"Unfavourable Trends in Morocco Can Still Be Reversed"

On September 7th a new parliament will be elected in Morocco. What may change should the Islamist forces gain strength, as has been predicted? Martina Sabra spoke with the French political scientist Malika Zeghal

Malika Zeghal (photo: Chicago University)
Malika Zeghal, author of a standard work on religion and politics in Morocco and currently professor at the University of Chicago

​​The Party of Justice and Development (PJD), currently the third-largest faction in the Moroccan parliament and the country's leading Islamist party, was established in the 1990s. It has been said that the palace and the secret service were involved in the party's founding. To what extent is the PJD controlled by the regime?

Malika Zeghal: I think the PJD is indeed controlled; after all, Morocco is ruled by an authoritarian regime. But I believe that in spite of everything, the PJD enjoys certain freedoms. The Moroccan and international media often refer to the PJD as a "Palace-Islamist" party. For me, that is too sweeping a generalization. Some PJD members are willing to serve as satellites of the palace, while others are not.

Abdelilah Benkirane, for example, has often spoken in favor of participating in the government. In 2002 the PJD was offered an honorary ministerial post. But the offer fell through because of people like Mustafa Ramid and others who wanted to limit the absolute power of the Moroccan monarchy, and demanded revisions to the constitution as a condition of joining the coalition.

And then there is also the MUR, a movement sympathetic to the PJD, some of whose members hold more radical positions than the party. So we find people within the PJD who pull out the rug from underneath the radicals, and others who refuse to allow the monarchy to domesticate them.

The IRI, a conservative political institute in the US, claimed as early as 2005 that the Islamists might garner just under half the votes cast in the next parliamentary elections. What do you think?

Zeghal: Many observers are skeptical about the prognosis offered by the IRI. I think PJD will win a lot of votes, and possibly assume a ministerial post within the coalition. There are many within the PJD who would be willing to do so. But other than that, I don't really believe that much will change on the Moroccan political landscape.

The PJD has had the opportunity to demonstrate its political prowess in a few Moroccan cities in the past few years. How would you evaluate the situation so far?

Zeghal: On the community level, the PJD has attracted attention not as a promoter of Islamism, but by consistently battling corruption. They have not forced women to wear veils, and they have not outlawed alcohol.

Their topics were good administration, public transportation, the cleanliness of public spaces and many more. Currently the big topic in the PJD is the moralization of public life. Islam is the frame of reference. But it's more about personal virtue, about a certain ethic, than about superficial subjects like segregation of the sexes or veils.

Rather a pragmatic course, would you say?

Zeghal: Yes, very pragmatic. The grass roots of the PJD is made up of many young, technocratic people. And they want to be in charge. This is very clear to see in the way they approach the elections.

The "Justice and Spirituality" movement led by Abdeslam Yassine has not yet founded a party, and is not represented in parliament. In an interview a few years ago, the spokeswoman of the movement, Nadia Yassine, referred to the PJD as "natural allies" on the path toward a more Islamic society. Will the followers of the Yassine movement vote for the PJD?

Zeghal: Officially, "Al Adl wal Ihsan" (Justice and Spirituality) is boycotting the election on September 7th. The movement has stated that it does not consider the Moroccan system legitimate. But it is possible that individual members will indeed vote for the PJD.

At any rate, "Al Adl wal Ihsan" is a powerful political force and a potential danger for the regime. A political liberalization would steal the movement's thunder. But if there is less room to maneuver politically, then "Al-Adl wal Ihsan" could gain strength as an opposition movement.

The two journalists Nicolas Beau and Catherine Graciet have proposed the theory that within the next ten years Morocco will experience an Islamic Revolution like the one in Iran unless social reforms are introduced as soon as possible. What do you make of this view?

Zeghal: I consider this view exaggerated. The PJD and the movement for justice and spirituality are opposed to radical violence, and I think that's not merely a rhetorical avowal but a statement to be taken seriously.

And in my view, an examination of the history of the country does not lead one to believe that an Islamic revolution could take place here. I am not very worried when it comes to the future of Morocco. There are some undesirable developments or misguided trends, but I believe they can still be corrected.

Beau and Graciet also claim that ideologically, Moroccan society is headed for a condition of polarization similar to that in Algeria in the 1990s: on the one side the secular, on the other the Islamic social project. Do you consider this view reasonable?

Zeghal: Yes, there is something to it. A similar polarization occurred in the years 1999 and 2000 during the debate about Moroccan family law. But the way the problem was solved once again shows that the situation in Morocco was not as bad as everyone thought. Ultimately the king stepped in and the debate ended.

I believe that with regard to Morocco the distinction between religious and non-religious is somewhat superficial, and that the factions themselves set up this distinction and use it to feed the controversy.

The supposed antagonism between Orient and Occident does have a strong power to mobilize political factions; this is a reflection of Huntington's "clash of civilizations." You must realize that Moroccan society on the whole is deeply religious. Even a party that calls itself socialist, like the USFP, has religious roots and is not secular.

The big question in Morocco is not whether society as a whole is becoming secularized. The question is whether the governing political system is becoming secularized. What political role should the king, as the so-called "commander of the believers" (Amir Al-Mu'minin) play in the future? That is the decisive debate.

Interview: Martina Sabra

© Qantara.de 2007

Translated from the German by Mark Rossman

Qantara.de

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Website Malika Zeghal at Chicago University