Morocco Offers Helping Spain 'Monitor Mosques'

Morocco has offered to help Spain monitor mosques and picking imams in a bid to end "internal problems of extremism" in the neighboring European country, a Moroccan official said.

"Morocco could prove a benefit to Spain with respect to selecting moderate imams, and Rabat is also ready to help monitor mosques," Moroccan Minister of Waqfs and Islamic Affairs Ahmed Toufiq told El Periodico newspaper on Sunday, May 9.

Toufiq suggested setting up a joint Moroccan-Spanish body for this purpose.

"We are ready to do this," the Moroccan official said, stressing his country has no intention to interfere into Spain's internal affairs.

The proposal came a few days after the Spanish government announced plans to monitor imams and censor mosque sermons.

The move was denounced by several politicians and rights groups Muslims in the country as a violation of religious freedom.

Exchanging Ideas

The Moroccan Minister has proposed setting up a body for exchanging ideas between both Morocco and Spain, which will not be binding on either country, to provide assistance in Madrid's efforts to crack down on "fanatics".

Toufiq has offered to hold a dialogue between Morocco and Spain, making use of thaw in relations after the visit of Spanish Prime Minister to Morocco on April 24.

According to the figures released by the Spanish Islamic Center, between 700,000 and 800,000 Arabs and Muslims live permanently in Spain, half of them are Moroccans.

Asked whether he supports the decision of the Spanish government to monitor mosques and select imams, the Moroccan official refused to give a direct answer.

"We are against radical trends in Islam, … there should be imams conveying a culture of co-existence with the other and accepting it," he said.

Moroccan King Mohamed VI announced in April a reform plan aimed at improving the highly-tarnished image of Islam and avoiding any shapes of "extremism and terrorism".

Respectable

The Spanish paper described Toufiq as respectable and cultured intellectual taking up reforming the Ministry of Waqfs after losing control of the country's 35,000 mosques, thus leading to "spread of extremist trends".

Morocco's proposal came one day after the Spanish government offered to fund mosques and Islamic cultural institutions, provided they abide by the line moderation.

Several Spanish towns have witnessed limited assaults on Muslims, following the Madrid blasts on March 11, which left 200 dead and 1500 wounded and were attributed to Muslim Moroccans.

A number of Moroccans have been arrested as suspects. And Morocco has sent a security team to assist Spain through the investigations.

The censorship proposal was initially tabled by Spanish Interior Minister Jose Antonio Alonso to control "Islamic radicals".

His proposal was later backed by Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos, who said Friday sermons should be placed under close scrutiny.

"It is important that we know what is said in the Friday sermon. Mosques have sprung up in Spain in a completely uncontrolled fashion," Moratinos has said.