Welcome to the MoroccanCulture Blog

Morocco is a very fascinating place of travel and vacation. It is a perfect place for nature lovers as well as architecture and history enthusiasts. The landscapes, monuments, historical sites, architecture, ruins, desert, beaches, and even its markets are welcome attractions to be explored that would appeal to any tourist. Rabat is the administrative capital of Morocco and is also known as the ‘Garden City’. Rabat is a mixture of the old and new, a traditional city but also a modern one. Rabat is known for its bedecked alleys, beautiful white houses, and beaches. Chellah Rabat is said to be the first place to be settled along Bou Regreg river around the third century BC. Rabat is also home to many impressive monuments and other attractions and one of these attractions is the beautiful Citadel of Chellah Gardens. It is beautifully landscaped with various flowers that bloom during springtime and fills the place with its wonderful scent. Its sanctuary was used as royal burial place and its entrance door is magnificently decorated and inscribed with Arabesque calligraphy. Chellah Rabat experienced a very strong earthquake during the 18^th century which destroyed many of its structures from ancient Morocco. What used to be a thriving city and port, Chellah is now a major tourist attraction and is converted to a lush and beautiful garden.

"Travel and Vacation Abodes: Citadel of Chellah Gardens in Rabat, Morocco." 2 Nov. 2008 .

The Marrakech medina: and buying babouches at the slipper souk

Image via Wikipedia

The Moroccan Secret Service's attempts to recruit spies in the Netherlands has angered the Dutch government. And in Morocco, the espionage affair has provoked heated discussion. It seems that Morocco feels threatened by the Berber population living abroad and wants to monitor the life of its second-class citizens in foreign countries. Most of the Moroccans living in the Netherlands are Berbers from the Rif region.

The furore erupted after the dismissal of the Rotterdam police officer, Re Lemhaouli, following allegations that the policeman had been passing information to the Moroccan Secret Service via the embassy in The Hague. The Dutch government protested to the Moroccan Embassy. This week, the Dutch current affairs TV programme NOVA revealed that Rabat had recalled two its diplomats two months ago, after receiving the complaints about the alleged espionage. Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen has made it very clear that he does not appreciate Morocco's interference in internal Dutch affairs. The Dutch parliament is to hold an emergency debate on the affair next week.

Dutch FM Maxime Verhagen condemns "vile practices"

Activity well-known
It has since transpired that the Rotterdam police officer is not the only person to have been approached. Fouad el Haji, a Labour local councillor, claims that he was also contacted, "just like a former Dutch MP of Moroccan origin." Mr el Haji was apparently referring to former Socialist Party MP Ali Lazrak, who denies having been approached himself, adding that "it was well known that the Moroccan Secret Service was active in the Netherlands" and that other prominent politicians of Moroccan origin were asked to lend their co-operation.

A colleague at Radio Netherlands Worldwide confirms that certain Dutch citizens of Moroccan origin are routinely approached by the secret service. "The Moroccan government approached me years ago, when I first came to live in the Netherlands," says the journalist and describes the way Rabat works as: "Scary. First, I got a call on behalf of the Moroccan ambassador asking if I wanted to help improve the image of Morocco here." The journalist declined, but was "accosted by the press attaché at a conference", though he was able to brush the embassy staff member aside. Afterwards the journalist was rung again, once at work and once at home.

Monitoring the Berbers
Two articles from the Arabic department of Radio Netherlands Worldwide, which were published word for word on Morocco's largest website Hespress, have received reactions from dozens of Moroccans living in various European cities and Morocco. Rabat wants to monitor the Berbers living in the Netherlands, is basically the gist of the commentaries. "What frightens Morocco is the fact that half a million Berbers are living in the Netherlands. Amsterdam is the third largest Berber town after Nador and Huceima," says one reaction. Another, written by someone who calls himself "the star of the Rif" says "The liberation of the Rif is taking place in Europe." An emigrant Berber writes: "First, this regime drove us out of our country, then they followed us here."

Language and culture
No less than three quarters of Moroccans in the Netherlands are of Berber origin. Ethnically, there is no difference between the Berbers and the Arab Moroccans; only language and culture divide the two groups. In the past, Berbers were treated as second-class citizens, but nowadays their language and culture are more recognised by Moroccan authorities. Arabic is still the official language of the country.

Mahjoub Benmoussa of Platform Foreigners Rijnmond, an association which assists integration into Dutch society, thinks the reason Rabat wants to keep tabs on Moroccans in the Netherlands is because they "can move freely in political, trade union and cultural circles here without being monitored. Their influence affects Morocco." Former chairman of the Dutch Cooperative of Morccans and Tunisians, Said Boudouft, believes that economic factors also play a role - a lot of money generated by Moroccans in Europe passes back into the Moroccan economy. Fear of "Islamic cells operating from Europe who have proven that they can strike within Morocco" is another factor.

Dutch Foreign Minister Verhagen has condemned the actions of the Moroccan Secret Service and says the Netherlands is "ill served by the vile practices". Next week's debate in parliament will no doubt lead to heated debate. Reacting to Moroccans who allow themselves to be influenced by Rabat, Conservative VVD MP Fred Teeven said: "They have two passports. If they think their future lies in Morocco, then they must clear off there as quickly as possible." And with incidents of Moroccan attempts at espionage also reported in France, Spain and Belgium, the heat from next week's debate in the Dutch parliament could be felt across Europe's political plains.

*RNW translation (jn)

"Morocco drives out its Berbers, then follows them here - Radio Netherlands Worldwide - English." 19 Sep. 2008 .

Image by oNico® via Flickr

Aug 24, 2008

CASABLANCA, Morocco — This is an overwhelmingly Muslim country, but you wouldn't know it from the music festivals.

The Casablanca festival turns the commercial capital into an urban Woodstock, with masses of young people clogging the mosque-filled streets and partying to the pulse of hip-hop, rock, pop and Arab music. An estimated two million people attend free concerts at a dozen venues, many snapping up the action on their cellphones.

And Casablanca is only one of about 400 yearly festivals sponsored by authorities across the country, not to mention the sports, dancing and singing contests organized on popular beaches every summer.

The promotion of culture and leisure by Morocco's moderate government has a political undertone. The country's increasingly powerful Islamist groups view it as a deliberate attempt to deviate youth from traditional Islamic values. Even some government officials admit the aim of the merrymaking is to promote the liberal values they'd like to see society embrace rather than radical Islam.

Most youth don't see it that way. They just enjoy the free music and the opportunity to party in this country of 34 million where unemployment is particularly high among young adults and where parents usually keep a tight grip on their children.

"I like these concerts ... the artists are role models for young people," said 19-year-old Fadoua Hakki at a hip-hop event in Casablanca. Oumaima, 17, praised the "big strides" made by the new generation of homegrown Moroccan rap singers. "They're very good, and they voice our concerns," she said.

The streets full of trendy teenagers dancing to the Tecktonik craze that has swept Europe stand in striking contrast to the near-medieval living conditions in Morocco's countryside or the sprawling slums around Casablanca, which have become a hotbed of Islamism.

Such festivals would be unheard of in more rigorous Muslim states, where the mixing of boys and girls, free sale of alcohol or even dancing in public can be forbidden. But Morocco, a strong U.S. ally and a major tourism destination, prides itself on a cultural diversity that allows scantily clad girls to attend a concert side by side with women wearing Islamic headscarves.

Artists in Casablanca this year included international reggae and hip-hop stars. The yearly Gnaoua mystical music festival in the resort town of Essaouira attracts top jazz and rock players, and in Rabat, Morocco's capital, this year's edition of the Mawazine world music fest included Whitney Houston for her return to the stage, jazzman George Benson and French electro DJ David Vendetta.

Mawazine takes place a stone's throw from King Mohammed VI's palace and under his direct patronage.

Organizers say bringing in big names to festivals reflects Morocco's traditions of mixing cultures and people from Europe and Africa.

"That openness can only continue if there is an exposure to cultures from the rest of the world," said Ahmed Ammor, the head of the Casablanca festival organizing committee. "It's part of the king's project for society, that's why you see a festival in nearly every town."

With a budget of about $3.18 million, Ammor's festival remains the largest. Like many official events in Morocco, it is half funded by public money and half by large companies close to the government. Ammor himself works for free, presiding the rest of the time over a subsidiary of the national carrier Royal Air Maroc.

Massive police presence can been seen around most festivals, as at any other public event in Morocco. Organizers say unruliness is rare, noting that parents often attend with their children and then take them home.

But many have qualms with all this revelry. Some critics say funding the stars' contracts costs the state a fortune. Others deplore the import of western music such as rap, which they accuse of corrupting Moroccan youth. Others still say the large spring festivals are badly timed because they interfere with exam periods.

"There are too many festivals in Morocco... as soon as one finishes, another starts: No wonder young people don't read anymore," said Zine Eddine Bekkal, a Casablanca shopkeeper.

The most vocal critics are usually affiliated with the Islamists, who hold growing sway in Morocco. The gap between the educated, wealthy and westernized elite and the vast majority of the impoverished population has been widening.

"We stand against the debauchery observed during these festivals," the leader of Morocco's biggest authorized Islamist group, the Justice and Development Party, Abdelilah Benkirane, said on a state TV talk show. "Have you seen the type of groups they invite? The suggestive, scantily clad women?" he was quoted as saying by the liberal-leaning TelQuel weekly magazine.

More hardline Islamist groups, like the semi-legal Justice and Charity movement - viewed as the largest in Morocco - see more than bad morality to the partying.

"It's not only dissolute, it's cynical," said Nadia Yassine, spokeswoman for the movement and the daughter of its founder, Sheik Yassine.

"It's like ancient Rome: bread and circus to keep the masses happy," she said, accusing the government of trying to divert public attention from Morocco's lasting problems, such as unemployment, poverty and corruption.

Moroccan government officials say the drive for culture comes within a wider plan to improve public education and build new infrastructure throughout the destitute hinterland.

But they also gingerly admit they are waging a struggle for the hearts and minds of the country's youth.

One high-ranking Interior Ministry official, who spoke anonymously because this is not a publicly avowed government policy, recalled how some Islamists began speaking out against public beaches. Groups walked the seafront to preach for better morals and fewer bikinis, or set up segregated areas.

"No one wants to be bothered on the beach, so people began shying away," the official said.

He said the government's reaction was to promote sports and leisure activities as well as song and dance contests on beaches during the summer.

"Sure, this bothers the 'bearded ones,"' grinned the official, using a slightly derogatory slang to refer to Islamists because of the long beards they often grow.

Ammor, the festival organizer, said the government is on a mission to make Morocco a place where Arab and western cultures can interplay, rather than dwell on the growing tensions of the last decade.

"People call it a clash of civilizations," he said. "I think it's a clash of ignorance."

Associated Press writer Hassan Alaoui contributed to this report.

"The Canadian Press: Muslim Morocco's music festivals promote liberties; youth enjoy chance to party." 7 Sep. 2008 .

The Moroccan authorities say they have broken up a militant cell operating in several towns in the kingdom.

The group allegedly had links with al- Qaeda and police described the 15 people arrested as "dangerous".

They had electronic and chemical materials used to make explosives, reports the state press agency, MAP.

It is the fourth such network Morocco says it has broken up this year. An al-Qaeda-inspired group has said it was behind recent attacks in Algeria.