Morocco to firmly oppose all advocators of rites alien to the Moroccan people, King Mohammed
Morocco, Politics, 7/31/2003

Morocco's King Mohammed VI said Wednesday in the Throne Day speech Morocco will firmly oppose all people who advocate a rite that is alien to the Moroccan people.

"Those who might be tempted to advocate a rite which is alien to our people, shall be opposed as firmly as is warranted by our duty to safeguard the one and only rite of Moroccans, stressed the King, reaffirming determination to "stick to our choice of the Malekite rite while respecting the other creeds, in view of the fact that each people has its specific characteristics and is entitled to make its own choice."

Referring to May 16 terrorist attacks in Casablanca that claimed the lives of 44 people including suicide bombers, King Mohammed VI insisted that Morocco will not tolerate importing religious rites that are alien to its traditions because they are incompatible with the Moroccan identity.

"The Commander of the Faithful is, for the Moroccan nation, the sole religious leader to refer to. Therefore, no party or group can claim to be the spokesman or the guardian of Islam. The religious mission is the responsibility of the Supreme Imamate of Amir Al Muminin, and I have a mandate to assume this responsibility with the help of the national and regional boards of Ulemas. I intend to upgrade and streamline these boards shortly, and to renew their membership," noted the sovereign.

He further asserted that it will not be allowed to use Islam as a springboard to achieve leadership, or to carry out acts of terror, destroy the unity of the nation's religious creed, accuse people of apostasy, or to kill them outright. "I want to make it clear that the issue of the relationship between the State and religion in our country is settled, since the Constitution stipulates that Morocco is a Muslim State and that one of the major duties of the King as Commander of the Faithful (Amir Al Muminin) is to make sure that the faith is protected and that liberties, including freedom of worship for the followers of other revealed religions, are respected," he underlined.

King Mohamed VI added that "based on this clear vision of our religious references, Islam and modernity complement each other, forming one of the major tributaries which flow into the mainstream of the universal Reference. The process takes place in perfect harmony with its most important pillar, namely democracy, for which we have opted as an irreversible choice and as a keystone of the Moroccan constitutional monarchy."

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