So far, I’m hearing why the movement is scary, and the arguments are convincing, although I’d like more actual quotes revealing their intentions, or actions they’ve made such as intimidating their opponents. What I haven’t heard is an explanation for why they’re so popular, or even any convincing evidence that they are popular. After all, being a semi-secret society existing in the shadows of politics, their support has never been tested through elections. Maybe they should be allowed to organize openly, and their support would evaporate? I’m convinced the overwhelming majority of Moroccans would support the king if the institution of the monarchy was ever put to a direct vote. So how could a group calling for the end of the monarchy be as popular as all that?

For that matter, why is the monarchy so sensitive about having its legitimacy discussed, if discussion is likely to reinforce that very legitimacy? Isn’t it a paradox to want to be, at one and the same time, above all politics and at the very center of politics?

As for Beau & Graciet’s “Quand le Maroc sera islamiste”, it could prove an interesting read. Do not hold your breath however waiting for it to be sold in Morocco… But from what I gather, Beau certainly seems fond of the vision you’ve expounded – Al adl being against the Makhzen, they should be embraced – and I’ m still not convinced that this track is the right one.

One thought about Gandhi, there are those who say that Morocco is still a colony. Apparently Driss Basri recently called Morocco “the last French colony”! (I have a link to that below.) So in that sense, the struggle of Al Adl Wal Ihsane to throw off the old structures inherited (in part) from the French could be described as “Gandhian.” Though if Al Adl Wal Ihsane is Islamo-centric enough to reject Gandhi as a model just because he’s not Muslim, then you’re right about them and I want nothing to do with them.

I read the article that you linked, and I feel that it adds an important perspective. (The article is a review of a short book by the Algerian journalist Lakhdar Ferrat called “Al Adl Wal Ihsane: From Civil Disobedience to Terror.” According to the review, Ferrat claims that Al Adl Wal Ihsane centers itself around “exclusion of the Other and the reduction of political action to violence.” He warns against “minimizing the danger” of the group’s “infiltration of various sectors of Moroccan society.”) Since he is Algerian, that implies a perspective independent of the Moroccan political elite. Presumably he also able to draw on the bitter lessons learned about such groups in his homeland.

The larger question of whether Islamist groups can moderate as they take power is both open and pressing throughout the Arab world. On the positive side, we have the Turkish model, and on the negative side, we have Iran and Algeria. In Algeria, they never really got a chance. What has been learned since? If the Muslim Brotherhood takes over in Egypt after Mubarak, will they prove they have moderated over the years, or will they show their true face as extremists? Such questions are among the reasons I started this blog. I look forward to a lively debate!

Another book I’ve heard about and want to read is “Quand le Maroc sera islamiste,” by Nicholas Beau and Catherine Graciet. Note that the title says not “if” but “when” Morocco becomes Islamist. I’m wondering if this book is even available in Morocco, because it seems like the kind of thing that might be kept out of the country due to its potentially inflammatory content. If you do get your hands on it, let me know what you think! Meanwhile, to tide you over, here is a video interview with M. Beau. It’s where I got the Driss Basri quote:

http://oumma.com/spip.php?article2297

I think I’ll order both these books…!!

pourquoi pas Ghandi
parce que ghandi n’est pas musulman voyons :p
en plus ghandi luttait contre des colons etrangers

sinon je crois que toi tu crois ce genre de groupe sur leurs paroles et leur bonne fois !
Ce que beaucoup d’autres ne font pas car ils les soupconnent d’etre capables de changer brutalement radicalement de position en un rien de temps

Un livre est sorti recemment, (je ne l’ai pas encore malheureusment pas lu) d’un chercheur algérien qui fait un parallèle entre les methodes d’Al Adl wa ilhssane et le FIS algerien ! sa conclusion c’est que les deux c’est blanc bonnet et bonnet blanc !

un article qui en parle : http://www.bladi.net/9561-al-adl-wal-Ihssane.html

Speaking of Al Adl Wal Ihsane, hum says: “Their objective is to establish a Caliphate, which is the form of government adopted after the death of the Prophet by those we call the four Companions, Abu Bakr, Othman, Omar, and Ali.” [By the way, Caliph means something like "regent" or "stand-in" -- the idea is that no one can replace the Prophet. The Caliphs were elected by a council of elders.]

hum continues, “Thus, the elimination of monarchy in Morocco! That’s the reason they aren’t allowed to create a political party, because they don’t recognize the monarchy — in this regard, see the declaration by Nadia Yassine [daughter of the movement's founder] that ‘a republic is more appropriate for Morocco,’ which got her a trial that is still ongoing, and is said to be blocked due to pressure on Morocco from the U.S. not to condemn her….”

I want to say more about this in a future post. I want to quote what Nadia Yassine has actually said, both at UC Berkeley where she made her original comments, and in later interviews. (It was an Arabic-language interview that got her in hot water.) For now, let me just say that although I rarely agree with the Bush administration, if they are pressuring Morocco to lay off of Nadia, I DO agree in this case. I agree with the vast majority of Moroccans who feel that the king is a positive force on the political scene, but I don’t see how someone can risk jail time simply for stating a self-evident fact, that monarchy is only one of many possible systems. In Britain, most people love the Queen, but the institution of the monarchy is hotly debated. Why not in Morocco too?

hum goes on to describe the “method” of Al Adl Wal Ihsane, saying, “They say they are against violence.” He lists four consecutive steps by which they hope to achieve a Moroccan Caliphate by peaceful means: 1) attarbia or education, begun in the 1970s; 2) attanzim or organization, from the 1980s; 3) azzaf or propagation; and 4) qawma or awakening, a nonviolent revolution. hum says “Their model here is Khomeini.” (Why not Gandhi, I wonder. Wouldn’t he be a less threatening figure?)

Sheikh Yassine and his followers are apparently big on the interpretation of dreams, which has earned them a reputation as a cult. Based on these dreams, 2006 was supposed to be the year of the “awakening.” I saw an interview last summer with Nadia Yessine in Le Journal Hébdomadaire, where she says that 2006 is the start of a new phase, not actually (this is clear in hindsight!) the year the peaceful revolution will be accomplished.

hum adds, “I feel that the current king is being quite cool about it. In Hassan II’s day, Yassine [the father] was shut up in a psychiatric hospital and put under house arrest. The current king lifted the house arrest in 2000 and let him go free. For myself, I understand why the king is defending himself. I don’t think they’ll succeed, because Moroccans are monarchists, and the monarchy is the only thing that unites all Moroccans. (If there was no monarchy, we would have interethnic problems, Arab vs. Berber vs. Saharan….)”

Thank you sincerely, hum, for laying out the essential points. I’d never heard about the four-step program before, for example. As I said, I hope to look at this again in a future post. For now, let me close with some words from Nadia Yassine. “It’s not for us to decide for everyone…. The Moroccan people will choose… If after having acquired a political culture and having been reassured as to their freedom of choice, they choose once again a system of hereditary monarchy, so much the better — or rather, so much the worse.”

http://www.yassine.net/yo12/Default.aspx

d’ailleurs, ils ont pas traduit le livre

il y a juste une section anodine traduite en francais et anglais

si j’ai compris tu te poses des questions sur Al Adl walihssane
comme je les comprend (je nesuis pas un sepcialiste de ce genre de groupes ;)

1. leur objectif : etablir une khilafa (mode de gouvernement qui a été adopté suite à la mort du prophète par ce qu’on appelle les 4 Sahaba (compagnons) Aboubarkr Assedik, Othmane Ibn Affane, Omar Ibn Alkhattab et Ali Ibnou Abi Talib

donc suppression de la monarchie au maroc ! d’ailleurs c’est pour cela qu’on leur donne pas l’autorisation de créer un parti, car ils ne reconnaissent la royauté – voir à ce sujet la déclaration de Nadia Yassine “la République est plus approprié pour le Maroc” qui lui a valu un procès qui dure encore et qu’on dit bloqué parce que les USA ont fait pression sur le Maroc pour pas qu’il la condamne…

2. Leur methode. Ils se disent contre la violence et leur calendrier est selon ces etapes decrites dans le livre de Abdesslam Yassine “Al minhaj Annabaoui” qu’on peut traduire comme “La voie prophetique (ou du prophète?)”

etape 1 : Attarbia (education) : eduquer les gens (ou juste un groupe de gens qu’ils appellent Jounoud Allah, i.e les soldats de Dieu) et leur expliquer (etapes entamée depuis les années 1970)

etape 2: attanzim (l’organisation) : creation des structures depuis les années 1980 (?)

etape 3: azzahf (propagation) : explication aux gens et approcher les gens en diffusant le message de la Jamaa

etape 4: la kawma et etablissement de la khilafa
kawma = reveil (~ révolution sans violence). Ils espèrent que les gens se lèveront un jour et diron stop et le peuple prendra le pouvoir tranquillement. Leur modèle ici c’est Khomeini

tout cela est “supporté” avec des “Reves” oui des reves ! Yassine ou ses adeptes disent qu’ils voient dans les reves le prophete leur dire ceci ou cela, et ils avaient prévu que la kawma aura lieu en 2006 !!! c’est justement là le but du site khorafa qui a été créé par quelqu’un qui a fait partie de l’Adl avant pour leur demontrer qu’ils racontent des betises ( khorafa en arabe veut dire légende )

donc leur problème c’est qu’ils veulent en terminer avec la monarchie

je trouve d’ailleur que l’actuel roi a été très cool avec eux ! du temps de Hassan II, Yassine avait été interné dans un hoptial psychiatrique et a été mis sous résidence surveillée

l’actuel roi a levé la résidence surveillée en 2000 et les a laissé libre. Mais je comprends aussi qu’il se defend

pour ma part, je ne pense pas qu’ils réussiront car les marocains sont monarchistes et la monarchie c’est le seul lien qui unit les marocains (s’il n’ya plus de monarchie on aura des problèmes inter ethniques Arabes vs Berber vs Sahrawi vs ….)

Why should we be scared of Al Adl Wal Ihsane? So far, I’m not. And what is the source of their amazing popularity?

Here is my idea using the old adage, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” 1) I support Nichane and its efforts to open up the political discourse. 2) The enemies of Nichane seem to be “Makhzenized Islamists” as typified by khorafa.org. 3) These same people are also fierce opponents of Al Adl Wal Ihsane. Indeed it seems to be their main focus. 4) So why shouldn’t Al Adl Wal Ihsane be my friend?

Please tell me if I’m out of line or seriously naive. I really don’t know. I’ve been trying to get an answer to this for over a year now, ever since Nadia Yassine spoke at UC Berkeley (my alma mater, by the way) and brought the debate about Moroccan monarchy into the open.