King resolved to achieve 'optimal reform' in the religious domain
Morocco, Politics, 7/31/2004

King Mohammed VI of Morocco on Friday voiced resolve to achieve "optimal reform" in the religious field and insisted on the need to keep religion apart from politics, in a State of the Nation address, on the occasion of the Throne Day, marking the fifth anniversary of his accession to the throne.

"I am just as determined to achieve optimal reform in the religious domain so as to uphold the values and tenets of the generous, tolerant Islamic faith and preserve the unity of the Maliki rite, by adopting an open-minded form of Ijtihad, which is consistent with modern times, in order to protect our youth against foreign, destructive trends," the monarch emphasized.

The aim, he said, is not merely to ensure that reform in this domain is complementary to the action undertaken in the educational and cultural fields, for the reform policy should also include the political sector, where differences of opinion are expressed freely.

"This is why religion and politics should be kept apart, since religion concerns sacred tenets which must be shielded from any dissension or disagreement."

The monarch issued, last Friday, instructions to build several mosques every year in poor neighborhoods located in large agglomerations.

This move, part of an emergency program starting in 2005, aims at ending definitively and progressively the proliferation of unfit places of worship, the Ministry of Habous (endowments) and Islamic Affairs said in a release.

The king also gave instructions for restructuring the religious realm through the reorganization of the Superior Council of Ulemas (religious scholars), the broadening of Ulemas Councils' networks and the extension of their prerogatives.

In his speech, King Mohammed VI insisted on the need "to guard against any use of religion for political purposes," recalling in this regard that under the Kingdom's constitutional monarchy, religion and politics come together only in the person of the King, Commander of the Faithful.

"In fulfilling the sacred mission with which I am entrusted, I am determined to ensure politics is practiced by the relevant institutions and within the bounds set for it.

Similarly, I shall see to it that religious matters are dealt with by the relevant councils and institutions, and that religion is practiced in mosques and other appropriate places of worship, in strict compliance with freedom of worship, of which I am the guarantor," the monarch concluded.

Previous Stories:
  Three Moroccan political parties set up 'constructive opposition'   (7/30/2004)
  Spanish FM in Morocco to discuss Sahara issue   (7/30/2004)
  Morocco to celebrate 5th anniversary of Throne Day   (7/30/2004)

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