Rabat – Abdelouahed El Moutawakil has won a second term as the chairman of Al Adl wa Ihssane or the National Justice and Spirituality Association, an Islamist organization that has opposed the classification of King Mohammed VI as “Commander of the Faithful” in the 2011 constitution.
El Moutawakil has headed the organization since 2005, and will continue his reign of the politburo with 13 fellow leaders, including three women.
The group is not legal in Morocco, but has been recognized for its ability to politically mobilize thousands of citizens. Still, the organization’s political future is hazy, as the immense popularity of King Mohammed VI in the country prevents the movement from gaining sustainable public support.
The group’s leader said, in a speech following his re-election, that he “welcomed the boycott of elections by Moroccans,” referring to the majority of the voting population that did not participate in the October 7th elections.
El Moutawakil also denounced proposals to tamper with the tuition-free status of public education at all levels, regardless of socioeconomic status. Without offering further details, the group called for “a national dialogue on the future of Morocco.”
In the past, the group has called on Rabat to cut ties with the Israeli government for its policies regarding the Palestinian occupation.
Morocco has a long history of peaceful coexistence between Jews and Muslims, meaning hundreds of Isreali families have ancestors buried in specially designated cemeteries across the kingdom. These families – either Sephardic or Mizrahi Jews – visit their elders’ graves in Morocco and the other Jewish holy sites the nation offers.
