and anger. A month where we are linked to each other and to our creator, and a  month where we wear white and do our best to cleanse our hearts from sins and wrongdoings.

© Morocco World News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten or redistributed

By Loubna Flah

Morocco World News

Casablanca, July 10, 2013

The Istiqlal Party secretary general, Hamid Chabat has finally decided to suit the word to the action.  Chabat submitted the decision to withdraw from Benkirane’s government to the Monarch who has refused to narrow the rift between the warring parties, namely the PJD and the IP, which makes the IP’s threat to implode the PJD-led government more than a scare tactic.

It is impossible to view this political paralysis in Morocco with a total disregard to the Egyptian turmoil. We do not support the view that the democratization of the Arab countries is one monolithic movement for the geopolitical weight of Arab countries varies and their historical proximity to the practice of “democracy” is highly discrepant.

Nevertheless, the thin thread tethering the bulk of these countries is the long standing and deeply seated frustration with modes of governance, which makes the correlation inevitable. There is no sensible person who would deny that the latest military coup masterminded against the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is the anathema of democracy. Ironically enough, every time the “Islamists” play and win the game of democracy, the world quits the game.

 One of the reasons why the situation in Egypt went out of control is the incapacity of the opposition parties to challenge the government from their standing in the legislative institutions.  A weakened opposition is not a symptom of robust democracy. The interests of the people cannot be maintained without the constant political wrangling between the majority and the opposition.

In this regard, the Moroccan opposition parties failed their duty to question the government and scrutinize its policies. The opposition parties, including the United left have yielded to their old obsession: ideology. The first skirmishes made on behalf of Islamism were dauntlessly criticized by the opposition parties since their main phobia remains the “Islamist take over”.

Since Benkirane, is the most cautious Islamist in the region, he soon withdrew the whole ideological discourse to leave place to a politically colorless positions that are extremely difficult to situate in the Moroccan political spectrum.

The PJD has also the misfortune to rise to power in times of trouble. Poorly skilled in macro governance and engulfed in an aura of hurdles, Benkirane and his ministers  failed to keep the national economy afloat and to address the issues of  employment adequately. Instead, Benkirane run to the doors of the world’s most “generous” creditor , the IMF.

As the frustration is still  rising among Moroccans and all the indexes of growth plummeting, the only hope for the Moroccan citizen is to have a potent opposition  that can  hold the government accountable, provided the current wrangling is solved quickly and the different stakeholders geared for the confrontation and may the best win. For democracy should be anchored in the acceptance of difference and the potential for consensus.

Morocco World News

New York, July 10, 2013

Steeped in history and culture, it is little wonder that Morocco is known as the 'festival capital of Africa'. Thousands of tourists make the annual pilgrimage to the country to join the locals in experiencing its eclectic music scene, soak in the vibrancy of its artistic heritage, and taste the zest of its world-famous cuisine.

Morocco hosts hundreds of festivals big and small right through from spring until winter. These festivals attract artists, musicians, and performers from all over the globe.

To plan the best time to travel to Morocco, it's important to check out some of the most important festival dates before you go:

1. Gnaoua World Music Festival

Location: Essaouira

Dates: Late June

Gnaoua or Gnawa is an ancient, mystical form of music original to Morocco. The Gnaoua World Music festival provides a platform for artists from various music genres to interact and perform with these famed Gnaoua musicians. In its long, rich history, the festival has hosted countless famous musicians, including The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix. The festival's location - the historic city of Essaouira (also called 'Mogadore) - is sure to delight adventurous tourists as well.

Location: Fez

Dates: June 7-15

Despite housing one million people, Fes bears the look of a settlement from the Middle Ages. The city also has the distinction of housing the World Sacred Music festival. One of the most culturally significant festivals in the world, the Fes festival has even been recognised by the United Nations as a catalyst for better dialogue between nations. The festival invites musicians from a wide range of cultures - visitors can sample folk Egyptian musicians alongside Indian sitar maestros and contemporary Jazz pianists.

3. Boulevard of Young Musicians Festival

Location: Casablanca

Dates: Early June

Casablanca, the romantic city that gave its name to the Humphrey Bogart movie, is home to Morocco's premier contemporary music festival. Instead of Japanese fusion and classical Indian music, visitors to the festival will be greeted with the finest flavours of Morocco's rap, rock, metal and trance scene. It's decidedly different from the other festivals on the list, and the fact that it is in Casablanca makes it all the more attractive, since this is a city that transformed the meaning of music to Moroccans during the 1990s, when musicians came together to fuse hip-hop, rock, electronica and fusion, pushing the boundaries of the mainstream further than ever before.

4. Tanjazz Festival

Location: Tangier

Dates: Mid September

Tangier has been home to the ancient Greeks, Romans, Phoenicians, Berbers, Portuguese and French through a long and chequered history. Today, tourists throng to Tangier to witness the famous Tanjazz festival - the premier jazz festival in North Africa. With its eclectic mix of contemporary and classical musicians, bohemian energy and inclusive culture, the festival is trying to re-establish Tangier as a global cultural centre.

Morocco is home to many more festivals such as the Marrakesh Festival of Modern Art, the Timitar Festival, and the Festival of Amazigh Film. These events are a great way to experience Moroccan culture whilst also exploring some of the country's most historic cities.

© Morocco World News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten or redistributed

By Youssef Sourgo

Morocco World News

Casablanca, July 10, 2013

Despite the array of electrifying trailers of brand new Moroccan TV Shows broadcast prior to Ramadan, the Moroccan audience’s excitement wears thin on the very first day of the holy month. What had once been acclaimed as an appealing TV creativity now seems stuck in a vacuum of repetitive images, gags and scenarios. Moroccan TV channels are apparently running out of tricks. Has their creativity kicked the bucket?

Some Moroccans have already found fault with the cluster of TV products exposed on most Moroccan channels. “Moroccan TV is really disappointing,” a Moroccan citizen told Radio Channel Chada FM, last night

“They noticeably devote a laconic amount of time to religious TV Shows, even on Friday, which could at least be an exception to the banalities predominant on Moroccan TV,” he further explained.

Fifteen minutes subsequent to the Maghrib call to prayer, and after all Moroccans break their fast around the evening meal, a déjà-vu sensation grabs their attention as they watch the very first TV Show exclusively designed for Ramadan.

Hidden camera shows, a TV genre typically broadcast on Ramadan right after the Maghrib prayer, are sadly platitudinous and predictable. For some Moroccans, this genre of TV products now invokes compassion rather than laughter.

Comic series almost feature the same cast made of recognizable professional Moroccan actors, which posits a question mark next to Morocco’s endeavors to give an impetus to burgeoning young talents. Scenarios in most comic series lack sophistication, and episodes lack twists and suspense. Almost no experimentation is noticeable at the level of acting too. Moroccan professional actors seem to reflect an awkward sense of “acting conservatism.” Their gestures, facial expressions, and sometimes even appearances, remain unalterable even when they are given new roles.

There is also noticeable imitation at the level of ideas. Back to the instance of hidden camera shows, the scenarios tailored to trick the celebrities have almost all been already consumed by other Arab or foreign channels. The mere aim seems to be the perfect acting of roles, without any regard to whether this acting is original or not. 

One way to rationalize such lack of originality in Moroccan TV products is the absence of young talents. Now that access to high-quality TV products from all around the world is no longer a challenge, today’s generation of young people are more familiar with the sophisticated levels of creativity that foreign channels have reached. Exploiting the experiencing of Moroccan young people with TV content can prove to be anything but a waste of time.

No wonder why young Moroccans now resort to TV contents external to Moroccan channels. Moroccan TV products seem so medieval to them that they cannot help resorting back to foreign channels and media content.

The step that Moroccan TV seems to have overlooked before conceptualizing its content is a “needs analysis.” It is nonsensical to disregard the audience’s tastes and expectations when your product is mainly aimed at them.  Just as newly established enterprises conduct field studies and launch online polls, alongside a plethora of other tools, to elicit the people’s needs before attempting to meet them, Moroccan TV channels have to do similarly in order to avoid, in advance, inducing any frustration afterwards.

Moroccan channels designing exclusive content for Ramadan have to study their audiences in the first place. In Ramadan, Moroccan Muslim families expect TV products that both reflect the atmosphere of the exceptional holy month, as well as solemnize their fasting practice. Moroccan comic TV shows and series are most than welcome, as they doubtlessly have a particular audience. Yet, Moroccan TV products have to be inclusive enough to please the maximum of tastes, without resorting to the same old tricks, something that can be further detrimental to the audience-TV relationships in Morocco.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Morocco World News’ editorial policy

© Morocco World News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten or redistributed

By Youssef Sourgo

Morocco World News

Casablanca, July 11, 2013

A polymath par excellence, Iman Oubou is a Moroccan young woman with a myriad of talents and areas of interest. She is a beauty queen, a humanitarian, an international entrepreneur, a brand ambassador, a skincare line owner, an oncology research scientist, and the list goes on.

After being crowned Miss Colorado international 2012, Iman has since then become one of the incontestable female ambassadors of Moroccan beauty abroad.

She has also taken advantage of this international spotlight to expose another Moroccan treasure, Argan Oil, one of the rarest and most salubrious natural oils in the world, exclusively made in Morocco. Such decision to exploit this Moroccan treasure finds its roots in the value her natal Moroccan region gave to Argan oil.

“Being born Moroccan and growing up in the Souss region of Morocco, all the women in my family used Argan oil for culinary and beauty purposes and could not live without it,” said Iman.

With the wide appeal that Moroccan Argan oil has gained at the international level, thanks to the numerous cosmetic products now including it as a key ingredient, the Moroccan beauty queen has decided to exploit Argan oil in her own hair and skin care brand.

 “Lately I have been noticing that the demands for products made with Argan oil (also known as Moroccan oil) have been increasing as many people have discovered the tremendous benefits of this magical oil for both the hair and the skin,” she noted.

“Argan oil is not something new to me. To the rest of the world it is regarded as a “miracle” oil for hair and skin care. So I thought it would be a great idea for me to represent my “home” oil by creating launching my brand MIRENZA, which is made with 100% Organic pure Argan oil from Morocco,” she added.

MIRENZA is the name she has given to her Argan-based new brand of cosmetic products, which have not only introduced the exceptional and delicate Moroccan oil to a miscellaneous international public, but also exposed Morocco’s idiosyncratic notion of beauty. Argan has always been Moroccan women’s secret beauty potion, and Iman seems no exception to its use.

“As a beauty queen, I am always on the lookout for beauty products and cosmetics to add to my beauty routine,” said Iman. This product [MIRENZA] is great for daily skin regimen and it is the only moisturizer I use for both my hair and skin care routine and it sure does wonders,” she added.

Iman’s MIRENZA also puts Moroccan women’s hard work and rigorousness in the limelight.

“Mirenza uses Argan oil made in traditional ways by fair-trade cooperatives of 4,000 Moroccan women. All our products are paraben-free, alcohol-free and are not tested on animals,” said Iman.

 Argan oil is only the outcome of a series of exhausting, traditional processes performed manually that only Moroccan women manage to accomplish successfully. Iman’s MIRENZA, among other Moroccan products with an international reach, celebrate the hard work of these Moroccan women in the international scene.

The conceptualization of beauty in Morocco has its particularities like any notion of beauty echoing elsewhere over the world. Argan oil is only one natural contributor that constitutes Moroccan women’s distinctive, esthetic traits. Hence, all products that have taken Argan oil as their central ingredient are sharing a Moroccan invaluable secret of beauty and wellbeing.

© Morocco World News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten or redistributed

By Loubna Flah

Morocco World News

Casablanca, July 11, 2013

The minister of national education, Mr. Al Ouafa refused to quit the coalition government despite the fact that his party had announced officially its withdrawal from the government. El Ouafa seemed disaffected when his fellow ministers from the IP headed towards the quarters of the government’s presidency to submit their resignation.

When asked about his attitude towards the IP’s decision, El Ouafa retorted “I am still working, and the government is still in power. The king has the final say in the matter”. EL Ouafa’s reluctance to align himself with his member parties earned him the disgruntlement of a large segment of the IP members.

The IP members decided after a meeting held on Tuesday that Mr. El Ouafa will be expelled from the party. The IP had given the minister an ultimatum to abide by the IP’s decision but the deadline expired on Wednesday without any response from the minister who refused to break his silence despite the IP’s threats.

Sources close to the daily Akhbar Al Yawm reported that  the PJD is likely to approach the National Rally for Independents known as the RNI, and a former foe of the PJD, in order to counteract any probable defeat by a motion of no confidence.

But the RNI would not accept the PJD offer without setting a lengthy list of conditions, including the presidency of the parliament and key ministerial positions such as the ministry of health, housing, and national education.

On Wednesday Mustafa El Khalfi, communication minister and government spokesman said Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane is considering the resignation made ??by the ministers of the Independence Party,noting that they still exercise their functions until the King makes a decision on the future of the coalition.

In a unprecedented statement to Dubai TV, Dubai Police Chief Dahi Khalfan said that “Israel does not pose any threat to the Arabs and that the real threat comes from the Muslim Brotherhood who will be crushed in the Arab world in five years as a maximum. “

Iran, in turn, was also demonized and seen as a major threat to the Arabs. Dahi Khalfan, who put the anchorwoman in a daze because of his weird statement, noted that the Gulf land will be the cemetery of the Muslim Brotherhood, describing them as chicks, and enemies of the Gulf States.   

This unprecedented statement by an Arab security official stirred angry reactions on social networks. “How does Sherlock Holmes of Arabia dare to claim that Israel does not put a threat to the Arabs while, since 1948, it colonizes their land and usurps their first kiblah and one of the most sacred places in Islam?” a follower commented in a tweet.

“It’s absurd to say that Israel does not put a threat to the Arabs while its nuclear arsenal is enough to wipe them out all from the region,” another user said on Facebook.

 “This old man is either amnesiac or an infiltrator and traitor. How did he so easily forget the Israeli massacres against the Arabs in Sabra, Shatila, Gaza, Khan Yunis, Jenin, Qana etc.?” another Facebook user asked.

Khalfan’s statement, in fact, goes in complete congruence and accordance with the Israeli position that sees that Muslim Brotherhood and Iran as the gravest threat to the security of Israel and the Middle East as a whole. Without his keffiyeh and khaliji clothes, I would have mistaken him for an Israeli diplomat or spokesperson.   

Ironically, the renowned American academician Noam Chomsky, who is a Jew, sees Israel as the major threat not only to Arab security but also to the global security. He continuously criticizes the US allegations against Iran's peaceful nuclear program. Unlike Khalfan who talks about wi’am (amity) with Israel, Chomsky repeatedly denounces the hegemonic underground expansionist and exploitative plans against the Arabs.

It’s worth noting that it’s not the first time that Dahi Khalfan releases such harsh statements against the Muslim Brotherhood. In June 2012, his tweets on Twitter caused a diplomatic crisis between the United Arab Emirates and Egypt when he wrote that “the Muslim Brotherhood are not Muslims” and that they are “a criminal group.”

Following these statements, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry summoned the Ambassador of the UAE in Cairo to seek clarifications on the statements that do not match the nature of the relations between the two countries.