VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHCL #0067/01 1001616
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 101616Z APR 09
FM AMCONSUL CASABLANCA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8352
INFO RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUCNMGH/MAGHREB COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS CASABLANCA 000067 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR NEA/MAG 
COMMERCE FOR NATHANIEL MASON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR ECON PGOV SOCI KISL MO
SUBJECT: MOROCCO's GRAPES OF WRATH 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: The city of Meknes is the center of Morocco's 
budding wine business, employing 6,000 people and producing 70 
percent of the country's wine.  Paradoxically, until early 2009 the 
city was governed by the Islamist-oriented Party of Justice and 
Development (PJD).  The story of Meknes' wine renaissance is one 
that illustrates the country's efforts to balance respect for 
Islamic tradition in a country embracing modernity while 
simultaneously accommodating a growing conservative movement.  End 
Summary. 
 
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Honoring Tradition 
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¶2.  (SBU) Many of Morocco's Islamic scholars consider alcohol 
production and consumption to be "Haram" or forbidden to Muslims. 
Mohammed Raouandi of Morocco's High Council of Religious Scholars 
told Econoff, "While Morocco is a modern country, its people remain 
largely conservative."  In fact, the country's wine consumption is 
on the decline, according to Mehdi Bouchaara, the deputy general 
manager at the Celliers of Meknes (CofM), the country's largest wine 
producer.  He further explained, "Moroccans are growing increasingly 
conservative.  Ten years ago during 'Sha'aban', the month before 
Ramadan in which Muslims prepare their bodies to fast, wine 
consumption only decreased about 10 percent.  In the last two years, 
however, consumption during that month has dropped 50 percent." 
 
¶3.  (SBU) This decline in consumption can be explained in part by 
views of groups like Morocco's Islamist-oriented Party of Justice 
and Development (PJD), who perceive Morocco's wineries as a menace 
to the country.  According to the Party's leader in Parliament 
Mustapha Ramid, "Alcohol is 'Oum al Khabaath' -- the mother of 
evil."  Faced with this perceived threat, the PJD sees itself as 
fighting to preserve not only Meknes' Islamic identity but also the 
country's.  For example, parliamentarians representing the PJD have 
called upon the CofM each year demanding that it justify its wine 
operation, says Bouchaara.  The Ministry of Interior has also, 
albeit more subtly, approached the CofM to encourage a shift in its 
agricultural production from grapes to olives, confided Bouchaara. 
To quell the criticism of its nay-sayers, the CofM maintains a low 
profile to the extent possible.  Its offices have no signs and its 
advertisement is confined to urban centers far away from mosques and 
education facilities, adds Bouchaara. 
 
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Modernity 
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¶4.  (SBU) While conservatism is on the rise, there is a simultaneous 
countervailing modernist tendency that more readily embraces the 
lucrative wine industry.  The Celliers of Meknes produces 70 percent 
of Morocco's wine and employs about 6,000 local residents full time 
and about 1,000 more for the autumn harvest, who are overwhelmingly 
Muslim.  For many of the workers, going to CofM means reconciling 
their jobs with their religion.  "This is not ideal, but the salary 
and benefits are unrivaled in this region," says Mohammed, a long 
time employee of CofM.  Moreover, some 100 heads of households 
employed by CofM, who currently live in shantytowns next to the 
vineyards, will soon benefit from new housing courtesy of CofM, said 
Bouchaara. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) As Meknes' largest taxpayer, CofM wields some clout with 
the Government of Morocco (GOM), enabling it to push its commercial 
and secular agenda in the midst of rising conservatism.  For 
instance, Bouchaara said that, after some initial government 
hesitation, the CofM was granted provincial authority to build a 
luxury hotel in its vineyards that will cater to foreign tourists. 
The Celliers has accelerated the growth of Meknes' infrastructure, 
says Bouchaara, pointing out the paved roads and water dissemination 
projects in the city funded by CofM. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Even some conservatives acknowledge the economic benefits 
of the country's wine production.  "There is no doubt that Morocco's 
wine industry is helping the country's economy," admits the former 
PJD mayor of Meknes Aboubakr Belkoura.  Of the 27 million bottles 
sold by the Celliers of Meknes, only two million are shipped abroad, 
the remaining 25 million being consumed domestically.  "Moroccan 
society has come to accept socially what it has refused 
religiously," says Professor Bekocuhi of Hassan II University. 
"Wine production is not hypocrisy; it is a sign of tolerance," he 
added. 
 
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Comment 
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¶7.  (SBU) In the context of the country's growing conservatism, the 
PJD will likely find it useful politically to continue to oppose 
publicly the country's wine production.  Nevertheless, its 
leadership will have a difficult time ignoring the economic benefits 
of that production, particularly as the country worries about 
prominent sectors, such as automobile parts and textiles, being 
threatened by slowing exports.  For now, the health of the country's 
wine sector and its peaceful coexistence with Islamist-run local 
governments remains a testament to the tolerance that prevails 
across most of Moroccan society.  End Comment. 
 
Millard