Does Morocco want to boss about Spanish Muslim community?
Posted by: Nora in Foreign Policy, Islamism, IslamizationIf we read the statement made by the secretary general of the Moroccan Community Abroad Council (a consultive bureau created by Moroccan King Mohammed VIth), Abdellah Boussouff, we can really consider that as a reality. He nearly goes as far as considering Moroccan as equal as Spanish Muslim.
(He) stated to the Spanish news agency Europa Press during a meeting about Islam in Europe which took place in Fez, that Moroccan nationals living in Spain “need a strong organization that defends the fulfillment of the religious freedom” in the country and for the “full practice of their rights”.
(…) (He also) added that some of the points that were included in the cooperation aggreement between Spain and the Islamic Commission in 1992 “are not fully applied”, pointing to the need of a “really representative and democratic organism because a lot of Muslims do not feel represented by the Islamic Commission” (name which are not fully applied and why a lot of Muslims do not feel represented by the Islamic Commission. I am not saying the latter is “moderate”, I’m saying that it would be interesting to know what is the future Morocco wants for Spanish Muslims, as pointing out what Spain lacks of in this respect would underline what they like Spanish Islam to be).
He maintains that they are “optimistic with Moroccan community’s progress in Spain”, because “all processes need time” and “both Spain and Morocco have a lot of things in common” (name a few… because except the Spanish-Moroccan war of late XIXth century and early XXth century and the Strait of Gibraltar, I just can’t really see what more).
As a special measure, Boussouff considers that the Islamic Council must create a census of Muslims in Spain that could chose their representatives directly, as it’s already done in France and Belgium (countries where there is NO radicalization of Muslims, is there? Ironically speaking, that is...).
But it’s not me the only one who thinks this is meddling in other State’s affairs:
These statements have been regarded by the Spanish Islamic Communities’ Union as a Moroccan meddling in Islam’s management inside Spanish territory.
The president of this Union, Riay Tatary, stated that the “Moroccan Government is not the indicated entity to speak about the management of the Muslim community inside Spain and how their leaders should be elected” (so, Tatary, are you feeling your chair moving under you?).
Anyway, this must be the first time I agree with Tatary in something, although of course, not for the same reasons: I am not the president of any Muslim organization
There is something to consider,though: the growing number of Moroccan nationals in Spain (after Hispanic-American, they are the main immigrant group in Spain) makes this reaaaaaaaaally interesting for Morocco, who already wants Ceuta, Melilla and the Canary Islands in a expansionist policy, seen always not very disgustedly by France, a traditional Moroccan ally, and by UK, because of Gibraltar (of course, Spain does not have one thousand million Chinese menacing Hong Kong, does it? In that case, the results would have been truly different
).
Meddling in other State’s affairs does not make a country trustworthy. Trying to meddle over an entire community to use it as an assault weapon to break into the fortress is even more untrustworthy. But considering the degree of Zapatero’s alliance with Morocco, this meddling is not completelly unexpected.
(I’m sorry for not posting, but the spring, the flowers and me are not the best of friends
).

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