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Rabat – In response to Fridays catastrophic terrorist attacks in Paris, which left 129 people dead and 350 people injured, Morocco has continued to commit to fighting terrorism and extremism.
Salaheddine Mezouar, Morocco’s foreign minister said recently at the 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit, “Morocco has adopted an innovative approach to fighting terrorism based on three essential elements – security, social and economic development to fight poverty, and the promotion of moderate Islam to counter extremist ideology.”
This multi-faceted approach aims to dismantle extremism at its roots of poverty and ignorant rhetoric aimed to radicalize youth. At this specific conference, Mezouar continued, “Both India and Morocco need to jointly face terrorism and adopt a comprehensive approach through initiatives like exchange of intelligence. As announced by the King at the summit, Morocco is ready to set up a joint working group to this effect.”
The King ordered the Superior Ulema Council to give proper interpretations on the meaning of jihad in response to the Friday attack. This exemplifies Morocco’s contribution to the fight against terrorism through Islamic theology and interpretation, in addition to Moroccan police raids. He was also reportedly one of the first heads of state to call Francois Hollande after Friday’s attacks, offering Moroccan intelligence and support.
In past years, Morocco has experienced significantly less terrorist attacks than all other countries in the North Africa region. According to the Global Terrorism Database and research done as the University of Maryland, Morocco experienced 1 terrorist attack between the years of 2011 and 2014, where all other countries experienced between 49 and 1,000 attacks. This may be a result of consistent anti-extremist rhetoric from Mohammed VI and the Moroccan government.
