Morocco
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Mohammed VI and the Arab Spring
What happened to Morocco's 2011 constitution?
Morocco's 2011 Arab Spring constitution has been hijacked by the deep state, which is asserting its own authoritarian interpretation and turning the clock back decades. Analysis by Mohamed Taifouri
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Mohammed VI's coefficient swindle
Moroccan elections will be about maths, not change
The country's national election on 8 September will likely bring new government. But neither experts nor locals expect it to bring long-promised change, writes Cathrin Schaer
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Spain under Islam
Religious tolerance in Al-Andalus was a family affair
A bird's eye view of eight hundred years of history: Brian A. Catlos tells the story of Al-Andalus in the style of a streaming series and deconstructs the myths of the Reconquista and its enemies. By Andreas Kilb
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The Pikala Bikes initiative in Morocco
More mobility, more confidence, more freedom
In Morocco, the bicycle is considered a poor man's means of transport. What's more, cycling tends to be a male-only affair. The Pikala bike initiative in Marrakesh seeks to change all this. By Marian Brehmer
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Women in the Arab world
More violence, less income: Arab women bear the brunt of COVID-19
A new survey by Arab Barometer adds numbers to the narrative that COVID has led to a harsher reality for women in the Middle East and North Africa. By Jennifer Holleis and Razan Salman
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Morocco's pre-election crisis of confidence
"People no longer trust us!"
In Morocco, years of patronage politics and favouritism have led to trust dwindling in government, parliament and the country's institutions. Neo-liberal policy-making favours enrichment and corruption, while the state holds a protective hand over the profiteers. Commentary by Moroccan analyst Ali Anouzla
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Saudi Arabia, football and the Olympics
Making the leap from off-side to big league?
The Saudi national team is set to play the German Olympic squad at the Olympics in Tokyo later this month – a chance for the outsiders to make their mark. At the same time, and keen to buff up the nation's badly tarnished image, the Kingdom is looking to pitch for glory in the multi-million dollar football business. It's a risky strategy. By Sebastian Sons
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Meryem Alaoui's "Straight from the Horse’s Mouth"
A fiercely enjoyable feminist fairytale
Even though Meryem Alaoui's debut novel "Straight from the Horse's Mouth" centres on a female character working in a field – sex work – that is often, at least in Arabic literature, linked to Morocco, it does so with humour, warmth, and a tumbling, cartwheeling taste for the fantastic. Marcia Lynx Qualey read the book
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Leila Slimani's "The Country of Others"
Dreams in times of crisis
Bestselling author Leila Slimani's latest novel tells the story of her grandmother’s arduous life in rural Morocco during the immediate post-war period. Married to a Moroccan officer, the French woman struggles with the differences between their cultures, while both encounter growing hostility from the French settlers, and from the nationalists agitating for Moroccan independence. Volker Kaminski read the book
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Ten years after the Arab Spring
Arab women's rights, a genuine lifestyle revolution?
Arab women played a leading role in the protest movement of 2011. Since then, ongoing social transformation has had a considerable impact on their lives. What is their assessment of the situation ten years on? Claudia Mende spoke to women from Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco
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Underage migrants stranded in Spain
The lost children of Ceuta and the "warehouses of shame"
Hundreds of minors are stranded in the Spanish enclave. They can neither return to Morocco nor travel on to Europe. Many are hiding out of mistrust of the police. Karin Janker reports from Madrid
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COVID-19 fallout in Morocco
Tangiers' economic boom – few winners and many losers
Business in the Moroccan city of Tangiers is booming due to its location at the nexus of global trade routes. But many locals are failing to reap the benefits. What they crave most is the resumption of international tourism and the attendant influx of revenue. Stefanie Claudia Muller reports from Tangiers