How North African nations are dealing with Islamist resurgence
Leaders must subdue the Islamist movement without empowering radicals or undercutting moderates, analysts say.
from the April 12, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
Political parties based on religion are banned in Morocco, but parties with "an Islamic reference" are permitted to run in elections as long as they follow the monarchy's rules. That means acknowledging the authority of the king and submitting to election laws that make it impossible for any one group to dominate the parliament. Some groups are participating in elections and gaining limited political power, while others reject the system entirely but maintain grass-roots support.
"In the Islamic world, the Islamist movements are close to the people because the governments aren't there. The people go with the Islamists. In every small place, every alley, there is [The] Justice and Charity Organization," in Morocco, which rejects political participation, says Mohammed Darif, a political science professor at the Hassan II University in Mohammedia, Morocco. "Any Islamist group that supports the government will lose their popular support."
Another group, The Justice and Development Party, is taking a different route. It is the third-largest political party in the Moroccan parliament and the leading group with an "Islamic reference." It is expected to garner even more seats in parliamentary elections planned for September.
But this political success has come at a price. The group is careful to emphasize that they view religion and politics as separate spheres and say while they support reforms along Islamic values, those values are similar to many democratic ideas. They chose to limit the seats they ran for in the last election, a step to show the government they are not seeking too much power too quickly.
"We believe that as an opposition party we will help channel grievances and integrate grievances from the society. The stability of the system is related in part to the existence of these kinds of channels, and as a party we offer this," says Mustapha Khalifi, who is organizing the party's political platform for the upcoming elections.
While better positioned to push for reforms, they are not as popular as the outlawed Justice and Charity Organization, which has a broad social services network and rejects the monarchy and political participation. It says it supports a mix of Islamic spiritual guidance in politics with democratic, nonviolent principles.
"We are completely marginalized because we don't accept the nature of power. We think it's not a democratic way. It's based on the power of one, the king," says Nadia Yassine, the daughter of the leader of the Justice and Charity Organization. She was jailed once and now faces trial for saying the kingdom should become a republic.
"We don't want to dirty our hands ... so the only way we have to resist to this very antidemocratic power is to stay on the margin, to stay in the true opposition," she says.
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