VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHRB #0158/01 0551545
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 241545Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY RABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1248
INFO RUCNMGH/MAGHREB COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L RABAT 000158 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/MAG, DRL/IRF, INR 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/17/2020 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PHUM KISL MO
SUBJECT: RENEWED CONTACT WITH THE JCO 
 
REF: 08 RABAT 1169 
 
Classified By: A/DCM Michael DeTar for reasons 1.4(b) and (d) 
 
¶1.  (C) SUMMARY.  Fatallah Arsalane, governing board member 
of the unrecognized but tolerated Moroccan 
religious/political organization known as the Justice and 
Charity Organization (JCO; Arabic:  "Al-Adl wal Ihsane"), met 
with D/PolCouns for a wide-ranging discussion of global 
issues and internal Moroccan politics.  Arsalane said the JCO 
and the US share certain similar interests, but he roundly 
criticized U.S. policy in the Middle East and toward the 
Islamic world.  Turning to internal issues, he said many 
people associated with the JCO are afraid to acknowledge 
their affiliation because they would, as a result, be denied 
employment or other opportunities, echoing sentiments 
expressed by another JCO member.  Moroccan politics and 
society, he said, are rife with corruption, which has 
exacerbated the suffering caused to many people by heavy 
rains and flooding.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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Shared Values 
------------- 
 
¶2.  (C) JCO governing board member Fatallah Arsalane met with 
D/PolCouns on February 16 for a wide-ranging discussion that 
covered various global issues as well as Moroccan politics. 
Arsalane welcomed the meeting, stating his desire to engage 
with the U.S. Embassy on issues of mutual interest.  He said 
the JCO and the United States share similar goals insofar as 
both seek to counter extremist Islamist ideology.  For 
Arsalane the challenge is to ensure that young people with 
limited education or employment opportunities do not turn to 
radicalism as a way to express their frustrations.  Economic 
disparities contribute to the problem, he said, which cuts 
across the rural/urban divide as grinding poverty exists side 
by side with considerable wealth in many of Morocco's large 
cities. 
 
---------------------- 
Wide-ranging Criticism 
---------------------- 
 
¶3.  (C) Arsalane noted that his most recent contact with 
Embassy personnel had been December 2008 (reftel), "just 
after the American elections."  He said those results were 
met with hope and anticipation in the Islamic world that a 
new chapter in U.S.-Middle East relations would ensue, and he 
expressed disappointment at what he sees as the lack of 
palpable results following President Obama's Cairo speech 
and, more generally, his first year in office.  The change 
that Muslims and others hoped for has not materialized, he 
said, and he went on to criticize the continuing wars in Iraq 
and Afghanistan.  He said no weapons of mass destruction were 
ever found in Iraq, and the invasion was therefore 
groundless.  Acknowledging that efforts are underway to 
reduce and pull out U.S. troops, he said nonetheless that the 
problems besetting Iraq were there before the troops went in 
and will be there when they leave.  He further criticized the 
United States for not doing more to advance Middle East 
peace, saying that on the ground there is little difference 
on this issue between the current administration and the 
previous one.  He did say, however, that U.S. foreign policy 
is transparent and self-evidently designed to advance U.S. 
interests, adding that this is in welcome contrast to that of 
other countries. 
 
¶4.  (C) Turning to internal affairs, Arsalane said Moroccan 
politics and society are rife with corruption.  Many parts of 
the country, including some areas of large cities, experience 
extreme poverty, he noted, adding that while the country is 
not poor, corruption at all levels drains resources.  He 
cited as an example the suffering caused to many people by 
the current bout of heavy rains and flooding.  Corruption 
makes it worse, he said, because it diverts government funds 
that could be used to build infrastructure to avoid damage 
caused by heavy rain, which in many areas washes away 
peoples' agricultural livelihood.  The JCO is working to 
provide assistance to families suffering due to the flooding. 
 
 
¶5.  (C) Arsalane went on to say there is no real democracy in 
Morocco, it is a de facto dictatorship.  Were it otherwise, 
his organization, which claims over one million members, 
would be able to participate openly in the political life of 
the country.  As it is, members are afraid to acknowledge 
their affiliation with the JCO because they will be excluded 
from job, educational, and other opportunities. 
---------------- 
A Personal Story 
---------------- 
 
¶6.  (C) In a separate discussion, JCO member Mohammed Laoufir 
(strictly protect) told of a personal experience that is 
consistent with Arsalane's assertion that the GOM takes 
retaliatory measures against JCO members.  He described his 
previous occupation as a religious guide for Moroccan 
pilgrims on the Hajj, saying he served in this capacity for 
six years.  Another travel agency subsequently recruited him 
for the same purpose, but, he claimed, for the last three 
years Moroccan authorities have prevented from leaving the 
country because of his affiliation with the JCO.  Laoufir 
said the secret police told him the only way he would be 
allowed to travel and continue working as a guide would be to 
give up his membership in the JCO.  He also said other JCO 
members or sympathizers--who according to him number upwards 
of two million--are not given jobs in the police, military, 
or other security services. 
 
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Comment 
------- 
 
¶7.  (C) Laoufir related his story matter-of-factly in the 
course of describing how he became interested in the JCO, but 
Post has no way to corroborate it.  Likewise, we have no way 
to evaluate claims about how and when the GOM takes action 
against JCO members to keep them from gaining employment or 
other opportunities.  However, the belief that the GOM 
retaliates is widespread, just as many of our Islamist 
contacts share Arsalane's view that democracy in Morocco is 
weak or non-existent.  Indeed, more moderate JCO members see 
themselves as actively engaged in efforts to strengthen 
Moroccan institutions or as seeking to help people where the 
government has failed to do so.  Arsalane made no mention of 
a JCO desire to seek registration as a political party, but 
his and other members' willingness to engage with the 
Moroccan people and with Embassy staff suggest they do not 
seek isolation, either.  End comment. 
 
 
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Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website; 
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Moro cco 
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KAPLAN