« UK: Marry A Muslim Girl - Hide For 13 Years |
| Pakistan: Muslim Blasphemy By Phone »
May 26, 2006
Morocco: Crackdown on Islamists - 330 Arrested
News from Al Jazeera, South African Reuters and News 24 states that the authorities in Morocco have initiated a clampdown on Islamists within the nation, with 330 individuals detained briefly. The clampdown followed rumours of a plot to stage an uprising at some point this year.
Those targeted belonged to Al-Adl was al-Ihsane (Justice and Charity), an opposition fundamentalist group, which recently condemned the appointment of women Morchidat or "guides" for the faithful.
On Thursday (25 May) the leader of Al-Adl was al-Ihsane, Mohamed Abdelli, and 181 of his supporters, were arrested in Oujda, a city 340 miles east of Rabat. There were further arrests in the nearby town of Beni Modhar. On Monday to Wednesday, 148 members of the group were arrested in Rabat, the capital. All of those detained were subsequently released.
The arrests followed reports in newspapers that Al-Adl was al-Ihsane members were planning to mount a Qawma (Intifada) this year, to establish a "purist Muslim fundamentalist state". The leader of the group, which has 250,000 members, claimed the reports in the newspapers had been biased.
In Oudja, following the arrests, the groups main office was closed, and police were posted at its entrance barring any access. An official from the group said: "It is the first time the authorities took such decision to seal off an office. In the past, they deployed police discreetly to watch without intervening."
Officially the group is against violence, and is tolerated by the authorities, but does not have the legal status of a political party.
Since the suicide attacks which happened in the coastal city of Casablanca, which is regarded as Morocco's economic hub, Morocco is cautious of any expressions of extremism. These attacks, carried out by the Groupe Islamique Combattant Marocain (GICM), happened on May 16, 2003. 45 people died and many more were injured.
King Mohammed IV vowed that the Casablanca attacks would be the last to occur on his kingdom's soil.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at May 26, 2006 6:50 PM
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)