“Unbalanced villains...with no homeland or religion”: King Mohammed did not mince his words.
When Morocco marked the first anniversary of the suicide attacks that shattered its self-proclaimed image of a haven of stability in the Arab world, the king reminded his people who the perpetrators were.
The 12 Islamic suicide bombers who killed 33 people on May 16, 2003 in Casablanca “deliberately perverted and tarnished” the image of Islam in Morocco, he added.
Moroccan authorities say Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda network bankrolled the assailants. According to the head of the security forces, General Hamidou Laanigri “only a dozen dangerous people are still on the run”.
King Mohammed, Morocco’s highest religious authority, stressed the need to “shield Morocco from the perils of extremism and terrorism”.
In a speech before top religious clerics, he outlined reforms designed to rid Morocco of imported radical doctrines and give impetus to its more tolerant brand of Islam.
One of the results of the Casablanca bombings has been to force the Moroccan authorities to confront hard-line preachers accused of inspiring radical militants.
They propagated Wahabism, an austere interpretation of Islam from Saudi Arabia - bin Laden’s birthplace - and benefited from Saudi scholarships and funds.
Over the years, their increasing popularity transformed Morocco’s mosques into a political forum.
“Garage mosques”
Up to two thirds of Morocco’s 32,000 mosques are managed by private donors while officially under the watch of the Religious Affairs Ministry.
In recent years many clandestine mosques have flourished in poor neighbourhoods. Often run by Islamist organisations, their popularity rose thanks to outspoken independent clerics who threatened Jews and attacked Morocco’s pro-US policy.
After Friday prayers their followers would distribute pamphlets in support of bin Laden, denouncing Morocco’s ”apostate regime” or the religious status of the king.
Many of these “garage mosques” have been closed over the past year. Others now open only at prayer times to prevent suspicious gatherings. Tapes of popular clerics, traditionally sold after Friday prayers, have been banned outside mosques.
Economics professor and left-wing militant Driss Benali said the clampdown and reforms may not be enough.
“In the short term, we need to control mosques. But I’m afraid radicals will undertake underground activities and there won’t be any control over them,” he said.
Many say religious extremists now gather in public markets or in their homes, away from state control.
The king has set up two new directorates to oversee the administration of the mosques and modernise clerical education.
The reorganisation of the religious affairs ministry was met with some scepticism.
“Last May’s events only brought up to date a policy that has been outlined before,” said historian and sociologist Mohamed el Ayadi, referring to legislation allowing state control of mosques.
For Ayadi, the key issue is what sort of clergy would emerge.
“Are we going to have the same clerics as in the past and find ourselves with the same speeches?” he asked, stressing the need for a new generation of religious scholars with a modern understanding of Islam.
A new Islam
The jailing of two radical clerics under a new anti-terrorist law last September revealed a considerable shift in religious policy.
Radical theorists Hassan Kettani and Abu Hafs were jailed for 20 and 30 years respectively for undermining the stability of the state. At the trial prosecutors said they had “inspired the (Casablanca) suicide bombers”.
The pair, who had delivered their fiery sermons under the complacent eye of the authorities for years, were detained after an alleged al Qaeda cell was broken up in 2002 and the arrest of extremists for religiously motivated crimes.
Omar al-Qazabri’s recorded sermons are still a big hit in downtown Casablanca, despite his departure for Saudi Arabia last year.
The Saudi-educated Moroccan is remembered as a charismatic extremist even by those who attended his mosque in Casablanca’s Al Oulfa district.
“There were several rows of people weeping during his khotba (sermon). They liked him very much,” said a man who used to attend prayers during the holy month of Ramadan.
“Before it was so crowded that the streets were closed. Now there’s no one on Fridays, everything has been swept away.”