By Aziza Zio

Morocco World News

Casablanca, July 31, 2013

My title is violent and it is imperative: All future rapists, whether they rape a virgin, a married woman, minor, or single mother, seem to not have to worry about punishment for their actions. There is no law that will put a rapist in jail. No judge deems that the abuse and imposition of sexual intercourse without consent is rape.

The case of Wiam is a good example. Everyone is mobilized in a timely manner and after what follow up is done? How should the defense of the victim be structured? The two girls who were raped find themselves ashamed and overwhelmed by guilt after trying to go out partying with a friend who betrayed their trust and led them to hell.

For the past few days my most worthy friends, that are passionate about human rights, are all extremely angered by what happened.  My anger is internalized. I have a strong resentment towards this society that requires an abused woman to marry, in order to avoid being exposed to the backbiting and gossip of others. I accuse in the manner of Emile Zola, I accuse all institutions that do not protect anyone, who believe that a woman deserves to be raped because she suffered sexual assault.

When women are put in a situation such as rape, the traumatizing experience lowers their defenses, and ultimately the women are the only ones to suffer. A raped woman suffers the trauma in her own flesh, and the trauma is always with her. She is very lucky if she is able to have a fulfilling sexual relationship, and this in the best-case scenario, if she a resilient enough to keep fighting.

Who protects our girls in this vilest savagery? Who protects our interests? Why do we pay all these taxes? This can happen to all women in this country, including myself. This event is not trivial; it is a symptom of a sick and gangrened society. Let’s save our future generations. Let’s save ourselves from this dreadful pattern. Let’s be mobilized.

An French version of this article was published in the Moroccan website: hwawhowa

Edited by Allison Kraemer

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 31, 2013

The study of the relationship between “language and power” has clearly shifted from proving the existence of this relationship, to probing and understanding its underpinnings and implications. Most linguists now agree that the relationship between “language and power” is a mutual relationship.

Powerful institutions and individuals use language as both a means to construct their power and as a way to maintain it. Language thus becomes necessary for the maintenance of power, and the power and effect of language in turn rely on the power of individuals and institutions themselves.

Language is delineated as “a social practice” (Fowler 61), by which power relations are established and sustained. This supports Fairclough’s (1989) view that power is not only built and sustained via coercive means (by force), but also via indirect ways (the use of language). Besides institutional power, or the power exercised by entities that are overtly recognized for holding a position of authority (the police, for example), there also exist other types of power relations: between family members, between educated and uneducated people, and so forth. Individuals and groups in this category of power relations use language as their main tool for maintaining status and power.

A father in a phallocentric family, for example, would not forcibly have to resort to force in order to impose his authority over the other members of his family. Consider the following example taken from a short story entitled A Meeting in the Dark, by African writer Ng?g? wa Thiong'o:

Sit down. Where are you going?’

‘For a walk, Father,’ he answered evasively.

‘To the village?’

‘Well-yes-no. I mean, nowhere in particular.

We can clearly see in this short conversation that the father is exerting his authority on his son. The father here does not resort to force while talking to his son, something that we can deduce from the absence of any textual reference by the author to the use of power by the father. On the contrary, the father resorts to a straightforward, strict style of address with his son (‘Sit down. Where are you going?’).

The style of speech deployed in the example is clearly loaded with power and authority, bearing in mind that the context in which this conversation takes place is within a patriarchal family, in which the father, who is a fervent preacher, is the member in control. The example above supports Fairclough’s (1989) view that power relations are not class-bound, and can be manifested though the use of language during social interactions between individuals.

Other scholars, namely Fowler (1985) and Kramarae, Schultz and O’Barr (1984), have supported the view that power is developed and maintained via interaction (the social practice of language). These scholars argue that language or discourse serve to construct and manipulate concepts of power in society. The discursive construction of power by institutions and individuals can also lead to changing social practices and realities (Mayr 4). The way institutions and individuals use language to consolidate and promote their ideological interests, or simply to preserve their authority over other institutions and individuals, changes social relationships (between married couples, for example) or social practices (e.g., the way one does his/her work).

For instance, an uneducated person who is exposed daily to a media content that uses language to promote patriarchal principles is likely to be influenced by such ideas, and might consequently put those principles into practice within his or her own marital life. The media in this case serves certain ideological purposes that might pertain to a dominant community (Mayr 2). Hence, these types of media use language in such a way they change people’s perceptions of and attitudes towards their social practices and relationships.

Fairclough (1989), Fowler (1985) and Kramarae, Schultz and O’Barr (1984) all agree that language is “a social practice,” and that power is constructed and developed via social interactions marked by hierarchy and asymmetry. However, we can still draw a distinction between two different uses of language in the context of power relationships: language as public discourse, and language as private discourse (Bielsa and O’Donnel 1). The former refers to the language used by powerful public institutions through the mass media. The power exercised via this public use of language usually stems from to governments and political parties. Those powerful institutions use language or “public discourse” (Dijk 84) to construct and promote their dominance, by producing knowledge about society and advertising a given social practice (Mayr 3).

The press, for example, uses a variety of techniques to change the way people perceive of and think about a certain social phenomenon. Fowler (1979) presents a “checklist” that students of Critical Linguistics can refer to in their analysis of the functions that discourse serves in the context of power relations. Transitivity is one main feature included in Fowler’s (1979) checklist of categories of structure. It generally refers to how meaning is represented in a clause (Kay and Aylett 1). In the print media, for instance, choices of transitivity structures are not arbitrary. They serve a certain ideological purpose that is clearly manifested in how different newspaper headlines, for example, report the same events, but with dissimilar focuses and interests. Below are two headlines from two different American daily newspapers reporting the same piece of news:

The New York Magazine

Iraq forces suspension of U.S. surveillance flights

USA Today

U.N. Withdraws U-2 Planes

It is clear that each headline reflects the same events. As far as transitivity structure is concerned here, the way participants in each clause are structured, as well as the words chosen to report the occurrence, are illustrative of how language is used differently to promote or reflect different interests.

The New York Magazine structured its headline in such a way that the reader would understand that the agent of action in the happening is “Iraq forces.” On the other hand, USA Today structured its headline dissimilarly, in such a way that the agent of action is rather the U.N., rather than ‘Iraq Forces,’ as contrarily reported by The New York Magazine. Though the two newspapers are reporting the same event, this discrepancy between the headlines is not accidental. This difference of focus demonstrates Foucault’s definition of discourse, which is the way knowledge and reality are constructed (Mayr 8). Such discrepancy in the way discourse constructs reality is illustrative of the “power of language.”

Other than public discourse, which is one way by which institutions and individuals construct and maintain power, private discourse is another way of using language for the same purpose. Private discourse refers to the language used by individuals in their interactions with one another (Bielsa and O’Donnel 1). Like public discourse, private discourse is another way to maintain power relations among individuals. This type of discourse retrieves its power and legitimacy from the social roles individuals play in their society (ibid 15). One example of such manifestation of private discourse in social relationships is doctor-patient interactions. Consider the following example cited in Allen and Guy (1989:46):

Doctor: You have diabetes? Your pancreas metabolism is impaired and its ability to manufacture insulin, and therefore, your digestive processes cannot utilize your intake of glucose.

Patient: (to Nurse): What did he say other than I have diabetes?

Nurse: Diabetes results when an organ in your body called pancreas is not able to manufacture insulin. Without insulin in adequate amounts, your body can’t handle all the sugar you eat daily. The doctor plans to supply your body with insulin it needs so that the sugar you eat will be used up and not wasted.

Patient: So why didn’t he say that in the first place?

This extract from a doctor-patient interaction exemplifies how private discourse is used to maintain a certain power relation between interlocutors. D uses a highly technical jargon that is characteristic of his field of expertise to explain to P about his/her health condition. Perhaps D could have used the same discourse used by N to explain P’s health condition. Rather, D favors a discourse not accessible to P, as it is clearly deducible from P’s responses that P’s knowledge of the medical field (D’s area of expertise) is mediocre compared to D.

D’s use of language in the extract above is not random. D could at least consider the fact that P is a patient, and not his or her colleague in medicine. D’s personal use of language denotes asymmetry and an interest in maintaining a doctor-patient distance (power relationship). In contrast, N successfully infers that D’s discourse is undecipherable for P, and thus uses a discourse that is more comprehensible for P. Therefore, we can say that N is relatively not interested in maintaining any power relationship between herself and P, as she resorts to “a communicative” use of language, which is aimed at producing understanding rather than maintaining power (Mayr 5).

 To conclude, this paper has discussed some of the discursive manifestations of power. Fairclough’s (1989) view that the relationship between “language and power” is manifested beyond class struggle has been exemplified through some social interactions (father-son interaction and doctor-patient interaction).

Hence, power is not only exercised via coercive means (force), but also through the use of language or discourse as social practices. Institutions and individuals do not only resort to coercion in order to establish or maintain power relations. Institutional power is exercised by the use of “public discourse” (the media), whereas individuals recur to “private discourse” to establish and solidify their power relationships with other individuals.

References

Bielsa, Murcia  Susana and O’Donnell. N.d. Web:  1.

Dijk, Teun A. “Discourse, Power and Access.” Discourse and Power. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. Web: 84

Fairclough, Norman. Language and Power. London: Longman, 1989. Print: 34-35.

Fowler, Roger. Language and control. Routledge, 1975. Print: 61-62.

Kramarae, Cheris, Muriel Schulz, and William M. O'Barr. Language and Power. Beverly Hills, Calif: Sage Publications, 1985. Print: 12.

Mayr, Andrea. Language and Power: An Introduction to Institutional Discourse. London: Continuum, 2008. Web: 4-8.

Thiong’o, Ngugi Wa. A Meeting in the Dark. 1674. Print: 3.

By Youssef El Kaidi

Morocco World News

Fez, August 5, 2013

Child molestation is such a traumatic and horrendous crime that inflicts lasting scars on the psychology of the victim and his/her family. Between adults, engaging in sexual intercourse without the consent of the victim or out of manipulation or violence is by all means an inhumane act, let alone if the victim is a minor who is unable to consent. The phenomenon is pervasive worldwide with varying degrees, but penalties for child sexual abuse are different from one country to another. Perhaps Morocco is one of the most lenient and permissive countries when it comes to pedophilia and child molestation laws.

In the United States, capital punishment is permitted against pedophiles in the states of Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas, while in the remaining states the punishment may amount to life imprisonment according to the specific offenses for which the perpetrator has been convicted. In China the death penalty is usually applied. According to the “Law for Protection of Minors in China”, citizens under eighteen (18) are minors and ‘serious’ offenders will be punished by life imprisonment or death penalty with confiscation of property. In Russia, the parliament passed a law in October 2011, to condemn child sexual offenders to chemical castration.

In Morocco, a rapist of 11 children was set free by a royal pardon after only two years of his imprisonment, leaving the victims and their families in a deplorable condition. Following the scandal, many people in Morocco asked the government to drop their citizenship. What may seem striking to many people is that Daniel Galván is not the first pedophile to benefit from such a precious gift after his heinous crime against childhood, but hopefully the last.

According to a report released in 2009 by the anti-pedophilia NGO Hands off My Child, of 166 cases of sex abuse the NGO worked on, the average prison term allegedly ranged from between four and six MONTHS with a fine ranging between MAD 9,000 and MAD 60,000 (USD 1,125 and 7,500). Building on the report, Morocco’s prosecution and sentencing of those involved in the sexual abuse of children is very weak in comparison to other countries, rather very tolerant and encouraging for more pedophilic crimes. The report of the NGO Hands off My Child drew attention to a case very similar to the one of Daniel Galván.

In 2004, the Moroccan police arrested a French National, Earvey Legloinick, and allegedly found him possessing 17,000 photos and 140,000 videos of child pornography. The number of photos and videos attests to the number of victims the criminal had sexually abused, but to his and our astonishment, he was sentenced to only four years imprisonment. Not only this, the four years were reduced to two years in prison, but he didn’t even complete the two years because, like Daniel, he was pardoned and went home in 2006.

Another case took place in 2006 when the police caught a 59- year old French man, Jack-Henri Soumere, having sex with a 16-year old boy. Luckily for him, Soumere was charged only for engaging in homosexual acts instead of having sex with a minor, despite that in article 486 of the Moroccan penal code a16-year old person is considered a minor. Therefore, Soumere was sentenced to a suspended light sentence of two months in prison.

What the Moroccan government should know is that this lenience is usually done at the expense of the dignity of the Moroccan people and its image worldwide. The huge protests on social networks and on the streets and the widespread rejection of the amnesty granted to Daniel show that people can tolerate economic and social hardships, but cannot tolerate humiliation.

After the unprecedented rage caused by the release of the Spanish pedophile and the alarming scandal of Morocco’s justice system as some journalists described it, it’s high time to reconsider the whole system of royal amnesty. It’s also high time to make substantive changes to strengthen Morocco’s legislation, as well as enforcement and protection policies, for child sexual abuse crimes. We are now in need of harsh punitive laws that could put an end to this phenomenon, or at least limit it, and bring back some of our lost dignity.

What is the purpose of law? While law serves humanity for multiple purposes, a general consensus can be reached that law is primarily established within a society to ensure the protection of the rights and freedoms of its people, given that they pose no threat to the public. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which sets a standard of achievement for all nations, states in its very first article that "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights." Recent cases of law enforcement have revealed irreconcilable discrepancies with such international standards.

Recently, a young man has reportedly been arrested and condemned to a three month prison sentence for smoking publicly during daylight in the holy month of Ramadan. Such ruling has spurred heated debate amongst Moroccans with polarized views on the case. Surely, this young man could have used some respect and thought for our culture and religion. The Holy Month of Ramadan is a distinguished month that is not only an owing debt to Allah for Muslims, but is a unique aspect of our culture that defines our identity.

From its first day to its last, it almost feels like Ramadan leaves its taste in the air we breathe. From the smell of the delicious harira and rghaif being prepared all day, to the sudden silence that reigns the streets as the sun gets closer to bidding its farewell as we listen carefully for the long-awaited Adan, to the not so brain feeding TV shows that invade our Moroccan channels at home, to the streets all coming back to life after lftour when people have finally satisfied the thirst and hunger of their patient stomachs, and to the early morning tiptoeing to the kitchen before sunrise for a sip and a bite that could spare you some thirst and starvation for the next day. Ramadan is indeed a sensational experience that brings along its spirits and unifies us as friends, as families, as a people. Ramadan is one of the many beautiful aspects of our country that enriches our culture and makes it a distinct one. We, therefore, have a duty to value and preserve our culture not only because it is precious, but because cultural diversity is what makes our world a beautiful place and is crucial to cross-cultural understanding and tolerance, which pave the way to international peace. And this young man has clearly overlooked this precious cultural aspect of our society.

Nevertheless, I recall that law is intended to protect the rights and freedoms of the people. A law that infringes upon one of these fundamentals defeats its own purpose. And the law responsible for the imprisonment of this young man does precisely that - infringe upon his freedom. It interferes with one's personal freedom of practicing the religion of one's choice in one's own way. It meddles with one's personal right of holding a choice of her/his own cultural and traditional practices. And these are fundamental basics of human rights. One cannot impose on another a religion or a culture. One has the freedom to practice, or not, the religion and the traditions of her/his own choice. Sentencing an individual to prison for not practicing the mainstream religion and traditions is a violation of one's personal freedom.

The unique condition under which human rights are subject to limitations is when such rights pose a threat to the public or interfere with another individual's rights. And so, how does an individual publicly not observing Ramadan harm the public? And how does it interfere with another individual's right to observing Ramadan or one's right to anything for that matter? At its worst, the act of publicly not observing Ramadan is nothing more than a lack of respect to our society. But one cannot be imprisoned for such lack of respect at the cost of her/his basic human rights, for these remain a priority. The law condemning public consumption during our holy month is deeper than a mere shield over our precious culture and traditions. It reflects our lingering position in the domain of human rights and points to the abundant room left for more human rights that our citizens have yet to enjoy.

A few in favor of this ruling have argued that since the law has been violated, the sentence is fair, and the story ends there. Indeed the subject violated the law, but has not the law violated the subject? If our ancestors dismissed every law as fair, would we not still be in an era where atrocities such as slavery prevailed? But, fortunately, because someone, one day, stood up to point out that the law subjecting one individual as a property of another based on race, is a violation of human rights, we are spared from slavery. By the same token, the law depriving an individual from adhering, or not, to the religion, culture, and traditions of her/his choice which pose no threat to the public, is a violation of human rights.

An even more recent case further illustrates our flawed law enforcement in its severest form. A Spanish pedophile, namely Daniel Galván Viña, who was convicted of crime in 2012 due to the sexual abuse of 11 children in Morocco, was also granted a royal pardon a few days ago that bailed him out of his 30-year sentence he never served. Such a scandalous move from our part has justifiably fuelled uproar across the country and received the international attention of appalled observers. His royal highness King Mohamed VI, may God assist him, has responded with proclamations of his unawareness of the the criminal's atrocities. Others have resolved the pardon being nothing less than a product of diplomatic agreements following complicated political affairs between the Moroccan and Spanish authorities. In either case, I am still debating on which is worse, that a Spanish pedophile serial rapist has been liberated or that criminals were granted freedom without thorough verification of their criminal histories by our authorities. Either case reveals our country's nonchalance towards its citizen's protection and either case results in neglected rights of the most precious people - our children.

Human rights abuse is taken further down the road as citizens react to this scandal. Peaceful protesters in Rabat have encountered resistance by violent police who left dozens of citizens injured despite Abdelali Hamieddine's statement that "Moroccans have the right to demonstrate when they feel humiliated and the authorities don't have the right to react so violently." This leaves us further questioning our country's status on law enforcement and human rights.

It is needless to say that these two demonstrative cases are but a sample of our country's daily law enforcement routine. They reflect the irreconcilable discrepancies existing between applied law and just law, between de facto and de jure. And when citizens are imprisoned for not observing a religious holiday in public, while pedophile foreigners are bailed out of prison after raping our children on multiple occasions, one can not help but ask, do people violate law or does our applied law also violate the people?

Nouhaila Chelkhaoui is a Moroccan national. She studies political science and sociology at the University of Toronto, Canada.

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

Morocco World News

Fez, August 5, 2013

Less than 24 hours after King Mohammed VI of Morocco announced his decision to revoke the royal pardon granted to Spanish sex pervert, Daniel Galvan, the Spanish authorities arrested him on Monday in Murcia in southeastern Spain, the Spanish news agency EFE said according to the Ministry of Interior.

The pedophile, who was sentenced in 2011 to 30 years of jail after he was convicted of raping 11 children aged between 5 and 15, will be delivered to the Spanish National Court, known as the “Audiencia Nacional”.

Daniel Galva was among 48 Spanish prisoners pardoned by the king  last week on the occasion of the 14th anniversary of the King's enthronement.

The pardon sparked widespread indignation in Morocco.

By Youssef Sourgo

Morocco World News

Casablanca, August 5, 2013

Considerable efforts have been invested to consolidate children’s protection against rape since pedophile criminal Daniel Galvan was set free. While some Moroccans chose to protest peacefully against the controversial pardon granted to Galvan to condemn his hideous crimes, another segment of the population has been mobilized online against sexual abuse targeting Moroccan children.

A group of Moroccan human rights activists based in the U.S. have recently launched an online petition addressed to the Moroccan government, in which they urged the latter to harden punishments against children rapists in line with international standards in this regard.

The petition highlights the fact that the crime of raping children has become a common practice in the country. According to the petition, the reason why this crime has become widespread in Morocco is that the nation’s legislations do not seem to take it seriously enough, as the judicial system does not apply the most severe sentences against its perpetrators..

The petition also draws a link between the unjustified release of Daniel Galvan and the urgency of reconsidering the current penal code against sexual exploitation of children.

In this context, the online petition calls upon the Moroccan government to

“Respect its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and especially Article 34 holding state parties responsible for protecting children from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse; promote national and international co-operation against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children and set up a specific monitoring mechanism such as the US sex offender registration system; take the necessary legislative measures, in conformity with Morocco’s international commitments to prevent all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse by adopting stricter sentences for perpetrators of these crimes and advancing their full implementation by Moroccan adjudicators.”

To sign the petition click here

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

By Youssef Sourgo

Morocco World News

Casablanca, August 5, 2013

New facets about the affair of pedophile Daniel Galvan continue to be unveiled. The notorious Spanish criminal of Iraqi origins, who was granted a controversial royal pardon that ignited an unprecedented controversy in the kingdom, continues to shock Moroccans as new facts about his crimes, trial and identity are made public.

Spanish newspaper El Pais published on Monday controversial excerpts from Daniel Galvan’s trial in Kenitra, 2011.

Based on these excerpts, during his trial in 2011, Daniel Galvan stated openly before the judge that “in Morocco, everything can be bought with money.”

Asked by the judge on the reasons behind his coming to Morocco and his sexual exploitation of its children, Galvan responded, “Because children in Morocco do not cost much, and you can buy anything with money.”

According to the same source, Galvan’s statements in the court enraged attendants during his trial in Kenitra.

The notorious child molester is believed to have served for the Spanish intelligence in Iraq, where he contributed to the downfall of President Sadam Hessein’s regime.

Daniel Galvan has recently been arrested by Spanish authorities in Murcia in southeastern Spain, less than 24 hours after King Mohammed VI revoked the royal pardon he granted him.

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

By Yahya Bouhafa

Morocco World News

Rabat, August 6, 2013

A major teller of societal development can be found in the extent to which its members volunteer and take part in community service activities. Volunteer work becomes a source of pride and engagement for individuals in such societies. The case of Morocco and volunteerism represents a unique case for many reasons. Moroccan society is known for cultural customs that highlight the constant need to support and help others by emphasizing the importance of family relations and cultural identity.

All these cultural features can be depicted in the various social groups and organizations that are devoted to volunteer work and different community service activities. In the last decade we have witnessed a massive change in the participation of Moroccan citizens in different associations that prioritize community service. Nowadays, one can be part of a diverse array of organizations that specialize in issues such as education, gender equity, health, etc.

Furthermore, participation in civil society organizations symbolizes a crucial process for individuals aiming to build certain social skills and increase their different responsibilities in life. This is an essential basis for cultivating civic engagement and social responsibility. Thus, the contribution of civil society organizations becomes an important element in order to attain certain social positions.

Today Moroccan society has a strong awareness about the importance of volunteer work. The best support to this idea is the amount of projects that were organized to help poor families in the holy month of Ramadan. The idea of volunteer work has become a major concern for a significant portion of Morocco’s youth population. In fact, such initiatives should make us even more optimistic about the future of this country because the participation of Moroccan youth assures that they are willing to take part in the development of Morocco.

In order to maximize participation, cultivate volunteer work, and raise social awareness among young people, many steps must be taken. First, young people should be introduced to the importance and purpose of voluntary work. This can be done in different campaigns in schools and universities and through highlighting the connections between social solidarity and civic engagement.

This will help foster the notion of “giving back.” Second, Moroccan youth should be informed about the vital role they are playing in the development of their country by their participation in different civil society associations. Additionally, volunteer work should be encouraged through organizing the way it is done and making it easy for everyone who wants to take part in it.

In conclusion, Morocco has witnessed an impressive development in relation to volunteer work, especially among young people. However, we must continue to promote such acts if we want to truly contribute to our country and to the development of its social welfare. The task is far from complete.

Edited By Anna Jacobs

In Newark, Delaware there is a famous tavern called Deer Park that witnessed a certain part of Edgar Allan Poe’s life, I was told. As you walk by Deer Park, you will not fail to notice a figure drawn on the pavement, it is a portrait of Edgar Allen Poe. The artist who has drawn the charcoal figure has made it look pretty much intriguing and awe inspiring. The portrait was half and half that of a living person and a hollow eyed skull drawn in a precisely symmetrical manner.

Deer Park was one of Poe’s favorite places where he stopped by for a pint or two and a good time. In that manner it is a historical site where Poe’s fans gather for drinks, I suppose. At Deer Park, you can also see great Harley Davidson motorcycle fans with tattooed arms as frequent customers of the tavern. I continuously had to go past the place as it was on my way from Main street Newark to Pencader campus where I lodged with other Moroccan colleagues. In that sense Deer Park was part of our surrounding social environment. Linking the place to a world renowned writer and a great figure of American literature is a great investment to attract great numbers of customers. Crossing Delaware State into Pennsylvania, we found ourselves in Philadelphia where more is going to be revealed about this great literary figure.

Touring historic Philadelphia took us back in history to the early making of the American nation. We had a chance to see historical sites and the tour guide linked each of them to past events that were very significant landmarks in the making of American history. We, Moroccan teachers contributed to discussions and took the opportunity to stress the fact that the Kingdom of Morocco was the first state to acknowledge the independence of the United States. The friendly historical ties between our nations date back to 1776. The date the US was declared an independent country from the British Crown.

While in Philadelphia, we had a unique chance to visit Edgar Allen Poe’s house. Before you could enter the house, you will be greeted by the statue of a “The Raven” that is standing on a pole not far from the house. The gentleman who gave us a tour of the place talked about Allan Poe, his family life and his works and successfully brought to life our memories of the Fall of the House of Usher, Murder at the Rue Morgue, the Raven, the cask of Amontillado, the Black Cat and so on. The tour guide has successfully managed to whet our appetites for further readings of Edgar Allan Poe’s works. I did not fail, when we got back upstairs from the cold and gloomy basement, to spend some time in the entrance hall to the house where some of Poe’s quotes where displayed on the walls of the hall. I will mention some of them before I close this part of “The Cultural Journals”. Here are a few quotes:

- I have no faith in human perfectability. I think that human exertion will have no appreciable effect upon humanity. Man is now only more active - not more happy - nor more wise, than he was 6000 years ago.

- Never to suffer would never to have been blessed.

- Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.

- Convinced myself, I seek not to convince.

- All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.

With a chill that goes through your bones, you will leave that house only to be greeted once more by the famous raven bidding you farewell. You can only get back from that out of the common journey when you get seated in a bus that is slowly starting to move away from the place!

By Chokri Omri

Morocco World News

Tunis, August 6, 2013

What ground do we still pretend to have for saying that this is the right way in which we should live? We have to learn how to root out everything that does not go in conformity with logic and reason. If first, we do not succeed, we need to try reading the directions. We should not live as they want us to live . We should live as we want them to believe. Indeed, we should live and wait for no one of us to be ready to show that he can be manipulated by those who never knew how to manipulate themselves except towards darkness and destruction. Each one of us has in himself the capacity for making all of this into practice. What stops us? Of course, it is respect that stops us. We belong to a certain order of things. In fact, we have been told that we belong to that specific order of things? The order of being weak and in need of civilization.

One has to respect every day as irrespectively of anything else as possible. One has to respect and show his greatfulness to the many and many philanthropist men of our age. “If malice and vanity “, Emerson said, “wear the coat of philanthropy, Shall that pass?” To respect them is one’s duty in life as a matter of fact. It is basically because onehas to be civilized. Civilization is not as easy as we might seem to think. We have been told that it does not come like that as naturally as the leaves to a tree. It is on those philanthropists that it highly depends.

One cannot help wondering how they have come to be civilized if civilization does not come as the product of ancient people. Nowadays, it has become highly problematic for people to behave in a simple way. Most of all, it has become very difficult for them to enter modern civilization without losing whatever is civilized in them. En présencede cette civilisation si avancée qui pour chaque action, siindifférente qu’elle soit, se charge de vous fournir un modèle qu’il faut suivre, ou du moins auquel il faut faire son procés, ce sentiment de dévouement sincère et sans bornes est bien prés de donner le bonheur parfait. STENDHAL had rightly put it.

History has never ceased to provide us with numbers without number of instances that reveal and tell how great people managed to handle the torch of humanity. ‘If you come near the boat, I will shoot you right through the head. For I am resolved to have my freedom’. But in so far as we are all concerned, no matter how barren and sterile we are being presented to the world and seen by others as such, we have to prove them wrong. Most of all, we have to be ashamed of nothing but of being ashamed. It is merely on account of the fact that, so to speak, we do have something like a duty to perform in this life of ours.

Our duty is to be without any duty save that of our Lord. As for earthly constraints, they are just imposed upon us and can certainly be evaded with hard work. Our duty is to live as we are told to live and do as we are told to do not by humans but by our creator. No sooner did Man take the life of his brother and the sad film began to be shown. But again, we all need to go on. Life is a gift in one way or another. Therefore, we need to profit from it and avoid hurting one another. Why should we bear grudgy things against each other when there is really no need for that? Is it owing to an external force that we are saying things while doing other ones? La feintise, mon dieu, à quoi bon avoir la feintise? Pour quelle raison? En feignant de faire une chose on en fasse en réalité une autre.

But how about those who are doing exactly what they are saying? Do we really belong to them? A question asked which is never answered. Life is a journey in which we are asked to take one way . To try to take more than one way will not be of any service to us. One way is enough. So let it be the right one.The right way is one in which we will never feel that we are selfish. Stagnation and inertia are to be given no mind. They can only drive to stupidity and procrastination. 'Day unto day, Life wastes and wanes like a candle burning itsoils away till nought but charred wick remains.'

People, these days, do not come across any difficulty in pretending to be right while they are anything but that. After all, as it must be stated, we are all tasked to stop allowing ourselves to judge things and see whether they are right or wrong. We are to live and stop making things come to their ends before thay have really started. Fourvoyer les choses pour rien et pour ainsi faire mal à nous même. We are to learn how to live and nothing else. More importantly, we are to accommodate ourselves to the changes of life while having that special kind of principles’s retention which takes a great deal from itself in order to imbue this life of ours with meaning and significance. It is a kind of resisting and withstanding to the cold and harsh reality, a way of accepting life not as it is but rather as it really aught to be.

Besides, it is undeniably true that any attempt, whether serious or ridiculous, at platonizing life is bound to be a great failure. But at the same time, it will not deprive us of that feeling of confort and safety in a world that has really started to be a little bit absurd and futile. Our hope, then, is to be sustained and intensified on the cess of those constant attempts to live as all real men would have chosen to live. We are really in need to handle a life of our own. A life that does not sound like death. A life that accepts no such thing as stoicism or human suffering.

Chokri Omri was born in 1985. He is a teacher of English, poet and writer from Tunisia. A number of his poems and articles, both Arabic and English, have been translated into Spanish and Romanian and published in Contemporary literary Horizon Magazine, The Exhibitionist and The Tunis Times

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

By Omar Bihmidine

Morocco World News

Tangier, August 6, 2013

According to some sources, King Mohammed VI is expected to receive the families of the 11 children sexually abused by the Spanish pedophile, Daniel Galvan, who was initially granted royal pardon before it was revoked in an unprecedented move. It is still unclear whether the reception will take place on Tuesday or Wednesday.

The royal decision to receive these families comes less than 24 hours after the arrest of Daniel on Monday August 5 in Murcia. Sentenced in 2011 to 30 years of jail, Daniel Galvan was remanded in custody, Tuesday in Madrid, upon the decision by judge Fernando Andreu from the National Audience, Spain's highest criminal court.

This decision was made due to the risk of running away and the gravity of offences committed in Morocco where Galvan was sentenced to 30 years of imprisonment for pedophilia.

According to the same sources, King Mohamed VI is expected to express his remorse over the royal pardon that was granted by mistake.

Following the outrage brought about by the royal pardon of Spanish rapist of 11 children, Daniel Galvan, King Mohamed VI asked the government to conduct a probe into the circumstances of his release and revoked his amnesty.

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By Youssef Sourgo

Morocco World News

Casablanca, August 6, 2013

Less than 24 hours after his arrest in Murcia (southeastern Spain), notorious child molester Daniel Galvan stood before the judge in the Spanish National Court in Madrid.

According to Spanish newspaper El Pais, the judge ordered a temporary detention of pedophile criminal Daniel Galvan, given his serious crimes and to avoid that he flees the country if released. During the session, which took place on Tuesday in the Spanish Court in Madrid, the Spanish criminal of Iraqi origins asked the judge not to extradite him to Morocco.

Responding to Galvan’s request, judge Fernando Andreu said that despite having a Spanish nationality, the defendant was born in Iraq, his country of origin, before he acquired Spanish nationality after he married a Spanish woman and divorced from her.

Pedophile criminal Daniel Galvan was arrested on Monday, after King Mohammed VI revoked last Sunday the royal pardon he had granted him, given the unprecedented controversy the children molester’s release stirred in the kingdom.

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By Omar Bihmidine

Morocco World News

Tangier, August 7, 2013

In an interview with Morocco’s TV channel 2M, Mustapha Ramid, Morocco's minister of justice, said on Tuesday that the Spanish rapist of 11 children is not likely to serve the remainder of his 30-year sentence in Morocco.

Upon the arrest of this pedophile, who benefited from the royal pardon by mistake, in Murcia, Ramid intervened to contact the Spanish justice minister for the purpose of finding an agreed-upon approach to punish the criminal.

"The Spanish government is ready to give us a hand so as to put an end to this widespread scandal," Ramid noted.

"The Ministry of Justice, along with the Spanish government, is now taking the necessary measures to bring Daniel back to justice, and then to prison," Ramid added.

In this regard, Ramid suggested three scenarios:

-The first scenario is that the convicted pedophile be extradited to Morocco, which is unlikely, according to the Minister, since the bilateral agreement on extradition signed between the two governments in 2009 excludes the possibility for either country to deliver its citizens to the other party.

- the second scenario is that the sexual pervert purges the remainder of his sentence in a Spanish prison, in accordance with an agreement on judicial cooperation signed between the two countries in June 1997, which provides for the possibility that Spanish prisoners convicted in Morocco spend the remainder of their sentences in Spain.

- The third scenario is that Daniel Galvan be prosecuted in Spain based on the charges that will be presented by the Moroccan authorities to their Spanish counterparts.

In an interview with 2M national channel, Ramid pointed out, " We submitted the criminal's file to Spanish courts; the criminal must be taken to court for a second trial."

"Daniel will surely get what he deserves" Ramid stressed.

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By Omar Bihmidine

Morocco World News

Tangier, August 7, 2013

Douha Assaou, a young Moroccan girl, recently won Qatar's 2013 International Quran Prize (Tijaan Anour), a prestigious contest of Quran recitation.

Outperforming her fellow contestants, thanks to her talents and great efforts, Assaou succeeded to represent Morocco by bringing it much honor and prestige.

Following the success of other talented Moroccan reciters, such as Hassna Khoulali and Hajar Boussaq, Assaou confirmed Morocco’s reputation as a country of talented Quran reciters.

Attending the event, Lahcen Daoudi, Morocco's minster of higher education, handed Assaou her well-deserved certificate of excellence.

Here, Assaou is the second Moroccan to have been awarded this Prize after Mohamed Boukosh, who won last year's "Tijaan Anour" edition.

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By Larbi Arbaoui

Morocco World News

Tinjedad, August 7, 2013

At the end of Ramadan, Muslims must pay Zakat al Fitr, purifying charity that every Muslim has to pay as Islamic legislation enforce it.

“Take, [O, Muhammad], from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them increase, and invoke [ Allah 's blessings] upon them.” God confirms in His holy book, Surat At-Tawbah, 109

This act of great solidarity is not an optional charity but a divine duty that is obligatory for every Muslim, old and young, female and male.

Ibn 'Umar said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) made Zakat al-Fitr compulsory on Muslim slave, free, male, female, old and young among the Muslims as follows: a measurement of barley or date “Saa” (approximately 2,035 kilograms), and ordered to give it before people go out to the morning prayer of Eid Al Fitr. Narrated by Al-Bukhari 1503.

The aim from this Zakat is to help the most deprived stop panhandling during the days of celebration.

In Morocco, according to the National council of Religious Affairs, the cash value of Zakat Alfitr is arranged between 5 to 6 dirhams in the rural areas and between 10 to 16 dirhams in cities.

The value of Zakat Al Fitr is a matter of disagreement between Foukahas (Muslim scholars). Some Ulema prohibits Zakat cash, while others allow it.

The imam Abu Hanifa and his companions, as well as the fifth rightly guided caliph Omar Ibn Abdul Aziz authorized to give of zakat al-Fitr in cash.

The Supreme Scientific Council of Morocco has previously issued a fatwa on Zakaat al-Fitr, stating that it is permissible to pay Zakaat al-Fitr in cash.

Traditionally, the father or those in charge of the family are required to pay the Zakat for all family members, including those who are old if they have no income.

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Morocco World News

New York, August 7, 2013

According to the Fiqh Council of North America, Wednesday is the last day or Ramadan and Eid El Fitr will be Thursday 8 August.

Unlike Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries, which count on naked eye sighting of the moon, the FCNA bases its decision on astronomical calculations.

“The FCNA takes scientifically guaranteed astronomical calculations as the valid method for lunar month’s affirmation. The calculations ascertain that the new moon of 29 hours old will be in Southern California horizon on August 7, 2013. Therefore, we accept that certain knowledge as Sharia’s reason to declare that Thursday 8 August, 2013, will be the first day of Shawwal,” said the FCNA in a press release

The Fiqh Council of North America recognizes astronomical calculation as an acceptable Shar’ia method for determining the beginning of Lunar months including the months of Ramadan and Shawwal. FCNA uses Makkah al-Mukarram (Mecca) as a conventional point and takes the position that the conjunction must take place before sunset in Makkah and moon must set after sunset in Mecca.

On the basis of this method the dates of Ramadan and Eidul Fitr  will be on Thursday, August 8, 2013.

While the astronomical calculations are accepted by some countries, it is still a hotly debated issue, since many cling to the traditional sighting of the moon with naked eyes, as set out in the Holy Quran.

The calculations of the Islamic calendar are based on the lunar calendar, which causes the Islamic months to move in the Gregorian calendar approximately 11 days every year. The beginning of Islamic months may also vary from one country to another depending on whether the moon has been sighted or not.

At the time of writing no Arab country has yet declared whether Thursday will be the last day of Ramadan of the first day of Shawwal.

By Moha Ennaji*

Morocco World News

Fez, August 7, 2013

The royal pardon is a constitutional right authorized by the Moroccan constitution. However, King Mohammed VI, voluntarily and at the request of the Moroccan people, and for the protection of the rights of victims, decided to revoke his pardon to the Spanish pedophile Daniel Galfan, after having been informed of the heinous crimes he committed and the imbalances in the committee responsible for the implementation of the royal pardon.

The orders were given to the Ministry of Justice to return the criminal into prison, propose measures that will regulate the conditions for granting amnesty in the future, and conduct an impartial investigation to punish those who are involved in this scandal. The fact that the King withdrew his royal pardon to this criminal is a courageous and historic act.

This is actually the first time in the history of independent Morocco that the king has revoked the pardon for one of its beneficiaries and that, as Head of State, takes things in hand to ensure that the criminal returns to prison to serve the sentence he deserves. Soon after this decision, the criminal Daniel Galfan was arrested in Murcia, in southeastern Spain, according to the Spanish Ministry of the Interior.

The Spanish pedophile was made available to the Madrid National Court before being returned to jail. The royal audience given to the parents of the victims and the reassurances given to them to support their children and help them overcome the psychological trauma they went through is a sincere token of the King’s intention to continue the reforms that he has initiated, including the protection of children, women, human rights, and all the needy and vulnerable segments of the population.

King Mohammed VI has skillfully acted to resolve this issue and prevent the country from undergoing any social unrest or instability. Now that the problem is solved, it is necessary to avoid the use of this unfortunate event to undermine the image of Morocco and retract the remarkable efforts made by the state and civil society to protect children and human rights under the rule of law. It is also necessary to emphasize the importance of the separation of powers and of judicial independence, and the need to accelerate the reforms of the Ministry of Justice and Freedoms.

There exists a real political will to reform the justice system in Morocco, in accordance with the instructions of His Majesty. Indeed, the reform of the judiciary is one of the major projects initiated by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, part of the national strategy of political, economic, social, and cultural reforms that the country has been experiencing since the late 1990s.

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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Morocco World News

Rabat, August 7, 2013

The Ministry of Civil Service and Modernization of the Administrations announced that the standard time of the Kingdom will be advanced sixty (60) minutes starting from Saturday, August 10, 2013 at two o’clock in the morning.

On the occasion of Ramadan, the Moroccan authorities decided to return to Morocco’s standard time GMT from July 7 at 3 a.m. The change comes under the Decree 2-12-126 of 26 Jumada I 1433 (April 18, 2012) and the decision of the Head of Government N.3-59-13 of 18 Sha’ban 1434 (June 27, 2013).

According to the Government, this decision aims to increase the competitiveness of the national economy by reducing the cost of the energy bill and to facilitate transactions with regional economic partners.

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Morocco World News

Fez, August 7, 2013

According to the calculation made by the Moroccan Ministry of Religious Affairs, Morocco will celebrate the holiday of Eid El Fitr , which marks the end of Ramadan, on Friday August 9, 2013.

Most Muslims countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Egypt, announced earlier on Wednesday that they will celebrate Eid El Fitr on Thursday.

Unlike in previous years, Morocco started this year’s Ramadan the same as most Arab and Muslim countries, on July 10, 2013.

The calculations of the Islamic calendar are based on the lunar calendar, which causes the Islamic months to move in the Gregorian calendar approximately 11 days every year.

The beginning of Islamic months may also vary from one country to another depending on whether the moon has been sighted or not.

On this occasion, Morocco World News and its staff, wish a happy and blessed Eid to Moroccans and Muslims worldwide.

By Mohammed Qaserras

Kenitra, August 8, 2013

The Spanish Daily El Pais published exclusive information about Daniel Galvan, the man who raped 11 Moroccan children in Kenitra city and benefited from the controversial royal pardon, after he was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

The newspaper reported that Daniel's real name is Salah al-Din, adding that he was born in 1950 in the Iraqi city Basra.

The newspaper added that he worked as a spy in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. He was also an officer in the Iraqi army and the owner of a pharmacy in the same country.

The daily also pointed out that in 1996, he received a grant from Murcia’s University for his mastery of three languages, and later he married a Spanish woman, obtained Spanish citizenship and changed his name from Salah to Daniel.

Daniel resided in many countries such a Egypt, Jordan, Syria and England, before settling in Spain, and finally moving to live in Kenitra Morocco, where he raped 11 Moroccan children.

The latest news indicated that Daniel had a sexual relationship with a Morocco minor called Redouan in exchange for money while he was in the Kenitra jail.  

Daniel stated to the Spanish investigating judge that everything in Morocco “can be bought with money.”

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