Morocco World News with agencies

Rabat, July 22, 2013 (MAP)

King Mohammed VI received, on Monday, from the head of government, the resignations of several ministers, members of the Istiqlal Party, which he accepted, said a statement by the royal office.

“HM the King charged the resigning ministers to dispose of day-to-day matters until the appointment of new ministers and allow the head of government to begin his consultations in order to form a new majority,” the same source said.

On Monday July 8, the executive committee of the IP decided to implement its suspended decision to withdraw from the PJD-led government and join the opposition.

The decision came after  Hamid Chabat, the party’s secretary General, 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.

By Erin Geneva

Morocco World News

Rabat, July 22, 2013

After visiting over 20 different countries I have learned that the country and culture a person is raised in plays a strong role in the development of their identity. Growing up in Canada, has shaped my identity. I have had access to education, healthcare, and I have enjoyed freedom of speech and security. Many people in the world cannot say this. I know how lucky I am. This gratitude has deepened as a result of my experiences traveling, and meeting people from all over the world. But mostly, this can be credited to my parents.

I grew up in Halifax Nova Scotia. I am a child of blue collar, working class parents. I can’t describe them as rich, but I had everything I wanted as a child. My parents worked extremely hard to give my sister (2 years younger than me) and I a wonderful childhood. They succeeded. This is a credit to their hard work and also the fact that Canada is a country where social mobility is possible.

My maternal grandmother is from Cape Breton, a rural part of Eastern Canada. She only completed school until grade five. But this was no reflection on her intelligence. She always found ways to contribute to her household economically, and what I will always respect about her is her impeccable practicality and sense.

My mother was one of the top students in her high school class. She got a full scholarship to one of the most prestigious universities in Canada. Her father’s response to this was “why bother going to University, you are just going to get married and stay home anyway.” And so my mother packed her bags, moved to the city and made a life for herself independently. Got a degree and a job. My mother enjoys her job, but it is below her level of intelligence. In terms of education, she did not reach her full potential, and she made it one of the goals of her life to make sure that my sister and I reach ours.

My parents encouraged my curiosity, and always wanted me to be interested in other countries and cultures. And so my many travels and my undergraduate degree in Religious Studies were not a surprise to my parents. And they were quite happy to see me exploring the world, and learning about different cultures, religions and societies. Actually, what I have found interesting after leaving the positive environment provided by my parents, is that many people did not have an upbringing like mine, and were not taught openness and acceptance.

Of the many countries I have been fortunate enough to visit, Morocco is the one where I have spent the most time. There are many things about Morocco that I have enjoyed. I have learned a lot about Morocco, and also about myself.

As a scholar, my time in Morocco has enhanced my understanding of Islam as well as life in the overall MENA region. This is related to the focus of my academic research in my Master of Dispute Resolution. Although this is not my first visit to the MENA region, the three months I have stayed in Morocco have been very useful to enhancing my understanding of life and culture here. This has also renewed my interest in my academic studies. Sometimes it is difficult to stay motivated when all of your learning comes from books. Actually going somewhere makes things more real.

When I decided I wanted to do an international internship, I didn’t have Morocco in my mind as the place I would go. I have an insatiable wanderlust, so I was simply interested in going somewhere different. When I found an internship in Morocco, I was happy to go somewhere else and experience something different. I wanted to test and improve myself, make a positive difference and also hopefully gain a better understanding of the world around me.

Morocco is not a place I gave that much thought to before I realized I was going to go. I had some impressions, and did a little bit of research. Mostly, I learned a lot about the Amazigh culture and movement, through interning at the Voice of the Amazigh Woman. The Amazigh culture is something I was ignorant of before I arrived. I realized that there are a lot of things I don’t know about. There is still so much to explore and learn. My time in Morocco has made me aware of the limitations of my own knowledge.

My time in Morocco has shaped my identity in that it has enhanced my self-awareness. I didn’t learn something new about myself so much as I became more aware of things I already knew. It made me more aware of the fact that I still have much to learn about the world. It has also made me more grateful of the opportunities I have had. Especially the opportunity to travel and to learn things from new people.

I have found myself genuinely touched by the hospitality and the generosity of people here. Despite what the media always depicts, the world is not such a bad place, and there is goodness everywhere. Especially in a culture as individualistic as North America, it can be easy to forget these things.

I have some relatives who never left Cape Breton Island. But because of my grandmother’s hard work, and my mother’s relentless determination I have travelled the globe and I will soon have Master’s degree. Although I am from the East coast of Canada, I now live and study on the West Coast. Even this is further than many of my relatives have ever travelled.

I remember a visit I made to Timoulay. Many of the girls I met there, despite their hard work will never have the opportunity to have a different life than their mothers. I am sure that the 47% of Moroccans who are illiterate, or the Moroccans who are Amazigh and know no other language will have similar limitations in their social mobility. Indeed, many of the inhabitants of the world will have little opportunity for obtaining the life they want, even despite their best efforts. If I was born in many parts of the world, I would have little chance of a different life than my grandmother had.

So mostly I have learned that there is still a lot to learn. There is also still a tremendous amount of work to be done to promote equality and fairness. Hopefully, when I have finished school my work can contribute to that in some small way.

Thanks Morocco.

Mohamed El Hassan Abou El Fadel

Morocco World News

Inezgane, Morocco, July 23, 2013

American Slang (Part 1)

I am getting back to you again in “American Slang II” to shed more light on slang words and expressions you may come across.

This time round, I will start with “Que pasa?” as it may be a good need creation device. This is as you may guess right is of Spanish origin and simply means “What is going on?” or “What is happening?”.

Now at the gitgo of this piece of writing, you may find the word a bit strange. Definitely, it is yet another slang word of black origin and simply means the beginning. “From the gitgo, I told that won’t work.” Now if someone is too much of a loud mouth you may hear somebody telling him: “Now, give it a rest!” or “Buckle it!” The it there refers to the mouth so the counterpart to these two expressions would be “Keep quiet!”.

You may equally encounter some boring or unpleasant person and you may have to “give him the gate” How is that? Well, I suppose you know the expression “to give someone the cold shoulder.” That is to ignore someone but when it comes to “giving someone the gate” the meaning would be to rid yourself of him altogether. You may also wish to end a long discussion about something.

The following exclamation is then used “Period!” meaning that’s it, no more discussion about that whatever that may happen to be. The gitgo word is of black origin as I have mentioned earlier, another word of the same origin is “Calendar” as in “Another calendar and we’ll get our money” So what’s your guess concerning calendar? Yes, it means a month your guess is right!

Some slang words or expressions were coined by computer freaks. Glitch is one such word. There is a glitch in my computer program. The word is used to refer to a technical problem, defect or bug. Glitz is yet another word to get to know it is related to the flashiness and glamour as in, “It’s a lot of glitz but little substance!”

Now if you happen to have a lot of smarts everything you do is going to be a piece of cake. I think plenty of people (Non-American people) would be familiar with the word smarts as it is used a lot. The word means intelligence and if you are particularly intelligent a lot of things you do would seem like a piece of cake: very easy.

Before I conclude, I wish yet to introduce another word but this time from California. It is written as a single word but it can be conceived as a phrase. Seeyabye! As in “Okay, I gotta go now, seeyabye!” This is quite an easy guess, I think. Upon this, I wish to call it stop and tell all of you: “Seeyabye!”

By Loubna Flah

Morocco World News

Casablanca, July 23, 2014

Like all Iranian movies, “Jodái” starts with the name of Allah but unlike many Iranian movies, Asghar Farhadi’s film touches upon a dense plethora of themes with unparalleled dexterity. Some of the themes are typical to the Iranian society whereas others have a universal connotation. Divorce can be one of the most arduous experiences in the life of any couple who attempt to sever their martial bond. Farhadi explores the divorce of a middle class couple Simin and Nader. Nevertheless, the couple’s story unfolds into the story of   another couple from a lower social class and their strife to preserve their sense morality as they struggle for subsistence.

The Film stars Iranian actress Leila Hatemi as Simin and Payman Maadi as the husband Nader. The couple fails to narrow the chasm between their joint responsibilities and their individual priorities.  Nader makes of his Alzheimer –struck father is his top priority while Simin looks for better future prospects for her daughter after she and her husband completed the visa immigration procedure. Their daughter Termeh played by Farhadi’s daughter Sarina is caught in the middle the couple’s wrangling. Nader hires, Razia (Sareh Bayat), a housemaid who is in charge of keeping the house and assisting his idle father. Uncertain whether her cleaning of the old man is a sin, Razia has to call an “iftaa” line to have a religious opinion on the matter. The tension builds incrementally and culminates when Nader shuts Razia out of his house as a punishment for her negligence. The latter sues him for prompting her miscarriage after he pushed her out from his house. Razia’s husband adopts a vengeful attitude towards Nader, whom he considers as the representative of corrupt elite.

The most stunning performance in the film is that of Razia, who remains is engulfed in a spiral of religious and moral tumult. She measures every action she undertakes against her religious benchmarks. Her search for moral integrity and her immutable uncertainty is the epicenter of tension in the story. Leila Hatemi plays her role with a distinguished elegance but nonetheless with a poignant authenticity. The daughter Therme transfers her uneasiness about her parents’ divorce with a great deal of subtlety. A special regard must be paid to the Alzheimer-struck father who remains another cornerstone in the film despite his silence and apathy.

Farhadi weaves a story in which the characters are enmeshed in a dense aggregate of factors that taint their behavior and statements with ambivalence and uncertainty. Contrary to all expectations, A Separation is neither about gender bias nor religious authority in contemporary Iran. Farhadi makes a well thought dosage of factors to build tension in the film from a very casual situation. Farhadi accosts religion and morality with an understated manner without losing the focus on the individual struggle.

The mood of the film is marked by looming ambiguity and endoscopic struggles. Later the viewer would realize that the director’s ‘camera is not omniscient and happens to leave out some crucial scenes. Indeed, Farhadi leaves many interstices that remain unnoticed until the story reaches its climax with the trial of Nader. The question of morality is pervading in the film and each character wrestles with her/hisown principles and priorities.

Though the dynamics in the movie is ushered initially by Simin’s request for divorce, yet the process of separation unravels more complex issues namely class struggle in the modern Iranian society as well as the discrepant weight of religion among these classes. It also shows weary characters that have lost in the midst of the urban routine the exhilaration and the ardor that life may bring.

By Youssef El Kaidi

Morocco World News

Fez, July 23, 2013

Scientists (paleontologists) have recently discovered a new species of turtle with a prehistoric fossil dating back to about 67 million years ago. According to a study published in the open-access journal PLoS ONE, the turtle, named Ocepechelon Bouyai, which was found in the Moroccan city of Khouribga, is one of the biggest sea turtles that ever lived on earth.

The name is constituted of ‘Ocepe’ which refers to the Chérifien Office of Phosphate (OCP) and ‘Chelone’; a Greek name meaning turtle. ‘Bouyai’ was attached to the name in honor of Baâdi Bouya, Head of Geology Department in the OCP who has considerably assisted the researchers during their fieldwork. Ocepechelon, whose skull is 70 cm long, was discovered in the region of Sidi Chennane in the province of Khouribga, Morocco.

The discovery of this reptile adds to the few but unique discoveries made in Morocco in terms of paleontology, like the bones of a 180 million years old dinosaur discovered in 2003 or a pterosaur discovered three years ago.

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

By Loubna Flah

Morocco World News

Casablanca, July 23, 2013

The latest report issued by Morocco’s central bank, Bank Al Maghrib, does not bring solace in the midst of a political crisis prompted by the withdrawal of the Istiqlal Party from the coalition government.

Bank Al Maghrib’s report heralds dire prospects for the Moroccan economy. The report pinpoints that the government failed to carry out substantial social reforms that were expected to improve the living standards and to deal with rampant unemployment.

The report points out that the international institutions may consider downgrading Morocco’s ranking at several levels due to delayed reforms and faltering indexes.

In his interview to the Moroccan daily Al Massae, the economic expert Hammad Kassal warned against a potential blank year in 2014 due to pending policies especially those concerning the compensation fund and the tax reform.

He added that the current difficult juncture is likely to delay the promulgation of the finance law. The finance law is much awaited by investors since it gives more visibility about major economic priorities and the orientations in public spending.

Kassal asserted that Morocco is entering another stagnation phase marked by a steep decrease in domestic demand for petroleum products in addition to an abrupt drop in demand for building material and a fall in the amount of loans attributed to Morocco by international institutions.

Mr. Kassal predicted that the negotiations between the Party of Justice and Development (PJD) and the National Rally of Independents (RNI) would not yield the expected results since the latter will ask for key ministerial positions that PJD is unlikely to concede. Thus, the political crisis is likely to cast its shadows on the national economy and bring about more confusion in the business circles, he noted.

Based on the foregoing, the political crisis is likely to dissuade businessmen to invest their capital and resort to assets withdrawals. Any massive withdrawal of assets is likely to worsen the liquidity crisis that has been plaguing the banking sector for the past year.

Abdelatif Al Jawahiri, Bank Al Maghrib’s governor has repeatedly urged the government to accelerate the implementation of the promised reforms to face the challenges facing the national economy and to restore the macroeconomic balances.

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

Morocco World News

Fez, July 23, 2013

The Vatican announced on Tuesday that Pope Francis has appointed the Moroccan-Italian Francesca Chaouqui as member  of the Pontifical Commission for Reference on the Organization of the economic-administrative structure of the Holy See, of an ad hoc commission in charge of restructuring the economy of the Vatican.

Daughter of a Moroccan father and an Italian, Francesca Chaouqui, 30, is an expert in finance and corporate law.

Moroccan Francesca Chaouqui was communication director at Ernst & Young Rome, and boasts a strong experience in corporate law and finance.

Francesca will be the only woman and the youngest of a commission composed of eight experts entrusted with the mission of scrutinizing the accounts of the Vatican and proposing ways and solution to  improve its economic and administrative departments.

By Ismail Frouini

Morocco World News

Agadir, Morocco, July 24, 2013

That time, I woke up early. I had looked at the sky. And then I looked at the other side of the river through the window. I was looking at buses and cars that were interrupted by the bray of a donkey going by. It was a cold day but with breezy weather. It was still an hour and half left until breakfast time. My mother had already woken up and she managed, as usual, to go to the orchards to bring the herbs for the sheep and cows. My little brother was still sleeping. He was laughing at my face even though he was asleep. He never looked at the window to the other world. Luckily, he was not tall enough to do so; but he would be able to very soon. I made no noise that might make him up. He was there until the sun burnt his face then he would wake up. As I had finished praying, my mother came out in her traditional dress, scythe in one hand and a piece of case in the other. It was a very nice morning. The vapor from amalal (the traditional kitchens) was scattered over the whole town; the smell of broth could be tested everywhere. People came out of their houses one by one like squirrels. Most of them, if not all, went to Igran (orchards); there life would be.

As I accompanied my mother to the orchards, a very deep attractive silence appealed to me to go ahead and goroaming across the orchards. But there was a furious sound of barking. It was of dogs. Dogs my mother feared too much. In fact our region was of countless dogs, but let them be. No way. I remembered her meticulous advice that she told me once. “Look my son; life is of difficulties; everybody has his raison d’être which he is made to fulfill but enemies and dogs are always barking at him. So never ever gaze at barking dogs; they are less mighty once you neglect them, however numerous they are.” I could not understand why she feared dogs and at the same time inspired me with encouragement and confidence.

Once my mother dispersed, got into the orchard, and hid behind the tall corn, I went to the river side. On my way to the river, I came across four girl-students but did not talk to them. They kept gazing at me. They were shivering from the cold. They were crossing the deep dark river, but they were happy. The school was six kilometres from their hometown. I could not control my anger after witnessing that scene of young girls crossing the lethal deep river of Draa. Abruptly I came back to the orchard. I sat under a date palm. I tried to contemplate the advice of my mother; I thought of it fastidiously and for a long time.... She was right. Dogs. She meant perhaps the ones with did not bark sound but that would bite at any occasion.

Tamellalte was bitten. I was really obsessed in my mind with many problems facing it. Tamellalte was really a forgotten town. I could not do more than confess that we had not yet been treated as human beings. WE WERE FORGOTTEN. I always asked some questions which drove me crazy; they should be answered however. What was the problem with those innocent students crossing the river? Why were we not able to have the infrastructure like those on the other side of which my little brother was not aware? Why the mitigating, undermining, neglecting, forgetting and dehumanising of us? Were those pregnant women who were in labour and were taken on mule-back doomed to death just because they were on the other side –the forgotten side- where technology and means of transportation were of negligible importance? I would never forget the woman who wanted to give birth to a child, was in labour, and went to the hospital on her feet; at the end, a nurse told her that she was not in labour and accordingly not about to give birth; she left the hospital, felt giddy and gave birth luckily in the house of a woman she had been acquainted with before.

Who was to blame? Of course, the one who was not a part of the problem could be a part of the solution. We wanted to feel that we were human. Who would change our status quo? Was it my mother who still believed that we were born to be so? Or was it the leader of the region who outsmarted and flattered people and described them as generous, benign, patient, and the like? I could not swallow at ease what I had been told that some girl-students on their way to the school were blackmailed and racially taunted as well as sexually harassed by the gangs. The other scapegoat was the one who came to celebrate the Eid (a religious holiday) with his family; he unfortunately was stoned and laid sick for three weeks. Circa 2000, Tamellalte did not have a concrete bridge; they had a bridge made of the logs of date palms. Once there was flood, the whole town would be isolated.

Out of the blue, my mother arrived from the orchard with a heavy load of herbs. She could read wrath in my face. She asked about what made me pale. I said “Dogs mom,” “Dogs mom,” “Dogs mom.” “But I did not hear their bark,” said my mother. You were made to hear them mom and because you were forgotten and in a forgotten town.

By Youssef Sourgo

Morocco World News

Casablanca, July 24, 2013

Dounia Batma, the talented Moroccan singer who made it to the finals of Arab Idol’s first edition, has recently affirmed her relationship with her Bahraini Manager, the millionaire Mohammed Alttork, and officially announced their upcoming marriage during an interview with Moroccan radio Chada FM.

According to the couple, the wedding is planned to take place next January in one of Casablanca’s most prestigious hotels. “Our wedding ceremony is going to be historical,” Dounia proudly told Chada FM. 

“A myriad of famous Moroccan and Arab artists and influential celebrities are attending our marriage,” she added.

“We also have lots of unexpected surprises for you,” the couple told Chada FM.

However, Mohammed Alttork did not conceal the fact that he is already married and is a father of a young girl named Hala, who has made an appearance on Arab’s Got Talent.

Nevertheless, Dounia Batma, who already knows of her future husband’s prior marriage, does not seem to have any objections to that. “He is the one,” said a convinced Dounia, “he is my prince charming incarnated.”

The news of Dounia Batma’s upcoming marriage has, however, been received with ambivalent feelings by her fans. A group of them expressed their delight at the news and wished  her a “joyful and prosperous life.”

“You guys need to leave her alone,” read a comment left by one of Dounia’s fans on one of the articles announcing her upcoming marriage. “She’s free to marry whoever she wants as long as she’s convinced of that,” the comment proceeded.

 Other fans seemed less tolerant of her marriage to a man who already has a family and children. Some even went further than that to discuss his first wife’s feelings: “How would his first wife feel now that all of his attention will be drawn to another woman,” read one of the comments on the video of Dounia’s interview with Chada FM.

According to online news outlet Afriquinos, Mohammed Alttork has already spent around £ 210 000 on Dounia’s wedding ring, reportedly bought from Chaumet Paris. According to the same source, Dounia’s wedding dress costs about £ 1 000 000. 

By Loubna Flahh

The shift from supportive role in the government to dissent and contention will not be smooth for the Istiqlal Party for several reasons.

First, the withdrawal of Mr. Hamid Chabat, Secretary General of the Istiklal Party (IP), from the government does not enjoy unanimous backing from all the IP members. Second, the party has spent decades in office making political decisions and taking initiatives. But since the animosity between Mr. Hamid Chabat and Mr. Abdelilah Benkirane, the head of Government, moved from partisan dispute to become a personal vendetta, Chabat is unlikely to save any effort to oversee the government’s performance with mutiny. His positions will be certainly fortified by his alliance with one of the PJD fiercest foes, the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP).

At this stage, it is not difficult to predict the rest of the plot since the strengthening of the opposition is likely to put the PJD–led government into a real trouble. The IP will certainly marshal its affiliated union, the General Union for Moroccan Workers (UGTM), along with its strategic ally, the USFP, to create a real state of paralysis every time the social dialogue hits the wall.

Meanwhile, the PJD is losing a large base of its supporters and its rallying force is incrementally eroded, needless to mention that the outcome of the IP internal quarrels will definitely determine the incisiveness of the opposition. If Chabat is maintained at the helm of the IP, then the PJD-led government needs to be well geared to receive unyielding criticism. But if the IP senior members and more particularly those belonging to Al Fassi camp attempt to dethrone Chabat form his position as the Party’s secretary general, the opposition may sound a smoother tone.

Nevertheless, we need to pinpoint that such bid will not go unnoticed and may engender a historic division within the IP ranks. A division that would be soon followed by a deep severance within the IP affiliated union, the UGTM, where Chabat enjoys a sweeping support. But the question that arises here is this: would the IP senior members run the risk of imploding  one of Morocco’s oldest and strongest parties for the simple desire  to sideline Chabat?

It is noteworthy that the UGTM members have been locked in a brooding silence since the formation of the coalition. Their discontent with Benkirane’s dysfunctional policies was constantly pacified. But now that the ban is lifted, will the UGTM hawks break their silence? They will probably get their arsenal of condemning statements, demonstrations and strikes ready.

Nevertheless, it would be wise to determine who is reaping the fruits of this seismic change in the Moroccan political landscape and who is paying its highest cost? All those opposed to the unprecedented rise of Political Islam in Morocco, including the leftist parties, the Party of Authenticity and Modernity (PAM) and their acolytes are enjoying the show as they watch their dreams come true effortlessly. On the other hand, the IP can come out victor of this situation unless it succumbs to internal divisions. Moroccans at large may also benefit from the IP transfer from the government to the opposition if the latter plays well the role of an honest monitor.

But Moroccans would freeze their hopes once again if the IP and the USFP remain engrossed in their vendetta instead of prompting the government to save the sinking ship. Ironically, the PJD is the biggest loser in this political turn over. The PJD is already squandering what is left of its credibility while engaging in bilateral  negotiations with its former enemy, the National Rally for Independents (RNI).

It is not uncustomary for the Istiqlal Party to pull out from the government to defend its principles and its interest. Indeed, the IP served in the opposition in the 70’s and the 90’s and its steadfast positions earned Allal al Fassi’s party the esteem of the electorate. But today, the IP is divided between Chabat and the traditional aristocratic elite that has dominated the political decision for decades. Against all expectations, Chabat seems to walk undeterred towards his goal that looks more attainable than before especially with the rapprochement with the USFP and the promise to bring the Koutla back to life.

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

By Youssef El Kaidi

Morocco World News

Fez, July 24, 2013

On July 19, the earth was photographed from a remote distance of 1.5 billion kilometers, a close proximity to Saturn, by NASA craft Cassini. The colored images show the earth like a grain of sand in a vast desert. The planet whose population number now is estimated at 7109243900 (about 7.109 billion) and on which these people fight, wage wars against each other, hanker after power and crave domination looks so tiny and valueless! It’s touching to realize that Man’s size in this constantly expanding universe is almost nothing, yet out of cheer vanity and arrogance he flaunts and brags about power and prowess.

Cassini project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif, Linda Spilker summed it up saying: “We can't see individual continents or people in this portrait of Earth, but this pale blue dot is a succinct summary of who we were on July 19. Cassini's picture reminds us how tiny our home planet is in the vastness of space.”

What’s even more special about the images of the earth taken from Saturn’s orbit is that at the time Cassini’s camera was taking the pictures more than 20,000 people from around the world were looking up at the sky, waving at the camera and saying “cheese.” On June 18, Linda Spilker launched a call under the name “Wave at Saturn” inviting people to celebrate this event: “We think Cassini's July image is a special opportunity for Earthlings to wave at our photographer in the Saturn system and learn more about my favorite planet, its rings and moons. We hope you'll go outside, look in the direction of Saturn and send us pictures of yourselves waving,” said Linda Spilker.

It should be noted that images of the earth from the outer solar system are very rare as there have been only two images since humans have been venturing out into the space. The first and most distant was taken 23 years ago by NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft from 4 billion miles (6 billion kilometers away) and the second was Cassini's image in 2006 from 926 million miles (1.49 billion kilometers).

By Youssef El Kaidi

Morocco World News

Fez, July 24, 2013

By the year 2016, the city of Casablanca will be a city of skyscrapers according to the project draft of the Real Estate Public Company. The number of floors of one of these skyscrapers will be 36 floors and its height 150 meters and the project will cost billions of dirhams.

In addition to these skyscrapers, ‘Marina’ project will be completed on an area of about 476 thousand square meters, featuring in particular a luxury hotel, and another class four-star business hotel, an auditorium palace, an entertainment port, a commercial center, a business center, an aquarium, luxury apartments, and a parking lot with a capacity for 6000 cars.

The construction of the business Tower, the highest skyscraper, will start in the coming days in the New Marina Casablanca and its inauguration is scheduled for 2016. The cost for the construction of this project is estimated at MAD 1.5 billion. Economic experts expect that this project will boost the economy of Casablanca and contribute to the development of the country as a whole.

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

By Rania Mjahd

Morocco World News

Fez, July 25, 2013

Media organizations are one of the most powerful competitors to the social institutions in making and controlling the public opinion. Media does not only shape and reshape people’s thoughts and ideologies, but it also creates a kind of moral panic as Stanley Cohen illustrates in his book, Folk Devils and Moral Panic: the creation of the Mods and Rockers.

Moral panic is the fear that is constructed by the media. For example, media contributes to the distortion of the image of heavy metal musicians among the society. The distortion in the media leads society to believe in the idea that “rockers” or the heavy metal musicians may spread some immoral and unethical beliefs. People adopt such hostile and aggressive attitudes because the media successfully manipulates people’s emotions and feelings. It is as though our feelings are no longer natural or spontaneous, but rather they are constructed and fabricated by media institutions, which are responsible for selecting out deviant groups as Stanley Cohen demonstrates. Mass media is completely against the rockers and the media represents them as a threat to societal ethics and values.

After the imprisonment of the fourteen heavy musicians in 2003 in Casablanca, the majority of Moroccan newspapers represented them as unbelievers and vampires who drink the blood of cats. “Attajdid” is one of the newspapers that attacked these young musicians and accused them of apostasy. If we read the news reports published by “Attajdid”, we may find an over exaggeration in the way that this newspaper deals with the issue of “Satanism” as a movement in Morocco, because it keeps insisting on the fact that heavy metal musicians will demolish and even undermine the foundations of Islam by spreading satanic rituals and values. “Attajdid’s” hostile attitude towards the heavy metal musicians stems from the ideological and political affiliation to the Islamic party PJD (the party of justice and development). That is to say, “Attajdid” newspaper is considered a defender of the Islamic norms and foundations in Morocco.

In fact, media over exaggerates stories in order to create fear, because fear facilitates discipline and makes people eager to be controlled. Hence, media wants to control the social norms and values of society through the constructed fear. This fact leads one to say that media plays the role of an entrepreneur, because it plays with our emotions. That is why journalists and those who are specialized in the field of media called, “moral entrepreneurs”, are able to construct fear and keep society under control.

Media tries to make some concepts so strange and unfamiliar to create interest; for example, the word “vampire”. Here, I want to raise the following question: Do we not face vampires in our everyday life? Not vampirism in the physical sense, but symbolically and metaphorically speaking. The people who take the other’s rights by force are not vampires; those who kill the innocent people are not vampires? So, vampires exist everywhere and they do not exist only among rockers and heavy metal musicians.

I can say that “hip hop”, “Satanism” and “youth culture”, in general, are considered to be the pure fruits or products of youth, who aim at resisting a counter discourse and at the same time try to create a new consciousness. Since youth culture is an unavoidable and inescapable fact, society should adopt positive attitudes towards this culture and try to get rid of the media constructed fear that contributes to the creation of a dichotomy between young people and society as a whole. This may lead us to ask ourselves the following questions: what kind of life will Morocco embrace? Can we later on refer to Morocco as a country of pop culture that believes in such movements? If yes, how will media interact with this new culture? Will it support this culture or reject it as usual? These questions will remain unanswered until we have an independent media that is governed by rules and ethics.

Edited by Allison Kreamer

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

By Youssef Sourgo

Morocco World News

Casablanca, July 25, 2013

Moroccan singer Dounia Batma has recently drawn public attention to her relationship with her Bahraini manager after officially announcing the date of their wedding during a recent interview with Chada FM. Yet, Batma’s decision to marry a man who is already married has discernibly received more harsh criticism than congratulations and blessings from Moroccans.  

While her decision to marry whomever she pleases remains within the confines of her private life, her consent to marry a foreign man with a family has been rendered a national case. A segment of the Moroccan population which finds interest in Dounia’s marriage argue that her disregard to his current marital status is detrimental to Morocco’s image in the Arab world and even internationally.

The main argument of this segment of the Moroccan population is that Dounia’s approval of being a second wife to an ostensibly rich Gulf man only reinforces the notorious, destructive stereotypes about Moroccan women being “men robbers.” This is also said to solidify the annihilative stereotype that Moroccan women are only after foreign people’s wealth and influence.

Another argument running against Dounia’s controversial decision radiates fervent feminism. Her consent to be the second wife of a man is, according to some Moroccans, an official reinforcement of patriarchal principles related to marital life, in which men phallocentrically enjoy the right to marry as many women as they please, something that is seen as solidifying their patriarchal hegemony and superiority over the other gender.

In light of this argument, Dounia’s decision to marry a man who is already bound to another woman pulls feminist struggles against patriarchy back to the medieval ages, since her consent appears voluntary and stems out of her own conviction. Whether Alttork had the consent of his first wife and his little daughter, and whether Dounia has ever shown any concern for the first wife’s rights and opinion are all details the couple maintain undisclosed. With these details left concealed, Dounia’s relationship with Alttork is conceived of as a “fishy” affair.

While the group of Moroccans, be it fans of Dounia Batma or mere observers, proceed in probing her unexpected and controversial decision putting forth arguments like the ones above, another segment of the population seems unmindful of her “private life”. In this camp, any criticism targeting the private life and personal decisions of an individual also pulls human rights struggles back to the middle ages.

The most recurrent argument put forth by this group is that clear-cut lines have to be drawn between the artistic life of an individual and their private one. Blurring the lines between both spheres is nothing less but an attempt to project one’s own beliefs and convictions on the other, which is practically another sort of imperialism, characteristic of social relations.

The demarcations between consumption and morality have always ignited heated debates and even intense disputes among people. Whether both spheres are to be separated or kept chained together has almost become a rhetorical question. According to some Moroccans, that people would boycott Dounia’s artistic talent because of her personal decision is something that appears more of a given than speculation now. When this happens, according to representatives of this camp, people become as fatalist and hard-line as any other extremist, uncompromising movement..

Another argument put forth by this apparently more liberal sphere of the debate is that rendering any individual matter a public concern is a fallacy, or perhaps one more indirect manifestation of the persuasive power of mass media. Dounia here is perceived of as a mere individual whose concerns are almost invisible when compared to other concerns reflecting a vaguer public concern. Some Moroccans argue that debating such “banality” diverges one’s attention from other concerns, mostly social, that are increasingly plaguing the kingdom. 

Such diversion is recognized by research that has been done in the interdisciplinary fields of cultural and media studies as “the manipulative power of mass media.” Rendering what is partial and particular, a general and inclusive matter is one of the indirect repercussions of the media ‘s tendency to blow out of proportion its coverage of certain matters.

A case in point is when a political party deploys mediameans (public discourse) in order to make people believe that its concerns and interests are common with theirs. Of course, such perspective remains grossly over-simplifying when one disregards the responsibility of the audience. The latter is responsible for either making a fuss about an issue of little or no significance, or critically probing whether a debate on the matter is worthy of debating in the first place.

Other Moroccans went further to invoke religion in this context. “Doesn’t Islam allow polygamy for men as long as they can fairly treat their wives,” read one of the comments on an article discussing Dounia’s controversial decision. “Why is it a problem then that she marries a Muslim man who apparently has the potential to treat her and his first wife equally?” asked the anonymous commenter. According to this argument, the fact that her future Muslim husband is already married is completely legitimate, religiously speaking.

“You can’t accept some of our religion (referring to Islam) and reject the rest. You either take it all, or leave it all,” read another comment advancing the same argument. Polygamy in Islam, which is limited to four wives, is clearly permissible as long as the man who embarks on it is able to treat his wives equally, a task too idealistic to be true. According to those who raise this question in the discourse of Dounia’s marriage, opposing that her Muslim man has another wife is automatically a questioning of Islam and universal statements in the holy Qu’ran.

Apparently, Dounia’s unexpected decision to marry Mohammed Alttork, who already has a wife and a little child, has gone beyond any expectations to stir a controversy as forked as usual debates about universal issues. Contestable arguments from various fountains have been put forth and supported in this context, stemming from notions and rubrics as potent as modernity, liberalism, secularism, feminism, human rights, religion, and so forth. One thing is sure is that her marriage is no longer part of her private life. It is now a topic debated over at Moroccan round tables. Finally, some would argue that Dounia is responsible for the fuss her marriage has caused since she voluntarily made a feature of her private life a public matter via the media.

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

By Sara El Bekri

Morocco World News

Marrakesh, July 25, 2013

In a recent interview, famous Moroccan singer Dounia Batma was asked how she feels about marrying an already married man and whether she was happy with her decision. Dounia showed great excitement when discussing her decision of getting married to the Bahranian millionaire Mohamed Al Turk. She explained how being his second wife was actually a source of ‘pride’ as she is ‘happy he found comfort with her’ and ‘it is God willing’.

She was also asked about her current relationship with her future husband’s 11 year old daughter Hala. She gladly stated that they enjoy a happy and peaceful relationship and that the little girl actually ‘considers her as a mother’.

Dounia Batma also did not forget to show off the expensive golden jewelry that her future husband offered her. Moreover, she promised a traditional wedding in Casablanca to take place in the beginning of the year 2014.

Most Moroccans, particularly women, have been shocked to learn that the young Moroccan artist made this unprecedented move and decided to marry an already married man. To make things worse, she gives interviews in which she tries to imply that her decision was well-thought-out and that her future husband is man who respects women.

First of all, I was extremely irritated hearing some of Dounia’s statements such as: ‘He is someone who respects his wife’. There it is, she said it carelessly without considering how crazy it sounded. He already has a wife and a happy marriage life. It is as if she does not consider for a minute that she might and certainly would disturb the peace of that marriage.

She fails to consider how marrying an already married man would ruin another woman’s happiness. I do not know how the first wife feels about her husband’s decision to take Dounia Batma as a second spouse but I know for sure that all human beings have feelings. And thus, I allow myself to believe that she will be hurt for she will be sharing the father of her child with someone else. Indeed, he will not always be there as he will be forced to live two lives, love two women, and take care of two households.  As a matter of fact, the millionaire Mohamed Al Turk will obviously have no problem doing so financially but it is realistically impossible to do so emotionally.

Also, I found her statement about her future husband’s daughter considering her as a mother quite mindless and unthought-of as it implies more than what Dounia probably meant. She obviously finds no harm marrying someone else’s husband but I strongly think she must reconsider her relationship with the first wife’s child. Considering the feelings of Mohamed Al Turk’s first wife, she should not make the woman feel as if she will be taking away everything that matters to her, that is her husband and then her little daughter. Because this is how I would personally feel if I was in her shoes. In my opinion, she should have contended herself with explaining how she gets along pretty well with Hala and nothing more.

Dounia Batma obviously does not show the slightest concern about the negative impact of her actions on the millions of her girl fans. She does not care about how her decision would affect those girls who look up to her seeing her as the example of a successful Moroccan woman. Such behaviors further emphasize the negative image of the Moroccan woman in Gulf countries. Moroccan women have long been unjustly considered men robber and gold diggers. Women who are well-known on an international scale such as Dounia Batma are supposed to try to correct those misrepresentations and not confirm them, which is unfortunately what Dounia Batma is doing today.

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

“My friends, all very dear and close to my heart, thank you for your wishes. Unfortunately, I don’t have the heart to celebrate anything. This cruel and unpredictable life showed me these days one of the most despicable faces. The fight I conducted alone with stifling fear and confusion has become too heavy for my frail shoulders; a fight with paramount priority to support the pupil of my eye and help her emerge of her post-traumatic shock: victim of bullying, kidnapping, assault, touching, sexual violence and abuse,” Said Jihane’s mother, Fatim Zahra Yaacoubi, on her Facebook page.

The culprits were arrested on Monday morning, July 22 and were presented before the prosecutor on Wednesday, July 24 at 10:00 a.m. at the court of Hay Riyad, Rabat. Sources from the court affirmed that the relatives of the victims and the victims themselves were heard before the defendants confessed their crime.

According to the preliminary investigation, one of the accused already knew Jihane and her friend and colluded with his friend to kidnap the girls. After handing down the charges against them, the defendants will be prosecuted for premeditated rape and attempted murder of minors. The next hearing is scheduled for August 5, 2013.

What’s extremely deplorable about this affair, and many similar ones, is that the defendants claim that they are the “sons of..” to escape justice. If all Moroccans are equal before the law as the constitution states, legal privileges should be abolished and NO ONE should escape justice. This affair stirred strong indignation on social networks. In a matter of 24 hours after the launch of a Facebook page for solidarity with the victims entitled “En soutien a Fatima Zahra Yaacoubi” almost 8000 people liked the page.

“Everyone should be mobilized to stop the massacre. We are all Jihane. Our daughters will all be Jihane!! Please, let’s be supportive of Mrs. Yaacoubi to help her courage which breaks the silence of “hchouma” (embarrassment) and “chouha” (scandal); the two words which just encourage such animalistic acts,” said Sarah Mia in a comment.

“Justice must be unforgivable to these criminals. In Morocco, the law must Eyre above all, and especially against the abuse of power. God will help rebuild a small Jihane, inshallah. With you wholeheartedly,” commented Nazha Karama Idrissi.

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

By Larbi Arbaoui

Morocco World News

Tinejdad, July 25, 2013

According to Fox 4, a Moroccan family has been killed in multi-vehicle crash caused by an alleged drunk driver on Wednesday on Interstate 30 in Arlington, Texas, between East chase Parkway and Fielder Road where a Toyota Camry of the Moroccan family and blue pickup collided.

The husband along with his wife and a little baby girl lost their lives on the high way in an “exciting time in their lives” according to their relatives, as reported by FOX 4.

The husband Najib Intidam, 40, died inside the car on the spot, while his wife Hanane and her daughter Noor were taken to a local Hospital where they also died.

Yassine Jamal, a friend of the Moroccan victim, said “last time I saw him was an hour here before he died.He came here and sitting there having fun of me because I have never been to Morocco.”

The Moroccan family has been to the Mosque for prayers Tuesday night, they took a friend home then went to take groceries for Ramadan, but, sadly, that was their last meal.

The same source reported that Police have identified the suspect who caused the initial crash as Benjamon Ray Stewart of Arlington, 41, who previously pleaded no contest to driving while intoxicated in 2002, according to public records.

By Youssef El Kaidi

Morocco World News

Casablanca, July 25, 2013

Bank Al Maghreb issues, starting from August 15, 2013, a series of banknotes including notes of 200, 100, 50 and 20 dirhams.

In a press conference held Wednesday in Salé, Mr. Lahcen Hadaoun, director of Dar As-Sikkah announced the issuance of approximately 20 million new banknotes by Bank Al Maghreb (Moroccan central banlk to strengthen security, improve the durability of the notes, optimize the flow by looking for a better control of the costs of production and processing, as well as improving the readability of the notes by the controllers and machines.

The new notes will ultimately be safer and more difficult to fake according by the director of Dar As-Sikkah. As for the general themes that characterize the design and printing of the new banknotes series, values such as development and modernity, solidarity, diversity and openness were apparently promoted through different symbols.

The new banknotes also reflect Morocco’s cultural and geographic diversity by featuring cities of Casablanca and Rabat in the MAD 20 note, the Argan tree of the Sous region and Ouzoud waterfalls of Azilal in the MAD 50 note, the sand dunes and desert life referring to the Moroccan Sahara in the MAD100 note and Tangier-Med port and Cape Spartel Lighthouse in the MAD 200 note.

The MAD 200 note will be circulated as soon as August 15, 2013 on the occasion of the Feast of the Throne, while the issue of the MAD 100 is planned in conjunction with the celebration of Youth Day. As for the MAD 50 note, it will be circulated on the occasion of the anniversary of the Green March. The last note of this series, the MAD 20 will be issued on the occasion of the Independence Day.

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

By Youssef El Kaidi

Morocco World News

Fez, July 25, 2013

On Sunday, after a sever state of depression because of her debt, a mother decided to get rid of her seven-year old daughter by throwing her from the balcony. The mother, who is a pharmacist and lived in Hay Sidi Maarouf, Casablanca, suffered severe depression for more than six months for fear of bankruptcy after the accumulation of her debt that amounted to MAD 300,000.

The mother convinced her daughter that they will play a game, then handcuffed her hands and legs and folded her eyes so as not to see what her mother was going to do and threw her from the balcony. When the innocent child’s body crashed on the ground, the mother started screaming until the arrival of the security forces who arrested her and presented her to justice for charges of premeditated murder.

The 46 year-old mother said she committed this crime to avoid legal accountability for the huge amount of money she owes. The daughter didn’t die on the spot. She suffered several fractures in her ribs, internal bleeding at the level of her abdomen and severe wounds on her head, which eventually caused her death on Monday The mother was presented Tuesday to the Prosecutor General at the Court of Appeal on charges of “murder with premeditation.”

In her confession to the police, the mother said that she owes approximately MAD 300,000 to one of the banks, in addition to another debt estimated at MAD 300,000 lent by pharmaceutical companies she deals with in the context of her work.

$1 = 8.50 MAD.

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It seems to me that my stay in Albuquerque was quite a treasure at the cultural and educational levels. If I am to mention certain things I learned or learned from, I would start from the yearly balloon fiesta organized against the Sandia mountains skyline. To me as a foreigner it was an unexpected event that nobody told me about ahead of time.

I woke up one morning at seven o’clock, had breakfast and walked as usual to school, when all of a sudden I noticed a multitude of colorful balloons hanging high in the sky.

When I got to school and asked, I learned about the event and its Hispanic appellation as well. In Albuquerque, plenty of things were a source of curiosity for me starting with the name of the city itself. As a matter of fact, Albuquerque was no Anglo-Saxon name so speculations can start about its etymological origin. In the beginning I thought that since plenty of Arabic words that are borrowed into other languages start with ‘Al’, such as Algebra, Almanac etc……I thought that Albuquerque itself may have a certain meaning in Arabic.

A Moroccan friend later told me that its origin resides in the word Albarqoqi which means owner of prune trees. That was not what I heard from American friends but it was close. They said the word Albuquerque was the name of a tree with white bark. Others simply related the name to the Duke of Albuquerque. In any case, once, in Albuquerque my host family and I were invited to have dinner with friends of theirs. The food was good and the people were nice and friendly. We had a chance to talk about lots of things and places as the couple who invited us were widely traveled people.

I first noticed that from a map they had on a wall and on the map were pins that showed the places they had visited at different points of time. Itineraries were shown by linking different pins with some thread of a certain color. I never dreamt of meeting American people who would think of, let alone, spend holidays in Libya in those days. These people did! Back in history, Americans and Libyans never got along, and the famous painting of the American prisoner in Libya was an icon of such a rough relation between the two peoples.

Well this couple went for the sake of discovery and that was that. During our discussion about the journey to Libya, the man went to a room and soon came back with some artifacts he and his wife brought back from Libya. I was not acquainted with Libyan jewelry but I discovered that Libyans were masters in the field. Their genius showed mostly in a ring which caught my attention as it had an elaborate design and was topped with a green expensive looking gem. The color of the gem had no political significance as it was a genuine piece from ancient times.

I was handed the ring which I examined and admired for a while then handed it back to our host. His next question revealed to me that I had missed something quite essential about that ring ... The top part of it under the green gem would unlock and reveal where deadly poison was stored for the owner to use in case of capture by the enemies.