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| Africa North |
| Morocco King Attends Prayers Led by Reformed Salafist |
| 2014-03-29 |
[An Nahar] A reformed Moroccan Salafi-jihadist sheikh, placed in durance vileMaw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! for life over the 2003 Casablanca bombings, led Friday prayers in the king's presence in Tangiers, a first since receiving a royal pardon in 2011. King Mohammed VI freed scores of Moslem gunnies placed in durance vile Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! in connection with the Casablanca attacks after Arab Spring protests swept the country in 2011, among them four radical Salafist leaders including Mohammed Fizazi. Rights activists and family members say hundreds more Islamists who have never supported any jihadist ideology remain behind bars. The king took part in Friday prayers at Fizazi's mosque in Tangiers and spoke to him briefly afterwards, with the symbolic event broadcast live on state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe? During his sermon, Fizazi praised the king for strengthening the security and stability of the country, which he said were needed to practise one's faith. Once considered a leader of Morocco's Salafi-jihadist movement who became radicalized in the late 1990s, he also traveled and preached in Europe, notably at the Al-Quds mosque in Hamburg, which was frequented by key figures in the 9/11 attacks on the United States. Fizazi was sentenced to 30 years in prison for his "ideological" role in the 2003 suicide kabooms, which killed 33 people. He condemned the Casablanca attacks during his trial and was freed eight years later after distancing himself from the hardline Islamist movement. |
| Posted by:Fred |