Rabat - An article published on the Foreign Affairs highlighted the pioneering role played by the Kingdom of Morocco in the fight against Islamic fundamentalism after the establishment of the “Mohammed VI Institute for the Training of Imams, Morchidines and Morchidates (religious preachers).”
Under the title, “Morocco's Islamic Exports: The Counterterrorism Strategy Behind the Mohammed VI Institute for the Training of Imams,” Ilan Berman, Vice President of the American Foreign Policy Council, a non-profit U.S. foreign policy think tank in Washington, DC., explained that Morocco’s religious reforms after the deadly attacks in Casablanca in 2003 put the kingdom “on the frontlines of the intellectual struggle against radical Islam.”
“Morocco’s contemporary counterterrorism strategy can be traced back to the spring of 2003,” said Berman, adding that the series of synchronized attacks that rocked the city of Casablanca, killing 45 and wounding dozens of others, was “a wakeup call.”
The US publication added that these attacks have caused a profound awareness among the Moroccan people, giving alarming signs to the authorities that the nation was not immune to the radicalism plaguing the rest of the Middle East and North Africa.
Mr. Berman said that Morocco responded quickly by introducing the family code, known as the Moudawana, the following year, “as part of efforts to forge a more inclusive society.”
He added that this social reform brought in “a dramatic enhancement of the status of women, who gained equal legal standing in the household, the power to initiate divorces, and the right to inherit equally,” in addition to the pioneering and leading role they were given to play in the religious field after the training of hundreds of female preachers, known as “morchidates.”
The US Magazine hailed the efforts of the Mohammed VI Institute for the Training of Imams that increasingly help Morocco transition into “the role of an intellectual model that is both willing and able to take a stand against Salafism and jihadism.”
The magazine added that Morocco is now considered as a “leader in the battle of ideas taking place in the Muslim world,” on account of its religious credibility and its tolerant teachings.
Morocco set itself as a religious leader in the region, advocating a moderate Islam based on the Ashaari doctrine and the Malikite School of jurisprudence.
Last January, some 300 Islamic scholars, jurists, muftis (those capable of issuing fatwas) and government ministers from Muslim states gathered in Marrakech to discuss the issue of protecting religious minorities in the Islamic world.
The international meeting gave birth to the Marrakesh Declaration, which is a statement made by "more than 250 Muslim religious leaders, heads of state, and scholars,” which champions "defending the rights of religious minorities in predominantly Muslim countries."
Last March, the king of Morocco, Mohammed VI, inaugurated the Mohammed VI Institute for the Training of Imams, Morchidines and Morchidates (religious preachers), that has started offering training to Imams from Morocco, the Arab world, Africa and Europe.
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