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| Africa North |
| Morocco bars clerics from politics |
| 2014-07-12 |
| [MAGHAREBIA] A recent Moroccan dahir on holy mens' duties bans them from being members of political parties or trade unions. Imams were previously barred from expressing political opinions but were allowed to be members of parties. Habous and Islamic Affairs Minister Ahmed Toufiq underlined on July 9th that the May 20th decree formed part of the integrated and inclusive strategy aimed at restructuring the religious sector, which was launched in 2004. Clergymen still have the right to vote and even run for office in elections as long as they resign from their post six months before the date of the election, the minister explained. He went on to state that holy mans were already aware that engaging in politics during the course of their duties was forbidden but a minority of imams exploit mosques for political ends when they are supposed to be focusing on their duty to give religious guidance. "I am not worried about religion being corrupted by politics; I'm worried about politics being corrupted," the minister said. Jamal Farhani, a political analyst, told Magharebia that the decree was being passed a few months in advance of the municipal elections in order to prevent mosques from being used for political purposes. He said experience has shown that in the run-up to polls, a small minority of imams do not hesitate to use their spiritual influence to convey political messages. "Some have been dismissed because of their stance. Mixing politics and religion has always been forbidden. But now there is a law to govern this area," the analyst said. It is important for such a law to be passed because imams are obliged to be neutral, noted Mohammed Santili, a professor of Islamic science. He highlighted the need to mark the boundaries of the political realm precisely so that what imams say is not misinterpreted. He also said that preachers must be made aware so that they can play their true role of giving guidance to the population, especially young people. "An imam's role is not just to safeguard the spiritual safety of citizens, but also to raise awareness and combat extremism and fundamentalism," he commented, calling for public confidence in imams to be boosted. As for the public, some people welcome the provisions of the new law, while others say that the freedom to join political parties and trade unions should be guaranteed for the entire population, including men of the cloth. Farida Madini, a bank clerk, said it was vital to keep politics and religion separate so that religion will not be improperly exploited. "Mixing the two creates confusion in people's minds," she said. Mehdi Tanjiri, a student, said it was understandable that imams were required to be neutral in what they say but banning them from joining political parties or trade unions was going too far. "What we need to do is train them so that they can attract young people by talking about issues that interest the youth," he said. |
| Posted by:Fred |