By Karima Rhanem
By Karima Rhanem
Morocco World News
Rabat, July 1, 2012
The general prosecutor at the Oujda appeal court has summoned today Cheikh Abdullah Nahari, a mosque Imam, for questioning regarding his alleged recent death threats against the editor in chief of Arabic daily “Al Ahdath al Maghribia”, Mokhtar El Ghezioui.
The general prosecutor will investigate Nahari statements, which were seen as an incitement to crime and violence.
It is worth recalling that although Nahari directed acerbic criticism against El Ghzioui, he did call not call directly for his death.
As part of his advocacy for individual freedoms in Morocco, Moukhtar El Ghzioui said in a live interview with an Arab satellite channel that he has no objection that his mother, sister or daughter, has sex with a man outside marriage.
Moukhtar’s statement about sexuality which do not necessarily represent the views of Moroccans was viewed as extreme by many. Yet, it is unusual to the Moroccan culture to see a YouTube video of an imam inciting for hatred and threatening the life of a person because of his opposing views.
Recently, some Moroccan human rights activists have called for the repeal of “article 490” within Morocco’s penal code. “Any sexual relationship outside of marriage constitutes the crime of adultery and is punishable by imprisonment from one month to a year.” The article under scrutiny, according to activists, breaches the fundamental human rights freedoms. The activists said that “a law that criminalizes human behavior, as far as this behavior does not encroach on other people’s freedoms, is unconstitutional and should be revoked, therefore.”
