All 20,000 of Morocco's Friday-prayer leaders have pledged to fight fundamentalism, according to Islamic Affairs Minister Ahmed Toufik.
By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat – 22/12/09
Moroccan imams who breach preaching guidelines to sermonize on political or fundamentalist topics are few in number, according to Moroccan Islamic Affairs Minister Ahmed Toufik.
"Several newspapers recently uncovered transgressions in a number of cities," Toufik told Parliament on December 15th in response to questions about the alleged use of Friday sermons to advocate extremism.
But the minister added that while some imams "have used sermons given in mosques for political ends", no more than 30 cases of misconduct had been recorded annually for the past seven years.
"Although some irregularities occur, they are the exception rather than the rule," said Abdelbari Zemzemi, an MP and imam. He said the regulations aim to keep the political and religious spheres separate.
"If an imam stands as a candidate, he is forbidden to preach on Fridays. Mosques cannot be exploited as platforms from which to convey political messages," Zemzemi added.
According to Toufik, of the 45,000 imams in Morocco, all of the 20,000 who conduct Friday services have pledged to eliminate fundamentalism.
Toufik insisted that his ministry keeps a very close watch on sermons, and correct errors by raising awareness and providing training.
Since the May 2003 terrorist attacks in Casablanca, the government has been more wary about the messages imams spread during Friday prayers, said political science professor Fouad Madani. Training imams and monitoring sermons are now part of the government strategy.
"The post of imam is no longer assigned to all those who come first," Madani said. "Over the past few years, young graduates have had the values of citizenship and tolerance instilled into them as part of efforts to promote professionalism and modernise the profession, as well as reduce the risk of fundamentalism."
The ministry launched its imam-training program in June to better prepare preachers for their public and clerical roles, after a 2008 survey conducted by the ministry discovered that 82% of imams had no formal religious training.
Under the new monitoring structure, if an imam preaches on a taboo topic, he is summoned by the local council of ulemas and is reprimanded.
Moroccans agreed that extremist imams are hard to find.
Mourad Boulaâlej, a 45-year-old from Taza, said he had never heard an imam deliver a political or fundamentalist speech. He acknowledged that his relatives had told him about imams delivering controversial speeches, but dismissed it. "Moroccans know how to separate things," he said.
"I've never seen imams deliver an obscurantist or terrorist speech," said Sara Ktiri, a 21-year-old political science student who has been attending Friday prayers for four years.
"On the contrary, sometimes the speech is very official because it comes from the minister of Islamic affairs," she added.
Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2009/12/22/feature-01.
By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat – 22/12/09
Moroccan imams who breach preaching guidelines to sermonize on political or fundamentalist topics are few in number, according to Moroccan Islamic Affairs Minister Ahmed Toufik.
"Several newspapers recently uncovered transgressions in a number of cities," Toufik told Parliament on December 15th in response to questions about the alleged use of Friday sermons to advocate extremism.
But the minister added that while some imams "have used sermons given in mosques for political ends", no more than 30 cases of misconduct had been recorded annually for the past seven years.
"Although some irregularities occur, they are the exception rather than the rule," said Abdelbari Zemzemi, an MP and imam. He said the regulations aim to keep the political and religious spheres separate.
"If an imam stands as a candidate, he is forbidden to preach on Fridays. Mosques cannot be exploited as platforms from which to convey political messages," Zemzemi added.
According to Toufik, of the 45,000 imams in Morocco, all of the 20,000 who conduct Friday services have pledged to eliminate fundamentalism.
Toufik insisted that his ministry keeps a very close watch on sermons, and correct errors by raising awareness and providing training.
Since the May 2003 terrorist attacks in Casablanca, the government has been more wary about the messages imams spread during Friday prayers, said political science professor Fouad Madani. Training imams and monitoring sermons are now part of the government strategy.
"The post of imam is no longer assigned to all those who come first," Madani said. "Over the past few years, young graduates have had the values of citizenship and tolerance instilled into them as part of efforts to promote professionalism and modernise the profession, as well as reduce the risk of fundamentalism."
The ministry launched its imam-training program in June to better prepare preachers for their public and clerical roles, after a 2008 survey conducted by the ministry discovered that 82% of imams had no formal religious training.
Under the new monitoring structure, if an imam preaches on a taboo topic, he is summoned by the local council of ulemas and is reprimanded.
Moroccans agreed that extremist imams are hard to find.
Mourad Boulaâlej, a 45-year-old from Taza, said he had never heard an imam deliver a political or fundamentalist speech. He acknowledged that his relatives had told him about imams delivering controversial speeches, but dismissed it. "Moroccans know how to separate things," he said.
"I've never seen imams deliver an obscurantist or terrorist speech," said Sara Ktiri, a 21-year-old political science student who has been attending Friday prayers for four years.
"On the contrary, sometimes the speech is very official because it comes from the minister of Islamic affairs," she added.
Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2009/12/22/feature-01.
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