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| Africa North |
| Morocco fights Islamist extremism with Sufism |
| 2010-09-27 |
| [Al Arabiya] The rise of Jihadist trends and Salafi political parties as well as growing concerns about Islamism drove the Moroccan government to embark on a plan to support the Sufi movement in the country. By virtue of its focus on religious practices, Sufism, a type of Islamic, mysticism, is a trend that does not aim at intervening in politics or public affairs unlike other emerging Islamic parties in Morocco. Absence of political ambition among Sufi groups has made them the Moroccan government's way of choice to fight extremism. Financial support is among the government's strategies to encourage the spread of Sufism in Morocco. This is basically done through issuing royal donations in the name of King Mohamed VI to "zawyas," shrines in which Sufis perform their rituals. Promotion of Sufism in the media is another of the government's ways to boost the trend. TV shows are dedicated to broadcasting Sufi "dhikr," Arabic for "remembrance," in which Sufis engage in devotional dancing, recitation, and meditation ceremonies for the purpose of remembering the blessing of God. A series of lectures and seminars have also been launched recently in order to familiarize Moroccans with the principles of Sufism and the philosophy behind its practices. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #7 Morocco has a distinct advantage in the "more Muslim than thou" contest: the king claims a direct line of descent from Mohammed himself. Which didn't keep them from being white slaving pirates back when America was still toddling about in baby dresses. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2010-09-27 20:47 |
| #6 Big Winnah!1! in the "let's set ourselves back a couple centuries" contest? Come on down! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-09-27 19:59 |
| #5 I'm seeing a really bad case of "Not Muslim Enough" in Morocco's future...and it could get ugly. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2010-09-27 19:52 |
| #4 This pre-supposes that Sufis are somehow less F-ed up than the rest of those wild-eyed squirrel heads. |
| Posted by: bigjim-CA 2010-09-27 18:34 |
| #3 It's a definite step away from the jihadi drive of Saudi Arabia's Wahhabis and Pakistan's Deobandis. However, Sufism is not necessarily a kindlier, gentler form of Islam -- it's just the mystical form versus the puritanical legalistic form the other two favour. Whenever Sufis have been in charge they were just as hard on the kufr in their midst as the legalistic forms have been. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2010-09-27 16:42 |
| #2 This will upset the Saudis! |
| Posted by: Paul2 2010-09-27 07:12 |
| #1 good on them. same can be done in somalia |
| Posted by: anon1 2010-09-27 03:17 |