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By Zainab Calcuttawala
Rabat – During a meeting of the Justice and Development Party in Rabat on Sunday, Abdelilah Benkirane said that those pushing to turn Morocco into a secular state – by pushing Morocco to accept gay marriage and other causes – could endanger the progress of the kingdom.
“Morocco is an Islamic state and will remain so,” Benkirane said. “Those who want to create a secular state in Morocco are wrong because the result will put the country in danger as Moroccans do not want secularism and will not accept things contrary to their desires.”
Morocco’s success in creating stability serves as a model for other Arab nations, according to Benkirane.
“Morocco has been able to guarantee the freedom and stability within certain specified limits, which has allowed the country to create its own model,” Benkirane said.
“The model has raised the interest of the Arab world, which has been following the developments in Morocco with great interest.”
In regards to the rights of homosexuals in Morocco, Benkirane clarified that the state should not intervene in their private lives, but the recognition of their rights to the point of allowing gay marriage remains out of the picture for the Moroccan homosexual community.
Benkirane said that recent reforms in family laws “in Europe and around the world, has given rise to what he called “the phenomenon of homosexuality in Morocco.”
“These same governments want to force all countries to adopt this cause,” he continued. “This is not in the interest of the individual, the family and is not acceptable in our religion.”
Sexual activities between people of the same sex are not allowed in Morocco. Article 489 of the country’s penal code punishes sexual activities between homosexuals by prison terms of six months to three years.
