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Viewing cable 06CASABLANCA1268, Ramadan in Casablanca: Why is This Year Different?

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06CASABLANCA1268 2006-11-03 15:26 2011-08-30 01:44 CONFIDENTIAL Consulate Casablanca
VZCZCXYZ0048
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHCL #1268/01 3071526
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 031526Z NOV 06
FM AMCONSUL CASABLANCA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7470
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS 2832
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 0700
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0219
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID 3667
RUEHNK/AMEMBASSY NOUAKCHOTT 2196
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT 7750
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 1956
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0498
C O N F I D E N T I A L CASABLANCA 001268 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/MAG, INR/NESA/NAP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/07/2015 
TAGS: MO PGOV PINR PREL
SUBJECT: Ramadan in Casablanca: Why is This Year Different? 
 
REF: A) Rabat 00990 
 
     B) Rabat 01050 
     C) Casablanca 0947 
 
Classified By: Principal Officer Douglas C. Greene for Reasons 1.4 
(b), (d). 
 
1.  (C) Summary: According to press reports and personal 
observations, attendance at mosques throughout Casablanca during the 
month of Ramadan this year hit an all-time high and the number of 
youth present was unprecedented.  Anti-Western rhetoric was not 
prominent in "official" mosques although it did find its way into 
some sermons and prayers.  Middle-class Moroccans contacts do not see 
the dramatic increase of worshipers, at official mosques, as a great 
concern.  They explain the phenomenon as Moroccans' way of showing 
solidarity with fellow Muslims in the region as well as a way to 
counter what they perceive as recent attacks against their faith. 
They do, however, indicate their concern that the numbers of 
underground mosques throughout Casablanca are growing and encouraging 
extremist, anti-Western ideology.  An ideology, even some pro-Western 
contacts assert, that is being fueled by a U.S. policy in the region. 
 End Summary. 
 
--------------------------- 
Record Numbers at Hassan II 
--------------------------- 
 
2.  (U) The Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca is the largest Islamic 
religious monument outside Mecca.  It is designed to hold 25,000 
worshipers inside and 80,000 in an outdoor courtyard.  On October 17, 
the last day of Ramadan prayers, approximately 200,000 Casablancans, 
more than 20 times the average number, crowded into the Mosque and 
the surrounding area, blocking traffic for hours. 
 
3.  (C) The Mosque is the showpiece of the Moroccan government and as 
such is known to adhere strictly to official sermons issued by the 
Ministry of Habous and Islamic Affairs.  Because of the negative 
reaction of many Moroccans to the exorbitant costs incurred for the 
homage to King Hassan II, it has not been well-attended.  But last 
year, during Ramadan, the Ministry hand picked a very popular Imam 
for the Mosque known, according to the Moroccan weekly news magazine 
TelQuel, as Casablanca's own "Pop Star" of Islam.  The choice was 
made specifically in order to draw crowds to the Mosque after initial 
boycotts. 
 
4.  (C) It is widely known that the authorized sermons and prayers at 
Hassan II are normally non-political in nature. On October 17, 
however, according to LES who attended the prayers, there was a 
deviation from official policy.  LES reported that, as usual, after 
prayers the Imam asked for blessings for all Muslims, which was 
greeted with a boisterous and positive response.  He followed by 
appealing for blessings on the King, and received a lackluster 
reaction, with very few worshipers chanting the traditional "Amin, 
Amin" in reply.  The very popular Imam finished his requests to Allah 
with a call for "bad wishes to all those causing harm to our brothers 
in Iraq and Palestine" to which the 200,000 worshipers inside and 
outside the Mosque responded with a great and prolonged cheer, 
according to LES. 
 
----------------- 
Why the Increase? 
----------------- 
 
5.  (SBU) Some Moroccans speculate that Casablancans attended 
services in greater number this Ramadan as a reaction to a perceived 
escalation of Western criticism of Islam.  According to these 
Casablancans, Moroccans feel that by being more devout Muslims they 
show support for their brothers in Iraq and Palestine while 
"defending" Islam, in a peaceful manner, from what they believe to be 
attacks from the West.  As examples of the perceived anti-Islamic 
bent, Casablancans cited an escalation of armed conflicts in the 
Middle East, the controversial Danish cartoons depicting Mohammad, 
and the efforts to prohibit Muslim women from wearing headscarves 
throughout Europe. 
 
6. (C) At an iftar, towards the end of Ramadan, Poloff posed the 
question of mosque attendance to some Moroccan guests.  Two local 
teachers responded that not only was the protection of Islam and 
Muslim solidarity the reason for higher attendance at mosques 
services, but they also believed it was the reason more women are 
veiling in Casablanca. 
 
----------------------------- 
Underground Mosques a Concern 
----------------------------- 
 
7.  (SBU) According to Moroccan law, the Ministry of the Habous and 
Islamic Affairs has authority over all mosques in Morocco and sermons 
delivered in them.  In reality there are numerous "underground" 
mosques throughout the country and in Casablanca in particular. 
Longtime residents of Casablanca agree that as many as 80 percent of 
the city's places of worship are working outside Ministry guidelines. 
 That number is comprised of a combination of official mosques acting 
outside the ministry's supervision and "underground" mosques with 
fundamentalist or extremist tendencies located in basements, private 
homes and apartments, and festival halls.  We have heard 
unsubstantiated claims that Moroccans living and working abroad may 
be funding some of these mosques.  More recently, however, we are 
hearing that more middle-class Moroccans here are funding the 
mosques, drawing groups of educated, unemployed, and disillusioned 
youth to the unapproved sermons. 
 
8.  (SBU) After the May 2003 Casablanca bombings, the GOM reinforced 
its fight against terrorism, in part, by more strictly controlling 
fundamentalists preaching in Casablanca's poorest neighborhoods, 
where they were recruiting young men to join their movements.  The 
Ministry of Habous and Islamic Affairs closed some of Casablanca's 
unofficial mosques and restricted access between prayers in official 
mosques known to the Ministry to have had more radical Imams.  In 
recent months, official mosques have begun to reopen throughout the 
day with a host of structured programs offered by the Ministry. 
Among these programs are those headed by the newly graduated 
Morchidat (Ref A) who conduct basic education and religious 
information courses for both men and women.   However, despite the 
GOM's efforts, underground mosques still thrive in Casablanca and 
find ways to hide from the Ministry's oversight. 
 
------------------------------- 
Pointing the Finger at the U.S. 
------------------------------- 
 
9.  (C) At two Ramadan iftars, some prominent, pro-Western 
businessmen discussed their view of factors which have contributed to 
the developments outlined above.  They focused on the impact of U.S. 
policy in the region on local developments.  The U.S. has failed to 
address longstanding regional grievances, and its counterterrorism 
policy is creating new ones, they assert.  One result, in Morocco, is 
the empowerment of funadmentalists. The absence of a strong peace 
process, U.S. policy toward the Lebanon conflict, and developments in 
Iraq, are all fodder for these groups in Morocco, and have a 
significant impact on broader public opinion too, they believe. If 
the U.S. adjusted it policy to focus on underlying regional disputes, 
then Morocco would be able to deal more effectively with extremism at 
home. 
 
10.  (C) The King's human development initiative, they said, is aimed 
directly at these threats to stability.  The explicit goal is to link 
Morocco's economic take-off with the poorest elements in society, 
where extremism finds fertile ground.  With the government and 
fundamentalists vying for influence in the poorest neighborhoods, 
there is a tough battle for control of the ground going on in 
Casablanca's urban slums.  The government's weapons - training and 
development programs, housing, job creation, etc. - are up against 
those of the Islamists.  These contacts assert that adjustments in 
U.S. policy in the region could help to undercut the emotional appeal 
that Islamists generate in Morocco, and help the Moroccan government 
create the linkage that the human development program aims to 
achieve. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
11.  (SBU) Anti-American and anti-Western sentiments in Casablanca 
ebb and flow following the tide of events in the distant Middle East. 
 During the month of Ramadan, however, the city is more sensitized to 
issues relevant to the Islamic world, and emotional expressions of 
solidarity and anger are more prevalent.  It is hard to know 
precisely how much of this is transient, and how much reflects 
longer-term trends in Moroccan society.  We see some evidence that 
emotions on sensitive regional and religious issues flare more 
quickly than in the past.  On the other hand, tempers cool as quickly 
as they flare in the city.  During the recent war in Lebanon, many 
regular contacts distanced themselves from the Consulate (Ref C). 
Since then, many of those who were reluctant to meet with us have 
once again begun to reach out, albeit a bit more cautiously. 
 
GREENE